Sit. Stay. Come. Heel. This December, Orlando, Florida will be filled with the most well-behaved, highly trained dogs in the nation, all vying for the top spot at the prestigious American Kennel Club National Obedience Invitational (NOI). Local resident, Karen Lechner and her Labrador retriever, Pepsi, will be among the contenders.
Lechner will compete against the top obedience dogs in the country Dec. 15-16 in Orlando, Florida. The top 25 dogs are invited to the NOI based on Obedience Trial Championship (OTCH) points earned from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. In addition, the top three dogs of each breed ranked by OTCH points and qualifiers from Obedience Regional Competitions are also invited.
The purpose of obedience trials is to demonstrate the dog’s ability to follow specified routines. All contestants in a class are required to perform the same exercises in essentially the same way, so the relative quality of the various performances may be compared and scored.
For the 10th year, three of the American Kennel Club’s largest events will be featured at one venue: AKC National Obedience Invitational, AKC Agility Invitational and AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. The second AKC National Juniors Obedience Competition for kids ages 9-18 will also run in conjunction with the AKC National Obedience Invitational. Visit http://www.akc.org/aenc/ for more information.
The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship will air on ABC Television Network on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. Check your local listings for air times.
The AKC National Obedience Invitational is sponsored by Eukanuba (visit them at http://www.eukanuba.com/) and J and J Dog Supplies (visit them at http://www.jjdog.com/).
