10/19/2026
This past weekend, Helly and I successfully completed our BH-VT, an important milestone in the sport of IGP!
IGP is a competitive dog sport consisting of three disciplines: tracking, obedience, and protection. Before competing in IGP1, dogs must first pass their BH-VT, a companion dog and traffic-safety examination that evaluates obedience, temperament, and stability.
What does the BH-VT involve?
1. Obedience phase
• On-leash heeling: The dog must maintain a precise heel position through a structured routine involving changes of pace, an about turn, halts, and moving through a group of people.
• Off-leash sit exercise: The dog heels alongside the handler before being commanded to sit, remaining in position as the handler walks away and returns.
• Off-leash down with recall: The dog heels alongside the handler before being commanded to lie down. The handler walks away, then recalls the dog, who must sit directly in front before returning to heel position.
• Long down under distraction: The dog must remain lying down while another dog completes its obedience routine, with the handler positioned at a distance.
2. Traffic & temperament phase
Dogs are evaluated on their behaviour around everyday distractions, including pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, unfamiliar people, and other dogs. The goal is to demonstrate a confident, neutral, and manageable dog.
Although the BH-VT is only the beginning of our IGP journey, it represents countless hours of training, building foundations, overcoming challenges, and growing as a team.
And while sport obedience looks different from everyday pet dog training, the foundations are much the same: clear communication, engagement, impulse control, neutrality, and consistency.
These are the same principles we value and incorporate into our training at Reliable Canine 🐕
