| Subject: MONDIO RING/CROSSPOST FROM LONGWOODS BOARD |
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Date Posted: 03:42:49 11/29/08 Sat
By Edwin Espejo Portal, Chronicles from Mindanao by a Mindanao journalist(2005)
BUSINESSMAN Francisco “Tito” Santos prides himself of being an owner of two of only eight “working dogs” that has passed the Level 1 rigid test of the Mondio Ring, a burgeoning international competition that pit pedigreed dogs in a show of obedience, agility and protection.
Sounds Greek to you, non-dog lovers? Well, that is because in the country today, only eight registered dogs are qualified to join the international competition and only 22 are regularly joining them in the “national circuit”, if you could call it.
Two of these Mondio Ring competitions were held in the city as one of the many highlights of the recently concluded 7th Tuna Festival.
But before jumping the gun on you, let me share the story behind the thriving sport as narrated by Tito, grandson of the late Maj. Gen. Paulino T. Santos, on whose honor this city was named. History of the sports Mondio Ring, he begins, is a combination of various European-style dog competitions that only began to evolve during the last 25 years. It literally means “World Ring”. “They call it Schutzund in Germany. The Belgians have their own, so have the Dutch and the French that traced its origin in the 18th century,” Santos said over a cup of coffee. Bringing these working dogs into a competition however created confusion as well as animosity as no standard set of exercises was set until the 1980s when dog enthusiasts, primarily Europeans, finally get to agree to form the Mondio Ring to “bridge the stability test.” The effort led to the organization of Groupe de Travail Du Mundo Ring (GTDM). There are only 22 member countries in the said organization and the Philippines was the 20th to join the said group, according to Tito. Much of the “lengua” or terminology used in Mondio Ring is derived from the French who are largely credited for the creation of the sports. Asi, for example, is a French command for sit. Dabo is for stand and cochete is for down or crouching position. Working dogs Any dog can be trained for Mondio Ring competitions. But only registered and pure pedigreed canines are qualified to join international competitions. Tito said the Belgian Malinois is the most preferred breed used by Mondio Ring competitors for its agile body and innate aggressiveness. Mondio Ring dogs are, after all, primarily trained to protect their masters while at the same time performing obedience and agility tests. Ever since men learned to domesticate dogs, Tito explained, canines were already treated as pets. Royalties and monarch in medieval Europe began to feed and groom their dogs as such and later on showcase them with their peers. Not long after, dog shows became a regular feature in gatherings and finally evolved into a sports discipline - the ones you are watching in Outdoor Games over ESPN channel on your cable television. But by process of elimination, unfortunately, some dogs lost their aggressiveness and became too domesticated. The German Shepperds, for example, were bred to make their hinds so lowered that they lost some of their agility. The Rottweillers have become so big that making it to the Mondio Ring competitions is already a laborious effort and so are the American Bulldogs. In fact, there are only two American Bulldogs certified to join the Mondio Ring competition in the world. One of them, Justice, is incidentally owned by a Filipino. But Tito said, any dog could be trained for the Mondio Ring including local dogs, the “askals”, and toy dogs. But for purposes of international competition, he recommends pedigreed canines. A Mondio Ring dog can be had for as low as P10,000 for a pup or as much as P400,000 for a trained adult. Tito says it is best to acquire a pup for easier training. Training will cost an owner between P3,000 to P5,000 a month. For a pup, it will entail sacrifices for its owner. Training a pup will take at least 18 months before it could be ready for competition. During that period, owners are advised to entrust their dogs to the trainer, visiting them only occasionally in order to maintain acquaintance with their dogs. Again, Belgian Malinoises are the preferred pups. “By the time they reach 10 months, they are more or less mature enough to absorb all the training and skills required in the competition,” Tito revealed. No room for cheats All dogs entered in Mondio Ring competitions will have to pass through rigid qualifying events and will have to be certified by a GTDM-affiliated member organization. In the Philippines, the affiliated organization is the Philippine Mondio Ring Association Inc., which has seven member clubs. Before one could join the competition, a dog owner must present registration papers of his entry where the history and pedigree of his dog is indicated. That certification will be its lifetime pass in any competition where his dog is qualified. You cannot substitute any dog. It is a big no-no. “Besides, we are only a few and we know its other’s dogs,” Tito adds. The competitions Before a dog can join the Mondio Ring competition, it has to pass the prevete or qualifying tests. It entails performing basic tricks and obeying fundamental commands. Once it has passed the prevete, its could already join a Mondio Ring tournament. The Mondio Ring competition has three levels. And the degree of difficulties of the commands and tricks in each level becomes harder as the dog progress. Level 1 requires an entry to perform several basic commands in the obedience, agility and protection. Among these are the following: the one-minute lowdown with distraction, three positions, poison test, retrieve exercises. Entries are also given the choice to either to perform high or long jumps or scale a wall. Finally, dogs are required to showcase its ability to protect its master from an attacker with a gun, an attacker with a stick and an attacker from behind its masters. Boy, you would love to see these dogs walking on their back facing a potential attacker. Level 2 entails performing all the tricks in Level 1 with added tricks like scent discrimination, six command positions, hurdling two consecutive obstacles involving higher or longer hurdles, protection with different obstacles and the hold and bark exercise. Level 3 is even harder. Before a dog is certified as having passed the Level 1 competition and to be qualified for the level 2 competition, it has to score at least 80 per cent of the 200 points required in at least two competitions involving two different judges. No matter how many competitions it joined and passed, a dog could not join another level if these tournaments are scored by the same judge. Then before a dog could be certified as Level 2 competitor, it has to score at least 80 per cent of the 300 points required for every trick and commands. It is 80 percent of the needed 400 points in level 3 competition. To date, no Filipino-owned dog has joined an international Mondio Ring competition. “That is our dream one day,” Tito said as he was joined by beauteous wife Malou in our table. Training dogs and joining competitions have some therapeutic effect and give owners and trainers great satisfaction. “It is like winning the lotto. Competition is very stiff and qualifying alone in Level 1 event is already a major feat,” Tito said. Ash and Chico, both Belgian Malinois, are two of his 10 or so dogs that have already passed the Level 1 competition and could already join the Level 2 event. He said he is thrilled to see Ash and Chico pass the Level 2 event but that would mean joining an international event which could cost quite a fortune. “I would like to see them compete in the world arena,” he said.
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