Schutzhund? Tracking?

alfi

Oh yeah he trains for every foot step I think it helps with the style!

About 'stis' and 'platz' commands...what I meant is if these words mean the same thing for your dog? Cause here in Europe most of the dogs when you ask for a "stay" they stay in a lay down position. My father from the start wanted these to mean different things. So "stay" means stay in whatever position you are when I give the command and "down" means lay down.

You really need to see Chico bringing back the article and staying on track!

I really wanted to ask ...Have you started with bites yet?
I remember having a really big "fight" with my dad and trainer for this! Here most trainers start bite work as early as 6-8 months! WRONG for me! And I strongly believe that this is one of best reasons that every year less and less dogs are able to obtain IPO3/SchH3 titles. Starting bite-work at that age all you do is end up with a very reactive to bitting dog! You can see dogs fail cause they don't stop bitting even when the man stops and 2 "leave it" commands are given. Finally my dad listened to me and he did BH and AD titles and some mental tests first..which I think is the main reason Chico is so successful in the ring.

My personal advice is to leave bite-work for as late as you can. If you have the time then I suggest obtaining first a BH title for your Stark (I don't know if in US is a must before you enter a SchH trial).

I think Chico sees SchH as a game much more than a "work". He is constantly wagging his tail and you can see his happiness in his eyes. It was not the same in the K9-1 and especially in their "real scenarios" tests, where you have to do with "real" family protection and he was like a devil fighting to "save" my dad. (That's my dad's words as I wasn't there to see...lol)

Oh and another thing...here in Europe you have the chance to compete in many SchH and IPO competitions in different countries many times a year so it is easy to get titles in short time periods...is it the same there?

elisabeth

No, the "bleib" or "stay" command is not an automatic down for my dogs. Or most here in Canada and the US, "bleib" means stay as you are when I tell you.

So if the dog is standing, then he must stay standing. If the dog is on a perch, then he must remain on the perch, etc.

As for bites, no we are still doing tug work. I think in the next few months we will be moving up to a sleeve though. Right now we are working on holding the object/tug. For some reason the past week or so he has been mouthing the tug, but not holding it. He has also been a brat, so it may just be his age/hormones (I think it is).

And yes, I do plan on putting a BH on Stark before we try for our SchHA, just makes sense to do it this way.

Stark is dual registered (Canadian Kennel Club and American Kennel Club) so we have a chance to work both countries, so hopefully this will give us more opportunities to trail. Not sure how common it is to trail in another country, but I would guess if people CAN do it, then they probably DO.

Gotta head to class. Nice chatting with you! I'll be back later - tell you Dad if he has anymore questions please ask away!

alfi

I really like the BH titles...it makes you feel sure about your dog.

I have seen the same "mouthing the tug" with our 2 Malinois. Someone told me that this happens with almost every GSD/Mal/etc cause they have a "scissors bite" rather than a "hold it bite" like other breeds. I don't know if this can be true...but it may make sense in some way. You can work with this by letting him "win" when he holds it ... always in very short time steps and trying to pull him up every time before he "wins". Don't let him win if he don't hold it while pulling him up and don't praise him...praise only he does hold.

Next year he will start again with our two ACDs...hoping that Chico will obtain this year his IPO3. He will start with BH and AD late this year and then CAC (and/or maybe IWR) and some shows before IPO/SchH. Now he started already with our beloved Achilles (Belg Mal) some tracking and bite-work (Already has BH and AD).
I never thought I would love those ACD puppies...they have more energy even from the Mals! I wanted him to start IPO with Chopper (GSD) but he thinks he is slow in running. I really cannot understand his thoughts ! Ok he is slower than the Mals but Chico isn't that much faster than him. Anyway that's my dad

oliwa

That was me being funny...

ScentHound

I know, I was just being a turd...

elisabeth

This may hold some truth, but our handler seems to think it is a training/age problem at the moment.

We are working on "hold" in Utility (obedience) at the moment. I can get him to "bite" and "tug" but just holding it, he seems to not know what I want of him and either drops it at my feet (great for when we play with the ball...lol) or pushes it into my hand.

Yes, we have been doing it this way during training. When he holds the bite we allow him to walk away with it. Sometimes he is great others he tends to mouth.

I tend to encourage when he doesn't bite and hold. Right now we are using some agilitation hoping that this will increase his hold.

Our handler was going to back tie him and then agitate (tease) him with the rag/tug. See if this will increase the hold time and pressure?

Haven't done it just because I didn't have time to stay last week due to a major cold/flu but will hopefully try it this weekend coming.

We are going to my Dad's club the first weekend in February and I will have him evaluate by that handler as well. Nothing against our handler but we will be going for vacation and thought, "what the heck, why not see what another handler's opinion is".

ACD's? Austrailian Cattle Dogs? Never seen one work in SchH or any other sport besides agility and herding! That would be wonderful to see!


More energy than a Mal?! That is WAY TOO MUCH DOG for me.. lol. We have 3 Mals at our club and a 6 month old Mal in our agility class... WOAH.. The energy, drive, etc., etc., they have... gotta have an experienced handler/owner/dog enthusist to own that breed.

alfi

Oh yeah Australian Cattle Dogs ...they are about 5 months old now and they already try to herd our other dogs!! lol! crazy pups...and I LOVE the way they do it! sneaky bitting noses and legs!! Hilarious!

I love their look and it would be very cool and rare to see in SchH trials.

About their energy level that's my guess...I'll wait to see them grown ...so far they are the most energetic pups I ever had!...the Mals?...not even close!!
They look to me like having a GSD with the energy of a Border Colie, the power of a Rottie and the craziness of a JRT. They only sleep at night...playing all day teasing the other dogs.

elisabeth

Those sound like great puppers!

I love the high energy dogs!

I would love to own a Mal one day but to be honest, the GSD's have stolen my heart, not sure if I will ever own another breed.

alfi

I can feel you!!! These dogs are a show off! I don't know but I feel that my 3 GSDs communicate with me in a different level. ...one thing I would only want more in them is the "hard" that the Mals have...if I make sense

elisabeth

I think to get that "hardness" or "extreme" you would have to look at the different lines within the GSD's.

I know the Czech lines have that "extreme-ness" (is that a word?lol) and I have very much been considering a dog from these lines. I would love another from DDR lines as they have everything I want in a GSD; drive, versitility, health, tempermant, and soundness.

I will have to agree on how they are definitely different from any other breed. They do communicate to their 'pack'. They try to "talk" to you, it's almost scary sometimes.. lol.