View Full Version : Schutzhund training & competition
Ali_Z
06-09-2006, 12:17 PM
Hello, I just got my 4 month old GSD(German Shepherd Dog) and I want to compete with him in Schutzhund. He is of German working line. His father is
V-Tim vom Frankengold KKL1A ScH3 and his mother is V- Melissa vom Haus Bandit ScH2 KKL1A, both German champion dogs. The breeder that I got Mufasa, my GSD, from was the trainer of the San Diego Police Department's Canine squad.
Does anyone else have a schutzhund dog and if so, how do you train?
Chipman
06-09-2006, 01:47 PM
Hello, I just got my 4 month old GSD(German Shepherd Dog) and I want to compete with him in Schutzhund. He is of German working line. His father is
V-Tim vom Frankengold KKL1A ScH3 and his mother is V- Melissa vom Haus Bandit ScH2 KKL1A, both German champion dogs. The breeder that I got Mufasa, my GSD, from was the trainer of the San Diego Police Department's Canine squad.
Does anyone else have a schutzhund dog and if so, how do you train?
If you do plan to work the dog in this type of discipline then you aren't the one to do it. It takes professonals to turn it into a protection dog. You might be able to turn it into a mean dog that will need to be destroyed as soon as it gets loose but it won't go any further than that.
I would go back to the person you bought it from and tell him you want it trained and you want to be a part of it, or you could turn him into a good yard dog and just enjoy him but you can't have it both ways.
Whichever way you go you need to get started on it pretty soon because you will start to have an effect on his personality which may be a good thing or a bad thing.
Ali_Z
06-09-2006, 02:32 PM
Do you know of any proffessionals located in California?
Also, how do you feel about feeding raw meat incorporated with a high quality kibble food & Vitamins C&E.
Chipman
06-09-2006, 03:00 PM
Do you know of any proffessionals located in California?
Also, how do you feel about feeding raw meat incorporated with a high quality kibble food & Vitamins C&E.
As I said you need to get in touch with the person you bought the dog from and have him advise you. Tell him you want to train the dog and ask him how to go about it.
I have no thoughts on feeding the dog raw meat it sounds like some sort of ghetto thing to me to make pitts mean.
I personally feel that you are to young to try to make a protection dog. It's just not something a kid can do well. You need to sort out all the other things in your life and not be worrying about making a defense dog.
Ali_Z
06-09-2006, 06:21 PM
The breeder advised me to train Mufasa myself. She reccomended to go by a book on schutzhund training. I am certainly not a child in respect to my character. I am physically capable as well as mentally.
The breeder advised me to train Mufasa myself. She reccomended to go by a book on schutzhund training. I am certainly not a child in respect to my character. I am physically capable as well as mentally.
I work with the USPCA national champion (I believe he's won five in a row) and several other handlers, and will only say that regardless of your age this type of training is not something to be taken lightly. If you cannot find someone to help you, who has trained a dog before for bite work, I wouldn't do it. Train your new dog to be disciplined, respond to your command, and maybe even to track. You are just asking for trouble if you go into bite training by just reading a book and either you or more importantly someone else will likely get hurt by your dog. If your breeder told you that a book is all you need to properly train your dog, they are doing you and the animal a disservice.
Ali_Z
06-11-2006, 10:15 PM
I work with the USPCA national champion (I believe he's won five in a row) and several other handlers, and will only say that regardless of your age this type of training is not something to be taken lightly. If you cannot find someone to help you, who has trained a dog before for bite work, I wouldn't do it. Train your new dog to be disciplined, respond to your command, and maybe even to track. You are just asking for trouble if you go into bite training by just reading a book and either you or more importantly someone else will likely get hurt by your dog. If your breeder told you that a book is all you need to properly train your dog, they are doing you and the animal a disservice.
I have found two clubs that train their dogs for schutzhund so I have experienced people to work with.
Thank you
Norman
06-12-2006, 03:09 AM
This is not specific für Schutzhund Ausbildung, but i had a couple of German Shepherds before.
You should allow them to have a lot of contact with other dogs, especially while he is young, else he could become aggressive towards other dogs.
I have found two clubs that train their dogs for schutzhund so I have experienced people to work with.
Thank you
Good for you. I have been lucky enough to see some of the finest police dogs in the nation train, and know that it takes a lot of time and effort in order to have a dog that will do well in competition, but more importantly be safe on the street and in the home. Having experienced people around you and helping you is a must, and these Police Officers in their 20's and 30's wouldn't think of going it alone.
Always keep in mind, that once you take your dog down this road, you need to be constantly vigilant with it around other people and animals, especially children. Shepards socialize well and most of these police dogs do very well around people, but because of their training they can and do turn. You should make every effort to socailize it and have it be comfortable around people, but should always be on your guard. Your liabilty exposure will be greatly increased so make sure you or your family are properly insured. You may need to make sure you have proper fencings, an enclosure, and signage. Good luck with you training, but make sure you stick with it.
Proper obediance and socialization starts at week twelve. Spend the next year training your dog to the point that he follows your prompts every single time without hesitation. Bite training is not performed on a young dog - the earliest age to start would be eighteen months. Unless you have four hours or more to spend on training and with him every day do not even attempt it. Hire a good trainer and do what he tells you to do. If you try to bite train him and don't do a good job you will have a dog that is very dangerous to you and others. I would definately counsel against trying to do this yourself.
Ali_Z
06-13-2006, 02:59 PM
here are some pics of Mufasa.
Norman
06-14-2006, 03:38 PM
Have you ever heard of something called hd, hip displacement?
Ali_Z
06-14-2006, 06:02 PM
Have you ever heard of something called hd, hip displacement?
Why do you say that? The parents are both certified by the OFA type system in germany.
Norman
06-15-2006, 01:37 AM
Why do you say that? The parents are both certified by the OFA type system in germany.
I think the last two pics you posted show the parents. The falling hips makes it possible that they could get HD.
One of my shepherds got it, it was not pretty at the end. You could have a doctor x-ray him when he is one year old, he might tell you how big the chance is that your dog might get it ,too.
Ali_Z
06-15-2006, 06:53 AM
I think the last two pics you posted show the parents. The falling hips makes it possible that they could get HD.
One of my shepherds got it, it was not pretty at the end. You could have a doctor x-ray him when he is one year old, he might tell you how big the chance is that your dog might get it ,too.
I will definatley get his hips x-rayed at one year and hopefully get them certified by the OFA at two years.
THe parents are fine. I saw the dam in person. She seemed great and was running around her encloused area like a champ with no sign of pain.
Chipman
06-15-2006, 07:23 AM
You can have him checked for HD at anytime. Also if you buy high dollar dogs in the future make sure they are checked by a vet fot HD before hand.
A lot dog breeders get rid of dogs with HD by selling them cheap without a check. If you get him checked now there is a good chance that surgery will fix the problem.
It would be a good idea to get it done or just call the breeder and see if he had it done.
Ali_Z
06-15-2006, 08:48 AM
The pup is having pain in his legs and is expressing it by strectching his legs and ocassionally whimpering. This, however, is normal and is due to growing pains. What growing pains are are an elongation of the femur(I believe). It will pass as the pup grows. As for hip dysplasia, no dog in his pedigree has been diagnosed with hip displasyia.
However, hip dysplasia is considered to be partially influenced by genetics. Another possible cause for the ailement is stress on the joints and diet. I treat Mufasa like glass. I don;t let him jump up while playing or run up or down the stairs.
Norman
06-16-2006, 02:41 AM
The reason why i was talking about hd is that the falling hips, which was stupidly breed into German Shepherds after 1920 and which is tried to get undone nowadays, makes them prone for HD.
I think the fourth picture that you posted showed one of the parents. He/she seemed to still have that falling hip.
If you take a look at this picture:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/f/f0/DSh_Unterschied.jpg
you will see what i mean.
The falling hip (green) makes them prone for hd, unlike the blue.
I would not give too much on the parents being fine, hd usually starts to show in an older age.
@chipman
Yes, that is basically what happened to me, except that i explicitly asked about HD and i got lied to.
Nevertheless he was the finest dog i ever had and I'm glad that i had him.
But bringing him to a vet to have him put out of his misery with 7 years was not the best day in my life.
Ali_Z , i hope you are more lucky than i was. Have a doctor check him, you will get a more qualified answer than from me looking at some pictures.
Ali_Z
06-16-2006, 08:29 AM
Thank you for your concern Norman. It deeply saddens me when I hear a story like yours. I hope that no other family has to go through the same hardship.
Ali
Ali_Z
07-06-2006, 03:07 PM
My training with Mufasa is progressing nicely and I am still in the process of finding a club to train with. The other day I was walking in my house and ten my sister came up to me and attacked me. Mufasa saw this and DESTROYED my sister. He ran so hard into her and knocked her down, then he got his jaws locked on the arm she was hitting me with. He would not let go until I pulled him off. My mom now thinks that I am training him to bite people. :D
My training with Mufasa is progressing nicely and I am still in the process of finding a club to train with. The other day I was walking in my house and ten my sister came up to me and attacked me. Mufasa saw this and DESTROYED my sister. He ran so hard into her and knocked her down, then he got his jaws locked on the arm she was hitting me with. He would not let go until I pulled him off. My mom now thinks that I am training him to bite people. :D
Your expressed goal is to train him to bite people. I wouldn't take these things lightly. At an older age he will severely damage an arm if he is allowed to bite those without sleaves. These are exactly the type of encounters (friends and family acting normally around you but in what might appear to the dog to be agressive) that you must begin disciplining both your dog and yourself for now.
Ali_Z
07-07-2006, 09:52 PM
Your expressed goal is to train him to bite people. I wouldn't take these things lightly. At an older age he will severely damage an arm if he is allowed to bite those without sleaves. These are exactly the type of encounters (friends and family acting normally around you but in what might appear to the dog to be agressive) that you must begin disciplining both your dog and yourself for now.
Ok, thanks. :)