Obedience & Rally
October 18-19 Obedience & Rally Trial
“What an inspiring weekend! I worked part of the utility class at Burlington Obedience Training club’s trial this weekend. So many great teams performing under the pressures of being in the ring for 5 minutes or more. As an agility person my runs are usually under 45 seconds—5 minutes seemed like an eternity.
Coming off this inspiration, I want to do more training and I expect many other people who watched and competed do too.
Burlington Obedience Training Club of Vermont is hosting Laurie Winter Strimavicus on November 8+9 at Comfort Hill Kennels in Vergennes, VT. We have one working spot on November 8, heeling. We have three working spots on November 9, novice exercises. “
-Cassy Lamothe, Vice President BOTC Mon 10/20/25
(see below for information about the seminar)
Obedience Seminar with Laurie Strimavicus
November 8-9, 2025
9am-5pm
Comfort Hill Kennels
94 Comfort Hill St
Vergennes, VT 05491
About Laurie
My absolute passion is training dogs!! The ability to communicate to dogs and teach them specific, complex behaviors so that they can perform in competition obedience is fascinating to me. Learning how to read dog’s body language is incredibly important to me as it provides me with valuable information so I can deliver the information to the dog appropriately to ensure successful and confident learning. I love helping people with their dogs! Helping them to solve problems so they can progress on their own personal journey brings me great joy! My family and I reside in CT and I am sole proprietor of TRAIN M.E., offering Competition Obedience, Rally, Agility, and Pet Obedience instruction at all levels.
I have three Labrador Retrievers and a Basset Hound:
OTCH Mary Elizabeth (8yrs, retired) who is my Novice A dog. RNC invite 2019, Westminster invite 2024, 2025, NOC invite 2024, 2025.
OTCH2 Ever (5yrs) is my current trial dog. Novice to OTCH in 14 months, 2nd place NOC qualifier 2024, Westminster invite 2025, NOC invite 2025, multiple 200’s, HIT’s
Stormy (2yrs) is currently being trained to be a superstar!
Francis (3yrs) is Stormy’s best friend and Captain of the ship
Topics
Saturday -- Heeling and all its components
Sunday -- Novice Exercises
Cost: $160 per day (you can sign up for one day or both)
Limit 12 working teams
Teams should bring their own lunch. BOTC will provide snacks and water.
In Memory of Lori Moffa
BOTC Obedience Trial Results
BOTC Rally Trial Results
About Obedience
Obedience is an AKC recognized canine performance event that demonstrates teamwork between the owner and the dog, as the dog follows various commands both on-leash and at liberty. Basic obedience training includes walking with the owner in heel position at various speeds, sitting in heel position, staying in a sit and down position for a period of time and coming when called. As the team advances, the training will include retrieving a dumbbell on the flat or over a jump and clearing a broad jump. More advanced training will include scent work, use of hand signals, directed jumping and directed retrieves. A well-trained dog is a happy dog and will be a great canine partner both in the house and outside and basic obedience training can be the first step to that great partnership.
History of Obedience at the Burlington Obedience Training Club
BOTC holds a weekend of obedience and rally trials in Chittenden County each Fall. This weekend event is open to the public and is a great place to see dogs performing at the various levels of obedience: the basic obedience level recognized by AKC, the CD or Companion Dog level; the next level, which is the CDX or Companion Dog Excellent level, and the highest level, the UD or Utility Dog level. The premium list will be available on this website in late Summer. The Champlain Valley Kennel Club, a local all breed club, usually offers a weekend of AKC obedience and rally trials during their annual dog show weekend. These events are also open to the public.
BOTC holds regularly scheduled practice sessions in obedience which are open to all members of the club. A representative from the club sits on the Training Council for BOTC and is responsible for scheduling times and locations for members to practice obedience exercises with their canine partners.
There are several independent dog training schools in the area which also offer obedience classes at all levels.