David Holzman, Training Director
Sir Charles School for Dogs was
named after my dog Charlie. I trained and showed my 19-pound,
black miniature poodle Obedience Trial Champion, Sir Charles
of Ruislip Manor to the highest level one can achieve in the
Sport of Dog Obedience.
In 1973, at the age of 4 years
old, and only 18 months after graduating from a beginners' class,
and 101 obedience trials later...Charlie was ranked FIRST in
the Nation...the Top Dog in the United States in Dog
Obedience Competition.
This was a culmination of a
year long odyssey on the obedience circuit. Charlie and I logged a
total of more than 50,000 miles on our quest for points and
placements at 76 trials. As it turned out we accumulated a record
point total and highest score averages of any team in the advanced
level of competition; and that covered 77,085 dogs in all
three category levels, from practically every State.
There was great satisfaction in
having trained the Number One Dog in the Sport of Dog Obedience and
it was memorable. It was like winning a Wimbledon Tennis
Championship finals... and when it was all over and Charlie had
won...an outpouring of congratulations came our way from dog
aficionados across the land...from Obedience Judge Marly Whiting of
Minneapolis - Mary Jane Kelley and her Shelty "Duffy" - Sportsmen's
Dog Training Club of Detroit. I could go on and on...for Charlie was
'very special', he was well liked, respected and admired by fellow
competitors, not only for his performance ability, but for the loving
dog he was and for the professionalism we portrayed as a
team. 
With competition comes a
'mishmash' of surmountable pressure, anxiety, and
jittery nerves. How did Charlie and I hold up under those
conditions? It may have been a mystery to some, but I'll let you in
on a secret.
1) We were patient - We
prepared ourselves ... we had done it before and knew we could do it
again.
2) We persevered - We learned from our
mistakes and made sure not to repeat them.
3) We
practiced - We did not overly practice ... but we were
consistent.
Behind the scenes of a great
athlete is his trainer. I was Charlie's trainer. I instructed him
and encouraged him and he did the rest. For 9 years Charlie and I competed
in 192 obedience trials at Gaines Classics, Regionals, Invitational contests and AKC trials in 21 states across America.
From a total of 272 AKC qualifying scores Charlie placed first 136 times, that included 49 High-In-Trial and two perfect scores of 200.
 Through the years I have been
asked, could I have been as successful training any other dog, taken
to the heights I trained Charlie. That question has provoked much
debate in my mind of whether or not I would have been able to...as
for Charlie and myself I was able to develop, over time, a unique
means by which I could communicate with him without using hand
signals, voice or body language. Charlie and I were able to respond
to each other through a thought process. This meeting of the minds
and mental telepathy response, has been unparalleled with any other
dog I have had in my care. Having said that, I don't believe I could
have been David without Charlie or Charlie could have been Charlie
without me.
Charlie's name is now in the
history books - he is Florida's First Obedience Trial Champion of Record,
certified by the American Kennel Club. Charlie's credits
include, and are honorably mentioned in the following books:
The Story of Dog Obedience by : Blanche Saunders,
1974, Howell Book House; and My Times with Dogs by:
Walter Fletcher. For 50 years, writer on dogs for the New York
Times, 1980, Howell Book House.
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On July 1, 1977, the AKC ruled that dogs with utility degrees were eligible to compete for an O.T. Ch. prefix (Obedience Trial Champion).
Charlie began his test for championship points on October 2, 1977, within 21 days, Charlie was a champion with 103 points, 3 points more than were needed.
Out of 15 open and utility classes at 8 trials, Charlie was the overall winner of 14 firsts, and one second place... and was High-in-Trial at 5 of the 8 trails entered. This almost perfect record was accomplished in the shortest time frame and would be a difficult challenge to duplicate. However, records are made to be broken and after 27 years it hasn't happened yet!
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