About Michelle Davis

The Journey to OTCH

I entered my first obedience trial in 1999 with a Golden Retriever named Scout who had more patience than I did. We qualified - barely - but that first Novice score of 174 revealed how much I did not understand about competitive obedience. The exercises looked simple. Execution under pressure was anything but.

Scout taught me patience the hard way. We spent two years earning her CDX title because I kept pushing training, expecting competition performance before building genuine foundation. By the time we entered Utility, I had learned to slow down. She earned her UD title, and I earned an education that would shape every dog partnership that followed.

The OTCH Dogs

My first Obedience Trial Champion title came with Beacon, a Border Collie who demanded clarity from his handler before he would deliver precision himself. Beacon taught me that the dog reflects the training, not the trainer's intentions. Every sloppy rep I allowed returned as a sloppy performance when it mattered.

Quest, a Belgian Tervuren, pushed my understanding of breed differences. Her sensitivity required approaches I had never needed with the more forgiving Golden. Learning to train for her temperament rather than against it took eighteen months of adjustment. The OTCH title we earned together remains my most satisfying achievement because of everything I had to learn to get there.

Valor and Summit followed - both Border Collies, both OTCHs, both teaching me new lessons about individual variation within breeds. Valor was bold and fast; Summit was thoughtful and precise. Training them identically would have failed both. Adapting my methods to each dog's nature produced titles that generic approaches never would have achieved.

Becoming a Judge

After fifteen years of competition, I pursued AKC judging credentials. The perspective shift was profound. As a handler, I focused on my dog's performance. As a judge, I learned to see patterns across hundreds of teams - what separated consistent high scorers from struggling competitors, what training gaps showed up under pressure, what handler errors dogs could and could not overcome.

Judging made me a better trainer. Understanding exactly what judges evaluate helped me train those specific criteria. Seeing common errors across teams helped me anticipate problems in my own training. The dual perspective of competitor and judge informs everything I teach.

Training Philosophy

My approach centers on understanding before drilling. A dog who understands what you want can solve problems when variables change. A dog who only knows patterns falls apart when the pattern breaks. This takes longer initially but produces dogs who think through exercises rather than simply reacting.

I train criteria precisely. A crooked sit in practice is a crooked sit in competition. Accepting "close enough" teaches your dog that close enough is the standard. Precision requires more patience than most handlers bring, but it is the only path to consistently high scores.

I believe in positive methods that build desire to work. Compulsion can produce compliance, but not the enthusiasm judges reward. The dog who heels because they want to outperforms the dog who heels because they must. Building genuine engagement takes time but creates partnerships that survive competitive pressure.

Why This Site Exists

Competitive obedience information is scattered across books, seminars, and word-of-mouth. Handlers waste years making mistakes that others have already solved. I built this site to share what twenty-five years of competition and fifteen years of judging taught me - the hard lessons that cost me qualifying scores and the solutions that eventually produced OTCH titles.

Every article here reflects training I have actually done with dogs I have actually shown, and patterns I have observed judging hundreds of teams. Nothing is theoretical. When I describe a problem, I experienced it or watched it repeatedly from my judge's position. When I offer a solution, I used it or saw it work consistently. The guidance here would have saved me years if someone had given it to me when I started.

Training Guides Available

Explore the complete collection of competition preparation guides:

• AKC Obedience Levels Explained: From CD to OTCH
• Novice Class Exercises: Building Your Competition Foundation
• Open Class Requirements: Advancing to CDX
• Utility Class Preparation: Mastering the Highest Level
• Heeling Precision: Building Competition-Quality Movement
• Retrieve Training: Building Reliable Competition Retrieves
• Scent Discrimination: Training Utility's Most Challenging Exercise
• Ring Preparation: Getting Ready for Competition Day
• Handler Presentation: Professional Ring Presence