Learning to Open Your Mind

Your relationship with your dog is a valuable asset in your life. Science is just starting to realize that our animal companions help us to relax and endure the ever increasing levels of stress in our lives.

I was talking with a friend of mine about this and how

therapy dogs that visit sick people have remarkable results in helping those patients with their condition, all of which is being scientifically proven daily.

And my friend said, "I know all that's great. But if my dog is supposed to relieve all this stress, why is it that there are times when my best friend just seems to add to that stress, not alleviate it?"

I responded by saying that I think it's all about learning to    communicate with your dog. When I refer to this type of learning, it's not about the traditional classroom where you know memorize things and wonder if the teacher will put it on the final. To me learning is the ability to remember a time when you were insatiably curious.

For example, when you were a child and your parents had a birthday or a Christmas present for you and they kept it all wrapped up and hidden somewhere. You knew it was there in the closet waiting for you, and maybe you snuck in and you held that present and you thought 'what's in here? I gotta find out.' You shook it and you began to imagine what you could do with this wonderful gift that was right here in front of you.

Or when you were a child, maybe it was the first time you saw that brilliant flash of color fly right by you. You saw your first butterfly and you looked at it with wide open wonder and you thought 'oh my gosh, what is that?' and the world just seemed a mysterious and wonderful place.

You see, as far as I can tell, learning is about the ability to open your mind completely. To me that's the way it really works.

Now let's solve your canine problem.

Basic Orientation

Pavlov's Law --

Pavlov was a scientist in the 1800's who discovered that behaviors could be triggered by signals. He would attach test tubes on the dog's mouth just below the salivary glands to measure the behavioral response. He used a bell as a signal. He would ring the bell, present a plate of food to a hungry dog, and the dog would salivate (in anticipation of the reinforcement). The response was measured in the test tubes. After a series of repetitions the response was paired with the signal. He would ring the bell (which was his signal) then the dog would salivate the same whether or not food was presented. It became an automatic response upon hearing the signal.

It makes sense if I were to pair a dollar with a signal. Every time I see you doing what I like, I tell you "good" and give you a dollar. After a few times you will come to expect the reward system, and even figure out what I want from you. If you went home with 35 dollars in your pocket after our session, you would very quickly pair the two together and you might even go home and practice.

The dog's mood has a lot to do with it's learning. This was part of Pavlov's formula--present the food to the hungry dog. If I were to tell you today is a bonus day and for every "good" you get $100, you would get very excited. Our dogs respond the same way. They might get attentive with dry kibble, but they get really excited when it's a piece of meat or cheese or whatever your dog really likes. So we pair the word or sound "good" with food. Like Pavlov the reward and the signal get paired together. When the dog hears "good" the dog salivates just like Pavlov's dogs. So this is the secret to our goal for off leash obedience without food. We pair our word "good" with food. So any time you give treats to your dog, say "good", present the treat and pet your dog because touch is also a signal.

Have you ever been to a concert where the sounds were so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think, let alone hear someone speak? Supposed you wanted to leave. Typically you would give someone a signal that you want their attention, maybe by giving them a tap on the shoulder. Then when they turn to you and make eye contact, you could yell and gesture, "Let's get out of here". Once eye contact is established, then a line of communication becomes open and it's much easier communicate our needs. Our dogs are in a similar situation. They have a concert going on in their head and we need a signal to cut through the noise. When your dog is at the end of the leash barking and pulling, they have a lot of noise going on inside their head. Since our goal is off leash obedience, we need a signal to get the dog's attention. We pair the word "no" with a punishment reinforcement, a quick abrupt snap on the collar with the leash while you say "no" with each pop. In time the two are paired together.

The scientist proved this with an experiment where they would put volunteers in a chair with electrodes hooked up to them. They told them when they set off a red light signal and sound they get a shock. When they set off the green light, they would not get a shock but it meant that the red light would follow. After a few repetitions of this exercise, the students came to expect and tense up for the shock. Even when the shock was not applied, they still tensed up for the shock--just like Pavlov dogs, the behavioral responses were programmed to do so.

So corrections can be triggered as well as positive

responses like the anticipation of food. The question

becomes how hard to deliver the correction. The dog tells you how hard to correct. Your dog's response should be to look back at you to see what the heck just startled them. When they look back you need to be prepared to repeat the command and gesture to help the dog understand what you want.

For more Information on this subject please see our

Basic Orientation Book!. This small book expands on the information in this article.

Dog Training

Use food to train the dogs. I find that small pieces of    carrots work best, or you could mix small pieces of hot dog, cheese, or carrots.

Please train before you feed their meals. You will have better success. If they have a good training session, feed them immediately afterward so that they connect the training with the feeding.

Lesson 1

1. Call the dog's name using a consistent voice tone. When the dog makes eye contact with you, praise the dog enthusiastically, e.g., "good dog" then give him a treat. Walk away then repeat Step 1 again. If the dog    ignores your call, get up close, let him smell the treat, then proceed with step one. This step can be practiced any time of the day or night.

2. While holding a treat, call the dog's name. When he makes eye contact, praise him, then walk backward enticing with your hands held forward and cupped. If he does not follow, entice him with kissing sounds and by opening and closing your hands so that he can see/smell the treat. This should get the animal to follow. Allow his nose to touch your hands. Stop, give him the treat, then praise with "good dog" and pet him.

3. Take the dog's favorite toy and swing it in the air enthusiastically, while encouraging the dog to play. Toss the toy, then quickly run to it. The dog should run to pick up the toy. If he does, quickly praise him with "good dog",

give him a treat, and pet him. If he ignores his toy, pick it up and toss it again. If he ignores the toy a second time, entice him by following Step 2 above, i.e., entice with kissing sounds, etc.

Before you go on to Lesson 02, practice each day until your dog is doing these skills reliably and with ease.

Obedience

Training

Center:

Remember to practice at least one 15 minute session per day. One time is good, more often is better!

Remember only one word commands!

Start and end with easy exercises.  Do learning exercises in the middle of the session.

Always end a training session with COME!, then PLAY!!!

Lesson 2

Review the three steps in Lesson 1.

Sit

With the dog near you, call his name. Hold the treat out to him in your hand. Bring hand toward your body and upward over the dog's head, which will cause

him to sit. Say the word "Sit". As he sits, praise with "good dog" and give the treat. Pet on the head if he is very enthusiastic.

Down

From the sit position, while holding a treat in your hand, tell the dog "Down" and motion to the dog to go down by lowering your hand or patting the ground in front of him. If he is tentative about going down, you may gently move his leg downward so that he understands your command. Once he is down, give him the "good dog" praise then give him the treat. If he does this quickly, you may pet him on the back, from his head to his tail.

Stand

From the down position, tell the dog to "Stand" while holding a treat in your hand, close to the dog's nose. Move your hand away from the dog's nose in a parallel position and take a step back with your left foot. This will cause the dog to stand. Praise him with "good dog" and give him a treat. From this position you can practice the "Sit, Down, and Stand commands" a few times.

Finish

Without a leash

A. Stand facing the dog. While holding a treat, place your left hand by the dog's nose and make an outward then backward then circular motion and bring your hand forward and up your left side. The dog should follow and come to sit at your side. Praise him with "good dog" and give him a treat. When you are ready to relax, tell the dog, "play, play" then he will know it's okay to release his position.

With a leash

B. Attach a leash to the dog's collar. Stand facing the dog. Hold the leash loosely in both hands, along with the treat. Place the treat on top of the leash so that the dog can see/smell it. The dog should follow your backward motion as described

in A. above. You should NEVER TUG at the leash, but simply provide guidance.

Before you go on to Lesson 03, practice each day until your dog is doing these skills reliably and with ease.

Lesson 3

Holding the leash

Place the lock side of the lead on the ground and hold with the left foot. Slip the thumb of the right hand into the loop of the six-foot lead then loop again so that the lead falls loosely next to your leg on the right-hand side.

Another way to hold the leash is to loop it around both hands.

Practice a quick pull and release (tug) to the side. The pull can be either to the right or to the left. Never pull up.

Working with the Dog

To work with the dog on the leash, place a choke chain on the dog in the "P" position. Be sure the chain is high up on the neck. There should be about 2-3" of slack at the loop. If there   is more, the chain is probably too long.

When working with the dog on leash give:

Command

Tug

Signal (tap the side of your left leg to let dog know where to   position)

Praise (only if dog responds)

Repeat the process if the dog fails to respond

Begin the lesson with the dog on your left-hand side, with the leash in front of you, held in the right hand and down on the side by your right leg. Give the dog the "Heel" command, tug, signal, and praise as you slowly begin walking. You may pet the dog's side of the head if he stays near your side. You may also give verbal praise.

If the dog begins to stray as you are walking, give a verbal command of "ugh, ugh". If he responds, praise the animal. There is no need to tug. If he does not respond to the verbal command, say "No" and simultaneously give a quick tug, signal the dog's position, and praise him when he responds. If the dog strays to the left, the tug should be to the right; if the dog walks in front of you, tug to the left.

Right Turn About

As you approach the corner with the dog at your side and the leash held loosely, quickly make a right turn allowing the dog to move a few feet ahead of you. As you command "Heel", gently tug, signal the dog's position, and praise.

Stay or Leave your dog

On your walk, with the leash held loosely, stop walking and give your dog the "Sit" command a few feet before he reaches the location you want him to be. DO NOT TUG! As he sits, position yourself so that the dog is on your left-hand side. Hold the leash in your left hand. Give the dog a verbal stay command and the hand signal for stay using your right hand. (The hand signal for stay is the palm held upright.) Pivot around so that you are facing your dog. Let the dog stay from 30 seconds to one minute or longer. You may give the signals again if the dog starts to wonder or lie down. If the dog starts to lie down at any time, wait until just before his elbows touch the ground and give the "Ugh, ugh" command. If this does not get his attention, then give the "No" command, tug, and praise when he responds.

Return to your Dog (for me)

To return to your dog after the stay position, pivot around to the right behind and around your dog so that you return to where the dog is situated on your left-hand side. Return the leash to your left hand. Praise the dog if he remained in his stay position. If he releases from his position, start over by getting him to sit in front of you. When you are done with this lesson, tell him, "PLAY, PLAY!"

Lesson 4

Practice the following turns:

Turn against your dog (U-Turn to the left, toward your dog)

Begin walking with your dog in the neutral position. Hold the leash in your right hand. Stop. Step back with left leg and turn. Simultaneously tug on the leash, and command "Heel". As you do this bring the leash behind your back and switch to the left hand. Signal the dog's position and praise the dog if he obeys. Continue forward. Switch the leash to right hand.

Left turn about

Begin walking your dog. Switch the leash to your left hand. Slow down. Place your left foot in front of the dog as you signal the stay position. Pivot in front of the dog and go back. Signal the dog's position.

Practice the following two stays:

Sit-Stay

From the neutral position, command the dog to "Sit". Praise the dog if he obeys. To correct, say "No" as you

tug the leash and command the dog to "Sit" once again. Give the hand signal for "Stay". Pivot around to the front

of the dog and walk backward to the end of the leash, while commanding the dog to stay. (Use both verbal and hand signals.) Hold the leash loosely in the left hand. Take the right hand and place underneath the leash with the fingers under the leash and the thumb over the leash. If the dog moves from his position, say "No" as you move the right hand upward to give the leash a tug. Command him again to "Sit, Stay" and praise. (The upward movement with the hand is the

signal for sit.) Have him hold this

position for a minute or so.

At the end of the work session, and from the "Sit, Stay"

position ask the dog to come. Reel in the leash as you move backward and command her to "Sit" in front of you. Pet and praise.

Down the dog (Down-Stay)

Standing beside your dog from the heel position or neutral position, switch the leash to the left hand. Take your left hand, in a palms-down position, and place on the leash as close to the dog as possible and gently push down toward your left heel as you command the dog "Down". If the dog resists, you may use your right hand to gently push his front legs down. Command him to "Stay". Hold leash in your left hand. Praise. Pivot in front of the dog. Stay close. Have him "Stay" for a minute or so. To CORRECT, command "No" as you tug in a downward movement, then command "Stay" and praise.

Lesson 5

Sit, Stay

From the neutral position walk your dog, then command him to "Sit". When he sits, give him the "Stay" command as you continue walking forward to the end of the leash. Be sure to glance backward should you need to correct your dog. Correct by tugging on the leash, and giving the "Sit and Stay" commands. Have the dog hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute.

Down your dog

From the neutral position, while holding the leash in your right hand, "Down" your dog using your left hand to signal. DO NOT HOLD LEASH NEAR COLLAR AND

PULL.

Gently tug on the leash if needed. Have the dog hold this position for about one minute.

Stand your dog

From the neutral position, while holding the leash in your right hand, command your dog to "Stand". As the dog rises, pet his underbelly and give him the "Stay" command. Pivot in front of him and stay close. Hold this

position for 30 seconds to one minute.

Should the dog start to sit, lift him gently from his underbelly, as you give the "Stand and Stay" commands. You may need to reposition the dog in the neutral position. Pet his tummy. Give the stay signal and pivot in front. Stay close.

Recall

From the neutral position, have your dog "Stay" as you pivot out to the end of the leash. Have the dog hold this position for 30 seconds to one minute. Command the dog to "Come" as you move quickly backward for ten steps while reeling in the leash. The dog should come to a halt in front of you and sit. Praise.

Lesson 6

This lesson is to add polish to the commands your dog has learned.

Sit

As you walk your dog, command your dog to "Sit". The trainer must stop as he makes this command, allowing the dog a few seconds to respond before correcting him. Praise him when he responds appropriately.

Come

From the "Sit" position, leave your dog and have him hold that position for 30 seconds to one minute. Command your dog to "Come" as you step backward for 10 steps. The dog should sit directly in front of you, facing you. If he needs correcting, reposition him with gentle tugs. Or have him heel, take a few steps, and have him sit.

Down

From the neutral position, command your dog to "Down". The trainer should stand erect with no body motion, except for the hand signal and voice command "Down". Praise the dog. If the dog ignores your command, correct, then praise.

Stand

From the neutral position, command your dog to "Stand". The trainer should stand next to the dog and keep the leash short while holding it in the right hand. As you make the command, lead off with your left foot and place the left hand with top finger touching the dog belly close to the hind leg. The dog will stop when his hind leg touches your finger. Praise the dog. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Pivot to the front of the dog, so that he is facing you.

Finish

Face the dog and hold the leash in your right hand. Place your left hand under his chin. Motion the dog with your hand to your left as you take a step back and the dog makes a semicircle and comes to sit at your left side. Praise. If the dog has problems with this, assist with gentle tugs of the leash. Make sure the dog is sitting straight at your side. If not, quickly command the dog to "Heel", take a few steps forward, and command the dog to "Sit". Repeat this step until the dog sits straight at your side.

Heel

As you walk your dog, you will be working on the position of his head. The ideal position is for the animal to make eye contact with you, his head looking toward your leg. If he is in the correct position, but his head (attention) is elsewhere, correct with "No" and gentle tugs as necessary. Be sure to praise when he responds. And praise exuberantly if he is in the ideal position without coaching.

Exercise Finish

From the standing position, command your dog to "Come". Take one or two steps forward, and command the dog to "Sit" as you motion upward with your hand. If the dog does not respond, command the dog to "Heel" and try again.

Lesson 7

Stand and Down

Have the dog the in the neutral position. With the leash in the left hand and the treat in the right, (show the dog the food), command the dog to "Stand" and when he responds, give him the treat. Quickly command the dog "Down" by placing another treat about two inches behind her front paws. Praise. Repeat several times, making sure that the dog's elbows hit the ground first.

Sit and walk away

From a walking position command the dog to "Sit", give the "Stay" command and continue walking to the end of the leash. Praise the dog and leave in this position for about 30 seconds. Return to the neutral position. Praise and pet when he responds.

Heel and down

From a walking position command the dog "Down". Praise. If he fails to respond, correct by placing your left hand on top of choke chain and gently pushing down and toward the back as you repeat the "Down" command. Praise and pet when he responds.

Recall

With the right hand underneath dog's chin, motion with the left hand to the left and outward until the dog returns to a neutral position. Command the dog to "Sit" if needed.

Lesson 8

Down out of motion

From the neutral position command your dog to "Heel". Take a few steps, switch the leash to the left hand, place the right foot in front of the dog, command the dog down moving the right hand down, and place the treat between the two front paws. To correct, tug the leash toward you, say "No", then praise and pet.

Sit-from the front position

Stand in front of the dog. While the dog is in the down

position, hold the treat in your right hand and lift as you command the dog to "Sit". If he fails to respond, tug upward while holding the leash in the left hand. Give the command "No", step forward and move the right hand

upward, and again give the command "Sit". Pet and praise when he responds.  - OR -

From the down position, step in front of the dog. As you lift your right hand, command the dog to "Sit". Step forward and let the dog see the treat. Step back with the treat in your hand so that the dog follows it, then bring your hands up and command the dog to "Sit". To correct, with the leash in the left hand, tug toward you as you give verbal and hand signal to "Sit". Praise and pet when he responds.

Down-from front position

From the sit position, leave your dog. Face the dog and command him "Down". Lift the right hand and hold a treat in it as you do this. To correct, tug toward you with left hand, say "No", and move right hand in a downward motion as you command "Down".

Lesson 9

Stand from Heel Position

With your dog sitting at your left side, command your dog to "Stand". Step with your left leg and place finger under her belly to hold left leg. Stand beside the dog, then leave your dog. Hold position for 30 seconds to one minute.

Stand out of Motion

As you are walking, command your dog to "Stand". Step with your left leg and place finger under her belly to hold left leg. Stand beside the dog, then leave your dog. Hold this position for 30 seconds to one minute.

Stand-from the frontal position

Face your dog and stand close by. Hold the leash in the right hand. Command your dog to "Stand" as you pivot slightly to the left and hold your finger under the dog's belly by the dog's left leg.

Down/Stand

Practice until she sets her elbows down first.

Send out

Have her "Sit and Stay". Walk away and place food on a dish. Then return to the heel position. Point with your left hand and finger and command the dog to "Go". After he eats the food off the dish, entice him to come to you with treats and kiss

sounds and walk him a few feet further from the food dish then before. Have the dog "Sit and Stay", and start the process all over again. If he fails to obey, get him closer to the food dish. Repeat this process three or four times.

Lesson 10

Review all prior techniques. Buy a pinch collar and long leash.

Introduce pinch collar. Focus on dog paying attention and making eye contact. Practice the sit out of motion and down out of motion techniques. Practice down/stand. Use treats, as necessary. Make sure elbows hit the ground first.

Down out of Recall

From the sit/stay, or down/stay position leave your dog. Stand in front facing the dog. Do a Recall-run backward, hold the leash in left hand, when he is 18-24 inches from you, stop, raise your right hand to motion down, command "Down". To correct, snap leash with the left hand, command "Down" as you place your right hand on choke chain (buckle) and gently push down and toward the dog. Command "Stay" and quickly walk out to the end of the leash.

Down out of Play

From the sit/stay position, release the dog by giving the command "Play". Run back and forth with her. On the second turn, run ahead of her, command "Down" with your right hand, while holding the leash in your left hand. Make sure that you are only 18-24 inches away. To correct, snap leash with the left hand and place your right hand on the choke chain as you gently push down and toward the dog. Command "Stay" and quickly walk out to the end of the leash.

Recall out of Play

Motion the dog to "Come". (She should be in a sit/stay position or down position.) When she is 18-24 inches away, command "Down". Correct by snapping the leash with the left hand and placing your right hand on the choke chain as you gently push down and toward the dog. Command "Stay" and quickly walk out to the end of the leash. Have her stay for one minute. Return to your dog, and

praise.

Lesson 11

"In Place Turns"

Right turn about

Step back with the right leg as you command "Heel". Pivot with the right leg as you motion the dog's position with your left hand. Command the dog to "Sit".

Left turn about

Hold the leash in the left hand. As you step in front of the dog, hand signal the dog to stay. Quickly, give the "Heel command" while signaling the leg position. Take two steps forward and command the dog to "Sit".

Turn against your Dog

Step back with your left foot as you command "Heel". Pivot with the right leg as you motion the dog's position with your left hand on your left leg and switch the leash from your right hand to your left hand. Command the dog to "Sit".

Techniques to practice

Practice the down/stand technique. Place the treat just between her front paws. Also, whenever you see her stretching with her behind in the air, say the word bow and praise her.

Lesson 12

Practice "in place" turns. Take the dog around other animals/distractions while you train him to focus on you. Pay special attention to the head position.

THE END FOR NOW

Dr. Dennis Fetko, nationally known dog behaviorist and trainer states, "Dogs need exercise like they need air, food and water." Dr. Ian Dunbar, internationally recognized dog behaviorist states, "A tired dog is a good dog. Dogs also need mental exercise…Fido needs to go sniff a new bush once in a while."

Not all methods of exercise are appropriate for all dogs or all owners. Check with your veterinarian and use common sense regarding exercising your dog.

Ways to Give Your Dog Physical/Mental Exercise

  1.  Walking

  2.  Obedience exercises

  3.  Retrieving

  4.  Playing with other dogs

  5.  Swimming

  6.  Round robin recalls (multiple people calling dog)

  7.  Hide and seek (with people or toys)

  8.  Jogging

  9.  Running with a bicycle

10.  Hiking, backpacking

11.  Hunting

12.  Herding

13.  Agility

14.  Flyball

15.  Tug of war (*see note)

16.  Wrestling (*see note)

17.  Get your bone exercise

18.  Go to your place exercise

19.  Creative toys (food cubes, Kong filled with food)

20.  Breed related work (i.e., hunting, herding, etc.)

      Remember, most dogs do not exercise themselves, no matter how much space they have. The average dog sleeps about 18 hours per day unless there is something more interesting to do. To have a calmer, better behaved dog, you must actively structure and supervise ways for the dog to work off excess energy.

*Note: When rough-housing or playing competitive games with your dog, you must end the session with calming

behaviors EVERY time. That means you give an "out" command, take the toy from the dog and massage or calmly pet the dog until he is in a relaxed state.

Dinner Time!

Tools: Food bowl, tennis ball or other favorite toy, 30 foot long line

The game you play with the dog is use the food bowl by placing it about 20-30 feet away from you. Heel toward the food bowl slowly. If the dog moves ahead of you one or two steps, back up one or two steps and start over, or back up to the point where the dog was perfect. If the dog surges ahead to the end of the leash, then go back to the starting point and begin from there again. As long as the dog stays by your side in the heel position, you continue to move towards the food.

The goal is to have the dog walk in a perfect heel position within 3-4 feet of the food bowl. Then release the dog to his food. The session is now over. Repeat this game each day until you are able to heel all the way to the food bowl and the dog remains by your side.

Once the dog has learned the heel position reliably, you add the sit behavior. Heel at least ten steps before you ask the dog to sit. Heel toward the food bowl, in a perfect heel position backing up as necessary if the dog makes a mistake, then ask for the sit behavior. When the dog sits quickly, release the dog to the food bowl and end the training session. If the dog sits slowly or crookedly, back up a few steps and start over. Continue to heel toward the food bowl and try the sit behavior again. If the dog refuses to do the sit behavior, go back to the starting point and begin again. Continue this series of commands until the dog

performs a perfect heel and a straight sit upon command, then release to the food bowl and end the session.

Once the dog has perfected a quick sit upon command, add other behaviors. Follow the same steps for this series of commands:

Heel/Sit/Down/Release

Heel/Sit/Stand/Release

Heel/Sit/Leave your dog for Recall/Recall/Release (the food should be behind you on the recall)

As the dog advances in his training, you can begin to

skip the sit command and go directly to the down or stand commands:

Heel/Down/Release

Heel/Stand/Release

Heel/ Stay/ Leave your dog for Recall/Recall/Release (the food should be behind you on the recall)

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No Jump Game

If your dog jumps against his kennel or barrier when he sees you coming, don't give any verbal commands. Stop about 10 feet away from the kennel and wait for the dog's feet to hit the ground. Once all four feet are back on the ground, take 1 step towards the kennel. If the dog's feet remain on the ground, take another step. If the dog jumps on the kennel, take 1 step back and wait for the dog's feet to hit the ground again. If the dog doesn't jump to the ground, take another step back. The punishment is that you continue to move away until the dog stops jumping. His reward is getting out of his kennel by being calm and not jumping against the kennel.

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Fixing Problems Game

If you are having a problem with a certain behavior, mix training that behavior with play. For example, the dog doesn't like to be in the down position. During your training session, give the Down command. If he won't do the down behavior, physically help him into the down position. As soon as the dog completes the behavior, release and play (throw a toy, chase, etc.) for 15-30 seconds. Then call the dog back to you, command the dog to down again. Repeat until he does it enthusiastically on his own, then release and play. Repeat at least 10-12 times until the dog seems to understand the reward for performing the down behavior is play. (Subnote: The dog should be on a 30 foot long line to ensure you can end the play session when calling the dog to you.)

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Recall Game!

Another game to play is have your dog in the sit position at your left side. Give the stay command and throw a tennis ball out and away from you. Leave your dog for recall, walk 4-6 feet away from your dog and call the dog to you. When the dog comes and sits straight in front of you, release the dog to his ball. Let the dog play for about 15-30 seconds, call the dog to you and repeat the exercise 6-10 times. (Subnote: The dog should be on a 30 foot long line to ensure you can end the play session when calling the dog to you.)

This exercise teaches your dog to search for a special chew toy, find it, and lie down and chew on it for a length of time. "Get your bone" can help prevent or minimize

destructive chewing, digging, excessive barking, licking, and/or pestering people for attention. The result of this

exercise is appropriate chewing, and an outlet for stress or anxiety rather than engaging in destructive behaviors. The dog learns what you want it to chew and earns the reward associated with your presence and praise.

Chewing is a normal, natural canine behavior. It is an

enjoyable pastime for many dogs. Dogs chew because they are bored, they have lots of energy or they're curious. Dogs don't instinctively choose chew toys over rugs, furniture, shoes or other household items. They need to be taught what is okay to chew on and what is not.

How to teach "get your bone":

A. Start by searching with the dog while you excitedly command "get your bone!" Once found, if the dog doesn't readily pick up the chew toy, gently offer it and encourage the dog to take it in its mouth. Praise the

dog excitedly for taking it.

B. Praise the dog excitedly and repeat the command while the dog holds the toy in its mouth: "Good dog! Get your bone! Good dog!".

C. For the next two weeks, the "bone" becomes the dog's reward for your attention. If the dog drops the toy, walk away and ignore the dog for a few minutes. Then repeat steps A and B. Praise the dog when you practice "get your bone" and if it has the chew toy in its mouth. Otherwise, ignore it.

D. Play games to excite your dog's interest in the chew toy. Toss the toy and praise the dog for approaching it. Try calmly holding one end of the toy while the dog chews on the other end. (Avoid playing tug-of-war.)  Excitedly point at the toy from a distance and run to the bone with your dog, excitedly commanding "Get your bone!"

E. Once your dog reliably gets the toy on command, use it to earn your praise and attention. Ask your dog to "get your bone" before being petted, being allowed to come indoors, being fed, being allowed on your lap, etc. If your dog is pestering you or your guests for attention, command your dog to "get your bone" and praise while he lies down and chews on the toy.

F. Eventually, direct your dog to "get your bone" a few minutes before you leave the house and insist the dog "get your bone" to earn your greeting when you return home. It is then likely that your dog will chew on the toy rather than your furniture or other household items when it gets the urge to chew in your absence.

G. For added fun, make a hide-and-seek game out of "get your bone". Command the dog to stay. You hide the chew toy. Then tell the dog, "okay, get your bone". Praise your dog for finding it.

TrainingTo homepage menu

How to pick your puppy

Tracking Theory part 1

Tracking Theory part 2

Obedience of the Schutzhund program

Defense training of Schutzhund

Prepare your dog for a trial

Different training arts and their consequences

The truth about defense

About drives and character

What is a " real " working-dog ?

Pictures

How to pick your puppy

HOW TO PICK YOU PUPPY

The great adventure begins:

2,5 weeks Hexental puppy

 The day that you decide to buy a dog. Some of you have already had a dog, others are newcomers. 

The first selection is to choose the purpose of your future dog: family dog, working dog, show dog, show and breed dog, etc. But the best is to make a clear choice about working or show bloodlines because of the big differences in performance in their field.

Your next important choice is the breed. We have about 25 recognized dog breeds to do the IPO SchH program, so there begins the first important choice. Which breed? You choose a certain breed for a certain reason, but then you have in almost all popular working breeds the beauty lines and the working lines. The pedigrees of both will often be completely different, so a clear separation of type will be visible. So again you have to make a decision: Working line or beauty line? But pay attention, a good working dog can also be a beautiful dog, it's not true that every ugly dog comes from working lines!

It is necessary that before you make a reservation, you have to have as much information as possible about your breed. Read books before you buy a puppy, go and look on shows, on trials, ask for information in the recognized breed clubs. One good advice is not to ask for information from a breeder about another breeder, this would most of the time give incorrect advice. Get as much information as possible and trust your feeling or instinct. There are so many things which are involved with the resume of a dog. A lot of titles or scores are reached by politics and help, and not just by the dog himself. Always make sure that the performance in show or work of a certain dog are achieved under different judges and at different places. So you eliminate the risk of dealing with a "made champion". We have 3 different champions, the "made Champion", the "real Champion" and the "would be Champion". Which Champion is not marked on the pedigree, so be careful not to be convinced with paperwork.

Go and see for yourself trials, shows, training or ask for videos or other virtual material and trust your feeling. It is not always a title on a paper which gives quality on a breeding. I know a lot of untitled dogs who produce far better offspring than some big Champions. It is important that both

of the parents are good, most of the time a breeder goes with a poor bitch to a reputed stud dog in the hope that he will bring all the quality. The female is also responsible for 50% of the products. This bitch is even more important (about 70%) to the character specifications of the puppies, because of the influence in the first 8 weeks of the life of the puppies. So when you want a dog for working, inform yourself as much as possible of the qualities of the mother. How are the relatives of this bitch? Are there several good dogs in this family or is she the only good one? This last possibility is not ideal for breeding, these types of dogs are called "coincidence" and have more negative genes than positive. Let's say you have found a good parenting pair, then all the problems are not solved yet. Some combinations are not good, the bloodlines have to fit. There are several proofs of 2 Champions who produce together nothing else but poor puppies. Let's presume that you've found a future quality litter, then still there are risks of not having a good puppy. It is necessary that the dog fits his owner.

There are different character types of man and dog. It is also the task of the breeder to put the right puppy to the right owner. The choice of this 8 week old doggy is an important step for the success of the following career of the team.

The choice of the sex of the dog depends for a big part on the purpose. When you want to breed, it can only be a bitch, for the sport a male is better. He is stronger and has normally more character and does not come in season like the females.

There are several aspects which can be tested with a youngster of minimum 7 weeks of age: 

1. The exterior; this has nothing to do with the working abilities.2. The character; which has 6 different aspects: Self assurance, prey drive, dominance, temperament, forgiveness and fight drive. 

For show qualities every breed has his own specifications, so it will take us too long to write all this down. As a working Rottweiler breeder I have invented the following puppy test:

Each puppy is marked with a paint spot so you can separate them from each other. A list is made for every individual puppy with each different aspect of character. The test person must be a complete stranger for the litter, and the testing place must be new also. In place of testing the whole litter together, they must be tested individually! The breeder is looking from a distance, his puppies may not see, smell or hear him. The youngster to be tested is taken by the tester to the "battlefield", he puts the dog down and goes fast several meters backwards where he remains still and observes well. The ideal is a puppy who immediately starts exploring the new place. Not good is a crying, desperate puppy who stays on his place or turns hopelessly around.

The following step of the test is, the tester sits down on the ground and tries to call the puppy with a friendly voice. Important is the way the youngster comes. Does he come spontaneously and sure of himself or is he unsure and sneaking?

The tester calms down the doggy and lifts him up for the next exercise. He puts the dog down on his back on the floor and pushes with a hand palm hard enough on his chest & belly. He may not play with him, just push the puppy on his belly. This is a delicate exercise because both a puppy who is dominant and a puppy who is scared and is in panic, will try to be on his feet quickly. You must look carefully to see the difference between dominance and fear. A tractable type will stay for a longer time on his back without moving, what is not necessarily negative.

After this test the doggy must be calmed down by playing with the tester. The next step is to seek an object made of plastic or steel that is round and heavy for the puppy ( a screwdriver, a steel water pipe, etc) then the attention of dog must be asked by moving and teasing this object. The moment the dog is chasing the retrieve object, throw it about a meter away. Ideal is a youngster who is instantly takes the object in his mouth and brings it back to the tester (after he called the dog). Not good is a puppy who lets the object fall several times, or does not have interest at all.

The next exercise is done with a little rag or a piece of tissue. Again the tester must try to attract

the interest of the puppy to bite the rag. In place of pulling and moving the rag during biting, the tester just pulls with light pressure and doesn't move the rag. Ideal is a puppy who pulls intensely and tries every possibility to get the prey. Not good is a dog who lets go of the rag the moment it is not moving anymore, or a non interested dog.

The next step is a part of the self assuredness test which is tested on noise and unknown objects or situations. The tester needs a big plastic sack or a box with noise making things in them. He must let this object fall down just near the unexacting puppy. A tool which makes a lot of noise, a car horn, a starting engine, whatever is unknown for the youngster. The doggy may have a little moment of fear but has to instantly regain his positives. He has to have interest in exploring the unknown thing. Ideal is a puppy who goes directly in the direction of the new thing. A puppy who becomes panicked after the fear, is not suitable for the top sport.

The last test is the forgiveness, this is very important for any puppy ! The tester engage the puppy in play, once he's certain the youngster is focused on the game, take his paw and pinch him (hard enough to make him yelp) on the fatty edge of the webbing between his toes. The ideal reaction on this part of the test is forgiveness. When the pinch is over, the puppy should forgive him quickly, wither by re-engaging in play or licking the tester and allowing him to pet it again. The puppy that runs away and refuses to return is not going to be a good dog. Nor is the puppy who's going too high in defense-drive and attack's the tester. Forgiveness is crucial for any kind of training.

With this test a score can be given on each part of the exercise and from this a choice can be made. A good and attentive breeder will know the test score before the test is done, because he has seen them grow and develop. This test is no guarantee on later performance, it is .only a trustful proof on the present quality of the litter.

After the puppies are chosen, each go to different environments and will be raised on different methods. These influences will have an important consequence on developing of the character.

Always remember, A good trainer can make out of a moderate puppy, a very good working dog, but a bad trainer makes out of a very good puppy a poor scoring dog.

Copyright by Guy Verschatse

Belgium

 

 

What exactly is IPO or SCHH ?

IPO / SCHH (International Trial Rules) is one of the "great dogsports" in Europe. Since Schutzhund primarily was for German Shepherds, the international dog association FCI decided to create a sport where ALL breeds could compete and today many people train and compete  IPO and-or SCHH. 

IPO is a working dog sport comprised of 3 disciplines : tracking, obedience and protection. IPO is tested in 3 progressively harder levels, earning the degree IPO I, IPO II, IPO III, with level III being the hardest.Each discipline is assessed on 100 points. The maximum number of points per

competition is 300 points.

Before being admitted to a competition according to IPO, all the dogs entered must be submitted first to a test of sociability: the BH.

Tracking theory part 1

TRACKING THEORY

Tracking can be learned by almost every dog, when the correct method is used.

A Schutzhund competition is usually won (or lost) already in the first exercise.....Tracking ! So you can understand the importance of this exercise.. .

Here follows the best "Step by Step" theory on the web. The only thing that you need is a dog that likes to eat ! Please understand that you need to follow this method correctly as small differences makes the end result.

WHAT YOU NEED

A bag (to put all your tracking stuff in), a tracking flag (pole), a closed plastic pot of ± Ø12cm (in a natural color), a line of ±3 meter, 3 or 4 different treats as cookies, cheese, hotdog and sausage meat (soft meat that can be eaten very fast) cut this into ±50 cubes of 1cm in size.

THE FIRST LESSONS

You can start with a puppy that is used to his chain. The little dog will be 3 or 4 months old. Important: Always make sure that the dog is hungry, with a full stomach he has no reason to track!

The best tracking conditions are no wind, fresh green grass of ±10cm height, not too hot, not too cold and in the early morning. You always lay the track without the presence of your dog and wait minimum 15 minutes before you get him.

FIRST LESSONS

You take the closed plastic pot that contains the small pieces of cheese or flesh. You step a circle of ±1 m Ø, one step against the other and you throw the bits everywhere in this circle (Fig A). You make 3 of these circles next to each other, with safe distance from each other. The 3 circles each contain a different type of rewards.

Then you go and wash your hands (the dog may not make the connection of your hands and the

rewards) or at least clean them well with grass.

After 15 minutes you get your dog and show him with your hand (the palm of your hand up, otherwise the dog may think the bits are coming out of your hand!) where to search. The only word that you say is "Such" (search in German - pronounced "sook"), never say the name of your dog or he will look up to you. If the dog is searching with a deep nose on the right place, you say nothing ! When the dog puts his head up, or doesn't look in the right place you show him with your hand the right place and say "Such". Let the puppy eat the rewards as much as possible and then leave the field by telling him he has done well. You don't let him search before he enters the track or after leaving the track!!!

Practice this training 3 times after each other until the puppy understands the word "Such" (associates the word to following the track and finding the rewards). If you only track one time, the dog will forget most till next lessons after a few days.

You can do this type of tracking about 10 times, than you will see that your puppy knows what to do when he comes at the tracking flag.

FURTHER LESSONS

Take the tracking flag and  2 plastic containers with 2 different cheese or/and flesh bits. Put the tracking flag always on the left side of the beginning of the track (Fig B.), with the flag pointing in the direction of the track. Always make a pre-start of ±2 meters before the flag. This means you step heavily 2 or 3 times, over and again on the same pre-track. Then you wait ±1 minute near the flag before starting the definitive track. Then you push the top of your left foot into the ground and pull this foot back ±3cm (now you have a little hole in the top of your footprint, where you put the reward bit in). You then put your right foot the same way into the ground and also fill the hole with a bit. Do the rest of the track like this, within every footprint is a reward, between every step (reward) is a distance of ±30cm. The length of these first tracks should be ±8 meter. Make sure that you use one sort of reward on the track and the other sort of rewards at the end. For this it must always be a surprise for the dog to find out what's at the end. So we lay about 2 or 3 tracks all with different food during the track and at the end.

After 15 minutes you get the dog with his chain on and you put the line (just before the beginning of the pre-start) through his forelegs (not under his back legs). The reason for this is, when the dog pulls, he pulls his head to the ground. You come like this to the beginning of the pre-start and show with your hand (when necessary) the place to search and give the command "Such". When the dog is searching intensely you let him go in the right direction. But always at your pace! When the dog comes near the flag he will find the cheese in your footstep and eat his reward. After this one he will find the next one and so on... He must eat every bit of his rewards (don't let him go too fast and forget footsteps). The dog is searching at your pace! As long as he is doing welt you say nothing. At the end of the track he will find the closed pot that contains more rewards. When he has found this you praise him and open his final reward. After eating you leave the tracking field but don't let the dog pass his track again. When your dog searches intensely and eats all his rewards, you can

make the track longer and put the reward only every 3 steps. When this is done, your dog will have to look in every footstep even when there is not a reward. When you have reached this stage it is time to lay your bits at random in the footprints of the track. You can lay 2 or 3 tracks after each other, best is with every time other type of food rewards.

REMINDERS

Always track with a dog that is hungry!

Always make a pre start!

Always track with the wind in your back!

Always wait 15 minutes!

Always wash your hands after touching the rewards!

Always put the closed pot at the end of the track!

The dog has to search at your pace, look for every step and eat all his rewards!

Don't train with objects or corners before he is tracking perfectly strait!

Don't let the dog search before or after the track!

Always take small steps!

Always make 3 tracks after each other so that he remembers fresh!

Always use different food during the track as at the end!

 

Copyright by Guy Verschatse

Belgium

 

 

Tracking Theory part 2

THE PREPARATION FOR SCHUTZHUND 1

In "Part 1" we have seen how to start with tracking. When your dog has reached the level to work out a straight track of about 70 meters, and still searches footprint-by-footprint it's time to begin with the first corner. IMPORTANT: In "tracking training" we always stay close to the first corner. The dog (about 2 meters after the dog). We always do the same ritual: (as in Tracking Theory, Part 1 ) make a pre-start, tracking-flags on the left, etc... Always make sure that the wind is in the back! The reason for this is that the smell of the footprints (and rewards) are not coming into the direction of the dog. By "wind in the back" you teach the dog to seek more intensely and to seek with a "deep nose". Now we put a track of about 50 meters straight ahead (with the needed rewards in the footprints) and at the end we make a light, round corner. In this "corner" you put more rewards than on the straight, and directly after the "corner", place your plastic pot  (Fig. C).

When your dog has reached the level to work out a straight track perfectly, he will have no problems with this sort of corner. So after a few times training like this, you can make the curve smaller and smaller, till you have a real angle of 90 degrees, 3 meters after the angle you put the plastic pot with more rewards. On the first part of the track you lay the rewards at random (how many, is different from dog to dog) but then you mark the point of the angle, by turning 360 degrees, (on this point) and make the angle 90 degrees right or left. After 3 meters you stop and place the plastic pot. Always make sure that you know exactly where the corner is! Never lay food on the angle point, but about 50cm directly after. The length, after the corner you can make longer, when you see that your "tracker" understands what you want from him. When the dog has difficulties with the angle you can make it easier by marking your corner "double". This means when you are about 2 meters after the angle, you return on your steps till you are about 1 meter before the angle, and then go further again passing this (double) corner. (Fig. D)

After a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes you get your tracking champion. Make sure that you always know exactly where the track is lying, this is very important! You start the track as usual but when coming on the corner, you stop when needed. Don't let the dog go wrong! At the corner you stop, and when your dog takes the right direction, you follow immediately! You say nothing, the dog will find his first reward at about 50 cm and will praise himself. When the dog takes the wrong direction, you stay on your place and give the command "Such", when he goes on in the right direction you follow immediately! Don't' let the dog turn around several times. When he's off the track, stay at your place and give the command "Such" when he goes on the right track or direction, say nothing but follow. Now your dog has done one corner, so after several training sessions you can try two, and finally, 3 corners. Your end result must be a track of 3 corners (in the Schutzhund 1 & 2 trial there are only 2 corners) of about 120 meters long. It is important that you are no further than 3 meters behind your dog, and that he can make his corners without your help.

THE FIRST OBJECT

When you have come to the level that your dog can work out a track as for SchH 1, we can start to train on his objects. Normally your dog knows the command "Platz" (lay down) already, from his obedience training, so knowing this we can teach the first steps of pointing an object. It is very simple : you lay a track with 2 or 3 corners, with your rewards in the appropriate places and at the end you place your plastic pot. The dog does as he has learnt before, but when he smells his reward pot you pull his line and give the command "Platz". At this moment your dog is laying with his nose against the pot, so you open it while praising your "tracker" and let him eat his food. From now on you always give the command "Platz" at the end of the track on the plastic pot. But pay attention: once you have started with objects during the track, the pressure on the dog mounts. So it is important that we learn the objects with as little pressure as possible, this means with food. First we have to search small plastic containers or leather objects where we can place our reward. (candy-boxes, cigarette holders from leather, etc... ) NOTE: We start to train with objects after our dog is going down at his pot by himself (without the command "Platz")! Before the track we place some food in a small plastic box. We lay the track as usual and between the first and second corner

we place our "object". We mark our place well by stepping heavily with our feet, and lay down the "object" in the middle of this marking point. After this we lay the rest of the track as usual. It is very important that we know exactly where we placed the object. After 15 to 30 minutes the next, and final step" of the tracking can be worked out.

We do our usual ritual and just as our dog comes with his nose near the object we say "Platz" and pull the line. The dog will lay down, and for his reward we open the object as fast as possible. But we have to make sure that our dog remains in the "Platz" till we give the next command "Such". The remaining track we do normal so that the dog finds his "big surprise" at the end. When the dog has learned his objects it is possible that he may begin to point to other things, (leaves, pieces of wood, or even on the corners... ) this is a warning that your dog is experiencing too much pressure or "not-understanding". When he does this do not pay attention and instead give the command "Such". It is better not to train too much with the objects, we can say 3 is more than enough. When the pressure becomes too high, and the un-sureness of your dog mounts, we have to stop training with the objects for a time. The most important thing is that the dog likes to track, and works his whole length with pleasure! But always at the end with a "Platz" at the reward pot. When our dogs really know what they are doing and they work, tracking becomes a routine, so we can start to give the command "Platz" at the beginning of the pre-start. Our dogs can start to take the smell of the "route to follow" in his "computer". We also do this for a trial, the dog will fall into a known pattern and will not have as much stress. The next step in object training is to not put the rewards "in" the object, but "under". Soon the dog will learn to push the object lightly to get his reward, or to wait till you have taken the object. The final and last step is "there are no rewards placed with the object, but we teach our dog that after pointing, he gets his reward from out of our hand. This is the last thing he has to learn. For an experienced dog we can always look for other undergrounds and other wind directions. But the most important thing is that the owner of the dog knows where the track, including the objects, are! When we make our pre-starts we also start to look for an orientation point. This can be a house, a tree, a rock, whatever. We must also look for an orientation point for our objects and corners.

I am sure that I will have forgotten things, but tracking is a form of practical training that is very difficult to write in theory.

DIFFICULTIES

After a wile your dog can be de-motivated to track, than it's up to you to find the reason. Typical things are:

-not motivated to track (stops during his track), than you need to make it more easy for a while. No more objects (object are kind of pressure), no more corners, just strait tracks with lots of food. Maybe on the end of track you can put a sleeve or something he likes very much. Use 2 or 3 different kind of rewards during one track (cheese, meat, tripe, etc.) and put in the pot at the end another type of food. All these things can motivate your dog again.

-does not follow the track correctly anymore. Wait longer to get the dog, minimum 30 minutes or even 1 hour. The odor is to wealthy when you get the dog too quick, this may result in circling around on the track. Use longer grass and mark the track better, till you see he's getting better again.

-to trick your dog for the trial you need to make a complete trial track and than, after the 2 or 3th object you put a further track full with rewards. So no rewards on the actual track, but start to put rewards after the last object. This will make the dog not to become "trial-smart" ...

-your dog has a low fooddrive. Than you have only one hope, that he has a very high preydrive (balldrive). Get the dog and let somebody else keep him. Show him his favorite ball and make a circle like you did in fig. A. Than dig a hole with your foot and bury his ball. Close the hole and get

your dog. Say "such" and let him search intense for his toy. When he finds it you need to praise him a lot. Than you do the same as the begin of fig. B but the dog much watch this time. Somewhere random in the track you put his ball in a hole and close it. Do not place the ball always at the end ! The track must be interesting from the beginning till the end. When this is really good, the dog should not watch anymore and the track will become longer and older. This method is only good for dogs who have not enough fooddrive, as the dog tracks faster and more dirty as with the food-method.

 

Copyright by Guy Verschatse

Belgium

 

 

Obedience of the Schutzhund program

The beginning:

1. In earlier days obedience was a matter of learning by giving corrections or forcing the dogs to learn. Rewards were only given by the voice (Praise). These dogs were also not well socialized and the owner kept the puppy at home until about 10 months of age. Then they were brought to the training club where it was not preferred for a stranger to touch the dog. The training began at about 12 months because of the high pressure during the training sessions. The end result was a correct but submissive working dog. These dogs had no pleasure doing their work because of the fear of doing something wrong and the correction after. As long as they were "on the line" they worked relatively fast, but once released or from a distance of the owner, much slower. The total image was a submissive dog, so the judges decided to give more points to a happy looking dog. This led to finding alternatives in the education.

2. About 12 years ago a younger generation of dog trainers invented a whole new method. The puppies were raised as social as possible, playing with strangers, accept food from strangers, etc....even the training began at about 3 months in place of one year. Because the learning process was based on "play and learn" they had no pressure of forcing anymore. These little dogs learned their exercises during "play time" and got a reward after each good deed. This younger generation of trainers saw that it was necessary to give a lot of stimulation and as little as possible of corrections. The whole system was based on "corrections and rewards" and the end result was a fast dog who liked his program with a minimum of submissiveness.

3. The last two years there has been a new method developed which is called the "positive learning method". This way of training was invented by American dolphin trainers. It is based on each dog learns himself without any sign of pressure from the owner. There are no corrections made by the trainer. An example is when a puppy sits down by himself, the owner gives the command "sitz (sit)" and gives him a reward. The same as with lay down, the command "platz (drop)" is given and a reward. After a short time the youngster understands the relation with sit down and the word "sitz" which is followed by something to eat. Another example is when a dog is not looking at his trainer during "fuss (heel)" the trainer ignores him. The moment the dog looks to him a reward follows immediately.

The system of "positive learning" is most of the time used together with a little "click maker" (a construction of plastic and steel blade the size of a match box). When you push with the thumb on the steel blade a unique click sound is made. Once a dog knows what a reward (a piece of food or a ball) is, the click sound is built in. Just before the reward comes, the dog hears a "click", so after several times the dog is responding to the click, and after each good exercise, or part of the exercise, the click warns of the reward. This method seems to find more and more friends, but a lot of people stay skeptical because of the longer learning period. The "positive way" takes more time than the two other methods, but you have a guarantee of a very vast and always attentive friend who is never submissive. When this way of training is superior, the results must be seen in the next years on the trial fields all over Belgium.

My way:

I believe wholly in a mix of the "correction and reward method" and the "positive learning method".

But be careful. There is a very important point in obedience training which is often forgotten; dog and owner have to be a real team; the "contact" of both is of very big importance! This "contact" is the base of the whole training!

When a dog is not attentive or does not adore his owner there is no good result possible. So the first and most important thing a puppy has to learn is the "attention exercise". You can start with a youngster of 12 weeks, make sure he is hungry. You decide to search for a unique noise that you can make with your mouth. A special noise with your lips or a clicking or thrilling with the tongue. Something that the puppy never hears from another person or thing. This is between you and your

dog. First you have to teach him to react on this. You make your "sound" and when the youngster is looking, you give him a reward (flesh bit or something he likes to eat). The next step is to let him look to you when he is distracted (when smelling or something) once you have this first contact you have to build up the "noise reward" method. When you go walking with your puppy you ask for his attention from time to time and always give him his reward. Next step is to teach him to play with a ball or a small biting roll. We use a rubber ball which is not hollow and contains a rope of about 30cm. Do not use the ball without the rope as it is not possible to pull or play with this. CAUTION: make sure that the ball is minimum 70-75mm big (=bigger as a tennisball) ! I have seen 2 Rottweilers choke in their ball and this is something that is really heartbreaking ! (Fig F).

When we start to play with the ball we always train with a long line hanging on the dogs chain. (A line of about 5m with no knots at the end.) We make our "sound" during showing him the ball and pull the ball away several times to let him, in high prey drive, take his toy (while you are keeping the end of the rope tight and pull the ball to play). When he is pulling hard, you give him the ball but you hold his line at a distance and then run backwards and call him. Do not let him make circles with his toy or retrieve object. Always hold the end of the line and go backwards when calling him. Next step is to learn the "bring" exercise at playing. You have the ball in your right hand and making your "sound". When the dog is really longing to take his ball, you throw it away and 1et the dog take it as soon as possible. The moment he takes the toy you pull on the line and run backwards and call him. To make the dog release the ball you never pull it out of his mouth but you make a triumph tour running with him at your left side, when you stop you lift the dog (with your left hand in his chain) with the forelegs off the ground, the ball will fall out after a time and at this moment you say "aus (out)". The ball is lying on the ground and you move it teasing a little bit more but don't let your dog retake it at this moment. You can take the ball again in your right hand and give the command "fuss", to teach him in full prey-drive the "marching on the line". In the beginning you cannot train too long because when you see the youngster's attention slowing down it is already too late. In "following on the line" you don't have to throw the ball away (this costs too much condition) but you give him the toy when he is correctly following. Make sure that he is always carrying a long line, even with a SchH I or SchH III dog ! It will take us too long to write on paper the whole system, but the base is the most important. The following "fuss" and the retrieve "bring" exercises have to be perfect before beginning with the "sitz" or "platz"! 

Take your time and always train "step to step"; one exercise at a time. 

Copyright by Guy Verschatse

Belgium

 

 

Defense training of Schutzhund

To succeed with Schutzhund training we need in the first place a suitable dog: Let's presume we bought a puppy out of a quality litter which has enough prey drive (this is very important for Schutzhund training) and is self assured. This youngster arrives in ideal circumstances at 8 weeks, and everybody is always impatient to see how their puppy reacts on the bite work. Some good advice: do not let the puppy bite before he is 7 months old. There are several reasons for this. At a younger stage the puppy's character is not well enough formed (especially the defense instinct), his prey drive you cannot lose (the dog has it or not). The body is too fragile and delicate (he is in a very fast stage of growth) and last but not (east, the dentition is not complete (between 4 and 6 months the dentition is changing). So be patient and do not let a puppy bite before he is 7-8 months old. You have all your time when you start at 8 months old; the youngest age to do your SchH I is 18 months. So like we have seen so many times the dogs are ready for tracking and bite work but not the obedience at this age. Beside the qualities of the dog there is a very large part in the hands of the helper. It is of great importance that you have a good helper (a good trial helper is not always a good training helper) and that you have a good relationship with your helper. 

Let's return to your puppy at 8 weeks. What can we do in the first months? There is a lot to do if you want, but please do not put pressure on your puppy. Let the puppy live a life of a puppy, do not force him to sit, to follow on the line, etc. In this period you must build a strong foundation of being a team ( to work with a dog is not, you (et the dog do things for you. No, the dog must have respect and must adore you.) Only being a team with both sides respecting will a successful future be possible. So play with him, give him food rewards for good behavior and start to use his prey drive. My opinion is that it is best not to use a biting roll because this is too closely related with the later bite work and many faults can build in without knowing it. I have the best result with a rubber ball on a rope. This has nothing to do with defense work. The reason why not to use a biting sausage is the dog can learn a bad grip. So play with your ball and make sure you build up a healthy relationship with your dog. You can also let the dog watch a self assured older dog do the bite work, but this must happen behind the fence. It is important not to look at a problem dog because the negative reaction of the example can give a bad influence on the puppy. Also important is, as well in the watching of another dog, as in the later training not to wait till the interest is going down. Leave the field when the dog is at the highest level of his drive! '

Now I will explain to you how we have the best results with our dogs. At 7-8 months we start to let the dog bite a rag. We use a jute bag that is used here to put potatoes in. The helper must get the maximum out of the prey drive of the puppy by running circles and moving the sack around the dog. We train each youngster separately, not in groups where the dogs are looking more to their friends rather than to the helper. The best way to give the dog enough air while he is pulling so intensely is to use a tracking harness. The puppy has to learn to bite the rag with a full grip and to pull his prey. When he pulls he gets the rag. The helper may never give the prey without a full grip. Always let the dog re-bite and take full grip before giving the rag. We do not use the biting roll in later bite work because we Belgians have a very soft sleeve which is invented for our National Ring sport and his Malinois. This is a very light and soft sleeve which goes perfectly together after using the sack. The helper is in the beginning not wearing the sleeve, but is taking both ends in his hands (like using a biting roll}. After teasing and pulling away the sleeve he has got to let the dog bite and give him the sleeve. The owner has to let his dog (with his prey in his mouth) make a triumph tour around the helper before taking the sleeve away. Also an important exercise is to pass just before the helper so he can retake the sleeve and pull it before giving it back. In a later stage the helper has to put the sleeve on when the dog is coming back to him. This way the dog is biting the sleeve without knowing it. This training must become routine before the helper can put the sleeve on his arm to let the dog bite.

As for the "Aus" take of the prey. We do not take nor pull the rag or sleeve out of the mouth of the dog, because this is putting unnecessary pressure on your puppy. We just lift the dog on his

chain with his forelegs from the ground, until he drops the rag. The moment the rag or sleeve is falling, the helper has to move and tease the dog again. At the same time the owner has to push the sleeve with his feet to the direction of the helper. This way the dog is learning that when he is losing the prey it is not over yet; now the party is instantly re-beginning. When all this is becoming routine and the dog is beginning to bite so hard it hurts the helper's arm it is time to learn the next step.

The barking ("Revier"). The helper is putting the sleeve behind his back (so the dog cannot see it) and is not moving at this moment. He has to stare the dog frontal in the eyes and may not be too close to the dog. When he is too close to him, the dog doesn't understand this silence and is waiting for the movement of the helper without barking. The helper must stay far enough away from the dog and make the dog bark by his way of looking and his attitude. As soon as the dog gives one bark (even when it's a light bark) he has to give the sleeve immediately. Later on the dog will bark more intensely and longer before getting the sleeve. Here the dog is learning to bark to get the sleeve. When the dog is biting so hard that it hurts the helper it is time to change the soft sleeve to a trial sleeve. The same scenario is always used. Put the sleeve behind the back, wait for the barking (the barking is done without the command of the owner, it is a matter between dog and helper) and give the sleeve. The dog makes his triumph tour and is lifted up to let the prey fall out: This is where the helper begins to tease. The moment the dog has to let the sleeve fall because of his need for air) the owner gives the command "Aus". By this way the dog will develop a connection between "Aus" and giving the sleeve. With harder dogs this will not result in a quick and spontaneous out of the sleeve, but many dogs will understand the command "Aus" and give the prey. This is an important stage in the bite work, when your dog is not reacting on your command, you must try another and harder way... You lift the dog up on his chain, with the face of the dog towards the helper and just after the command "Aus" you hit the dog with an open hand on the head. (With your left hand you pull the dog up and with your right hand you hit him. ) Make sure you give him a sharp hit so it frightens him and he lets go of the prey. The helper must immediately start to attract the attention of the dog and let him re-bite. Normally when you have done this correctly after one or two times the dog will go out perfectly, without putting pressure or mistrust on you. A dog does not understand the "unhappy feeling" (you have to hit so he cannot see your hand) and let the sleeve fall, so the "good feeling" of the barking to get the sleeve can begin. Once we have reached the stage that our dog is barking to get the sleeve, make a tour with his prey, letting go of the prey on command of "Aus" and begin to bark again we are already a long way. Now it is time to start with the real "Revier". We always start with the blind (to turn around before barking on the second blind of the IPO I). The helper is teasing the dog and runs to the outside of the blind.

At this moment the owner is giving the command "Revier" and lets the dog go after the helper. Just before he wants to grip the sleeve, the trainer has to pull very hard Helper on the dog's line so, he cannot grip the sleeve. Our helpers are putting their sleeved arm up above the head because a dog is more stimulated to bark than when the sleeve is in the normal position. It is important to put the sleeved arm down on the first bark, and not to wait until 3 or more barks. This must be built up very slowly to have the maximum result. After several times training this way, we must wait until

the dog is really barking to get the sleeve and is able to sit, without pressure on the blind line in front of the helper. Do not try too early to let him go along because when he can jump to the sleeve, his barking will slow down. Make sure he is 100% clean before you "Revier" with the sleeve in the normal position. When the helper is holding the sleeve at trial position the dog again will try to bite the prey. So it is up to the owner to pull the dog's line when it's necessary. Once the dog is clean the helper will pull the dog in his high drive into the inside of the blind and give him the sleeve there.

Copyright by Guy Verschatse

Belgium

 

 SOME COMMENT ON 'TRAINING THE BELGIAN WAY'.

1) Well, today’s seminar was engaging and Guy spoke about the different methods of getting and maintaining the dog's attention. Something we all knew and Guy just emphasized that the dog's undivided attention is fundamental to all dogs training...Obedience, Schutzhund, etc..... Initially, judging from his lecture, and answers to questions on certain training problems, one would conclude that Guy is of the conventional training school of thought i.e. correction and reward. Usually, one would defend vehemently on his chosen method of training. However, tonight, Guy displayed his openness and practicality when he emphasized that as far as attention and obedience  is concerned , the “positive learning method” (Clicker-training or positive reinforcement) works best. His openness and impartiality really impress me. All these while in all the Internet info and books I’ve read, clicker trainers almost never concede that the opposing method works better sometimes and likewise conventional trainers will always usually don’t give a hoot about clicker training methods. Guy explained in real details both the advantages and drawbacks of each method respectively and for obedience (attention training in particular), Guy went into meticulous level on the why’s and how’s of positive reinforcement training to maintain a dog’s attention. Just to share very briefly, to get a dog’s (puppy) attention, one has to be very patient. Phase  1: Give your puppy /dog a threat (or something he really likes) and make any unique ‘sound’ with

the mouth, each time your dog receives the reward. Do this repeatedly for a number of times until your dog has associated the sound with something pleasant like the threat. Phase 2: Let your puppy or dog run about in an area that is neither too big nor small and DO NOTHING. Just watch closely your puppy /dog’s antics and as soon as he stop pauses to look you in the eyes, make the sound. The dog, having already associated the sound with a reward, will come running to you and you give it the treat. Repeat this for a number of times. MOST IMPORTANT LESSON: - DO NOT MAKE THE SOUND TO GET THE DOG’s ATTENTION.  You will have to wait until the dog looks at you spontaneously and voluntarily before you make the sound and reward. Or else, according to Guy, the dog cannot associate the reward with looking to you in the eyes and paying attention. It will think that by NOT paying attention to you (looking elsewhere), you will make the sound for his attention and gets a reward. The secret is to imbed in the dog’s mind that he (the dog) will have to look at the owner in the eyes to earn the sound and reward. I think this is the most valuable lesson as very often, we as humans always consciously or otherwise, makes all sort of actions and noise to get the dog’s attention. By doing so, we are actually teaching the dog not to pay attention and wait for us to keep calling to it. Make sense eh?Well, I cannot be writing the whole lot of what Guy said tonight. I might bore you to death. However, the practical is tomorrow. We shall be practicing what we learned today.

 2) The practical on obedience: Guy spent much time on 2 dogs explaining in minute details. Nonetheless, it was very educational as Guy, in his typical meticulous fashion, pointed out clearly the difference in training a dog for normal obedience versus obedience in Schutzhund. That guy literally spent >3 hours talking and training non-stop!!  Really a committed instructor. In Schutzhund obedience, the 'drive' and 'excitement' of the dog in performing the exercise is paramount. Hence, the training focus not on getting the dog to execute the exercise but Guy also taught us how to bring out the excitement of a dog in performing, say, the fetch as an example. Let's talk about the fetch. In Schutzhund, you must first have a dog with lots and lots of drive and hence, not all dogs can be a Schutzhund dog. We were shown how a toy (a ball attached to a rope) was used to built up the excitement of the dog by tempting it to a optimum point before being thrown a distance the moment you feel the dog has reached its peak in excitement. With its excitement built up to such a peak, the dog  will literally power-off to fetch the thrown toy. A common thing that happens is that it will now be 'over-driven' to a point where it refuses to release the ball to the handler. A prevalent mistake would be for the handler to yell and tried to tug the ball away. This would only drive the dog further and grip harder as it will think that you are playing /challenging it (the prey drive). So, Guy demonstrated what should be done and it really works. The handler should just hold the rope tautly with the ball still gripped by the dog. Stand firm, do not tug and in a firm but composed manner give the 'leave' command. Chances are that the dog will still hold on to the ball. After a while and sensing no challenge plus getting a little tired, it will loosen its grip and the ball will be released. At that precise moment, the handler makes the sound and swing the ball away for the dog to run after and retrieve it gleefully. What we have taught the dog is that the moment it obeys the 'leave' command and not challenge the handler, the reward of the ball being thrown for it to fetch will follow. Hence, after a few workouts, your dog will readily releases the toy on command.  

3) Now for a  bit of bite work. Hundesport, you are absolutely right. One needs to evaluate a dog before actual training.  Here, it was demonstrated that before bite work training, one has to ascertain if the dog charging strongly towards the Helper (decoy is the man with the sleeve) is actually on prey drive (desired) or aggressive towards the Helper (undesired).  The dog with leash held by the handler is being teased with a sleeve by the Helper to bring up the drive / aggressiveness. Once the peak is reached, the Helper throws

away the sleeve away from himself. The dog (still held on leash) is then judged to see if it goes after the thrown sleeve or continues to 'attack' the Helper. Ideally, the dog should go after the sleeve and ignore the Helper. This proves the dog is in prey drive. If it ignores the sleeve and continues to 'attack' the Helper, it is now determined that the dog is aggressive towards the person and is not suitable for Schutzhund besides posing a danger if left uncorrected.   In such a case, Guy showed that focus must then be on training the dog to shift his aggressiveness away from the Helper and towards the sleeve. This is done by continuous teasing the dog with the sleeve and let it 'win' by allowing it to bite the sleeve and run away with it as a reward. This was actually demonstrated and it was really interesting to see words put into action by him with the desired result. Next, we were shown the dog seeking out the Helper hidden behind the blind. The dog is suppose to seek

out the Helper and upon finding him behind the blind, must give warning by barking in a threatening manner WITHOUT biting. It must bite only at the moment the Helper jerks the sleeve upwards. 

A trained Schutzhund dog belonging to one member was used in this demonstration. Before that, it was told that this dog is very 'unclean' in this exercise, meaning it has a tendency to bite the sleeve right away without first barking as a warning. True enough, the dog bit the sleeve held by Guy without warning and we were shown how the dog was corrected with the special rubber baton made especially for Schutzhund training. Again, we saw how the dog did it right after the correction. (There were actually handclaps when the dog did it right. Spontaneous handclaps from us dog trainers ? Very rare indeed). To be honest, not everyone likes to see how the dog was corrected but then, Schutzhund is not for everyone or every dog. I think this is something important we must not forget. In a book I read, finding a dog that is suitable for Schutzhund is an exception and finding one that is not,  is an expectation.

 

Prepare your dog for a trial The art of achieving high scores on a trial depends on the knowledge, talent and nerve-quality of the dog-handler. As i said before: the training has to be harder and more difficult as the actual trial. The handler of the dog has a task as manager of a sport team, he need to bring the dog at his highest level just before the coming trial. The dog must feel himself in peak-condition right before the exam or championship. This will also make the handler more self assured and this is also very important for the positive scores. This article handles on these so called stress-factors and the results of those. Many handler/dog teams are able to show excellent performance on the normal training sessions. The same teams can screw up completely during the real trial. Why is that ? Is this caused by de stress from that moment or is it because of the wish to perform as good as possible, maybe the (impossible) dream to win ? Or maybe a few other reasons like bad conditioning of the dog can be responsible for this negative experience. We will try to solve this mystery in the following article.

Author during a seminar in Malaysia (2004).

What causes poor scores ?

1)Unaware body-talk.

Dogs are specialists on reading body-talk because they are missing the words to communicate, that's why they react on the slightest body signals made by us people. Many of these signals we show as dog handler, most of them we are not aware of. The help by pinching our eyes, to smile, to make a subtle finger-snip or to move your feet into another position, those are all signals who are read by our dogs. You have no idea how defined our dogs are on this body language. Ideal to find out what kind body-talk exactly you are doing is to let yourself film during training your dog. It's amazing to see all our unaware signals and help while working our dog...

2)Frustrated expressions and stress.

Our behaviour is changing under different circumstances, while being under stress we will show a typical expression. It is a fact that dogs make a link between this expression and muscle tension and the

consequences of this frustration for them. Let’s suppose that that the handler during training at home or on the training field gets frustrated and by this he brings his behaviour and facial muscles under a certain tension or position. The dog learns that this expression means that a correction can (will) follow. To avoid the correction our dog will start to look better and notice these signals at his handlers face or body. When the same team competes on a trial the chance is big that the handler will show the same frustrated expression (because of the stress or nervouseness) as the one who warns the correction on previous training. By this the dog will have less attention for the actual commands and pay more attention for the “expected” correction to come. This will result in bad performance, it will make the handler more frustrated and this will make the dog more stressed.

3)Confirmation of stress.

It will result that the dog, by seeing his stressed owner, will start to demonstrate behaviour from who he knows that his owner likes this on the training field. Let presume that the owner is proud on his dog because he outs difficult during training, or he’s impressed and happy by the magnificent fast platz-exercise while training, to give some common examples. So when the dog is competing on a trial and because of  the stress becomes unsure and nervous, he will look for confirmation or happyness from his owner and may start his tricks to try to “please” his owner. Than we can see a dog who does not out under command or who does the platz-exercise while the command “sitz” was given, etc. Lay down on the command "sitz" is also mostly caused by the pressure of the trial, the stress and louder commands given by his owner. As trainer this behaviour is unexpected and unpredictable, it's a fact that on exams or trials always things are happening that the dog never does. We need to have our voice under control and even under stress be able to give the same intonation on our commands. The same with our body-language…

How can we better the scores ?

1)Distracting sources.

We can prepare ourselves and our dogs by training as much as possible on the future trial-field. It is important that the dog gets a good feeling and many rewards when we train the first time on that “new” field. By this the dog will make a link between a new field and a good feeling, in many cases it's the contraire... Also important are the noises made by the many visitors, the crowd, dogs must be familiar to see so many people, busy situations with many distracting sources. Training near a busy marketplace or in a football stadium are examples who are helping the dog to prepare himself to the crowdy trial. The quiet place near your house or in his local Schutzhund-club is only good to teach him new exercises but not to make your dog trial-strong. It is also important that your dog as a puppy had enough socialization with people, strange noises, buildings, flags or other promotion material used on a trial, etc… This means preparing him on his much later task and please do not forget that the socialization-period can only be done before the age of 6 months ! After than it’s too late…

2)Structures in training.

We can prepare our dog towards a trial by building up his condition and slowly progressing to the full concentration of all exercises. Too much handlers are working to dirty on the training field, they must pay more attention and be more efficient and consistent. They do not have the full and correct attention from their dog during training but still they ask this on a trial. On this trial the stress and distractions are so much higher as on a regular training, so we can imagine what will be the result… We must also deal with different weather climates, sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it rain's, sometimes it snows, but our dog must be able to perform in every weather condition and under every circumstance. Prepare your dog on as much as possible situations...

3)Changements in training.

Just before a trial we should not make big changes in our training program. It is very confusing for the dog and the chance is high that the dog will make mistakes by reversing these different training methods on the actual trial. Also important is that the living environment from the dog should not change before a trial, by this I mean a new kennel, different nutrition, another Helper, other tracking-rewards, etc… All these things will cause stress for the dog and he will not perform optimal by this. It is from very high importance that our dog knows all his exercises on training, without help from you or other people. If we need to “clean him up” the last trainings we are certainly doing wrong. The highest peak of training and correction must happen before the last 2-3 weeks of the trial or exam, so that after than the training must become routine and “peace of cake” for the dog. Too many trainers are building up the stress right before a trial in up going curve instead of building off and train more relax to give the dog more self-confidence. The aspect of manager is very important, we must bring our dog in peak condition to receive peak scores.

4)Food.

To be in peak condition our "sportsman" must have the right nutrition and the right proportion of nutrition. Like in human performance we must prepare our dog on his important task. The dog must be lean and mean, make sure he's not too fat and also not too skinny. We cannot do shows in this period because the dog must be in well fed condition for this. It's important that we spread these two completely different disciplines in a wider time span. The dog must be brought in the ideal proportion body weight/fat to reach the peak condition. For top performance our dog must get top-nutrition from rich proteïnes and high in vitamins, and above all easy digestible. A healthy mind in a healthy corps...

Good luck !

Copyright by Guy Verschatse 

Belgium

 

Different training arts and their consequences

There are several training methods in the dogsport. Especially the Schutzhund-program has a rich influence of many ideas, national and international. Because of these influences from everywhere there is no other dogsport who is as good organized and where the training is at such a high level.

It doesn’t matter what kind of training you are practicing with your dog, because it’s only the end result who counts. The final result is the exam or trial.

In this article I will try to give a resume of each different art, off course there will be more methods or melting's of different methods in practice but we will have to make a selection.

There are four big groups of training arts, I will start from the old to the younger methods and this in simple words…

1. Correction method.

This training style is the oldest one, it is based on giving corrections when the dog does something what’s not required. The corrections are repeated till the exercise is good enough. For example : the dogs learns to follow on leash. The command “Fuss” is given and if the dog doesn’t follow correctly he will be corrected by pulling the leash. The pulling stops when the dog follows close enough. So we can say the dog is ignored when he does it correct. Every exercise is forced, which cause a lot of stress in the dog’s brain. The dogs who are trained by this method are working correct, but are never happy. They obey out of fear for the correction.

2. Correction & Reward method.

After the Correction method the Correction & Reward art became popular. Now we are speaking begin-halfway the 80’s. Still everything was learned by force and giving corrections as long the dog didn’t show the right behavior, but the training stopped when the stress became too high for a play with the dog’s toy. The toy was kept visible in the hand to motivate the dog. This was used for letting the steam (stress) flow away. The good thing about this type of new training was that the stress didn’t come so high anymore as with previous method. However after practicing this technique for a longer time, the dog became “trial smart”. The actual training always happened with the ball in the hand, visible for the dog. The dog was attracted to the ball constantly and when the ball was not there (on trials), the attention (or contact) between dog and handler were gone.

3. Positive Reinforcement method (Clicker method)

Begin-halfway of the 90’s a brand new training technique was demonstrated. The Clicker method. It was invented by American dolphin trainers and came true the US Obedience program in to the English Obedience and finally in to the Belgian IPO. The man behind this pioneer work was Mr. Geert De Bolster. In the beginning he was not taken seriously at all, IPO people said it was a joke. Slowly they began to see that this technique was not so bad at all, a club named OC Vlaendren (in Ghent) where the Belgian Top was training, became very popular with their members winning most championships. The clicker method became hot in a few months, however I must say only in the all breed clubs. The Belgian SV is still training the Correction&Reward method at this moment, this with a few exceptions off course.

4. Belgian Mutated Positive Reinforcement method.

Recently developed after the millennium. The Clicker method is based on ignore the dog when he does something wrong (or not desired) and click and reward him when he does something right. This works very good, but is a bit slow in progress. So inventive as the Belgians are, they started to look for alternatives or better methods. These were found in correcting the dog when he does something wrong and reward him when he does something right, a mix of Correction & Clicker system. The corrections given are very light, this to avoid stress. Some people use Electric Collar on very, very light power, so that the dog only gets a unpleasant feeling when showing undesired behavior. Instead of clicking, the mouth is used to make a certain personal noise. This can be used in trials as the clicker is not useful there. This method works faster as previous method, is more efficient and can be used unnoticed on exams or trials.

Copyright by Guy Verschatse 

Belgium

The 'truth' about defense.

After been at the IFR Worldchampionship in Austria, i’ve decided to write an article about the ‘truth’ of defense. It was frustrating to see the difference in motivation (read: almost no drives and super performance) and the same or even higher scores for the less motivated dog.

SchH3/IPO3 Protection-work Rules:

1.Blind search ( 10 pts ): (Commands "Voran/Revier", "Hier" with dog's name)

On the Judge's signal the handler sends his dog to search. The dog must make 6 side-sweeps, 3 to the left and three to the right.

2.Hold and Bark ( 10 pts ): (Commands "Fuss", "Platz")

On the Judge's signal the handler leaves the midline and goes to a point 3-4 paces from his dog. The Judge determines the actual position for the call-out.

On another signal the handler calls his dog out with the command "Fuss”. The dog must quickly come to the handler and sit in the basic position. If the dog does not come to the handler after the third command, the dog is picked up by free-heeling and the exercise is rated as faulty.

The Judge determines the places where Helper and handler will position themselves for the "escape". The handler calls the Helper out and goes with his dog to the departure place and “Platz” his dog.

After the handler's search of the Helper and the blind, the exercise "hold and bark" is completed.

3.Escape ( 10 pts ): (Command "Aus")

The handler goes into the blind. The dog must watch the Helper attentively while lying quietly. On the Judge's signal the Helper attempt to escape. The dog must effectively hinder the escape by fast, firm and energetic gripping. On the Judge's command the Helper stops and stands still. The dog must release on his own or on a single "Aus" command, and then must guard the Helper. If the dog fails to hinder the escape within 20m by gripping and holding firmly, the protection work is terminated.

4.Defense ( 20 pts ): (Command "Aus")

After a definite pause the Helper receives a signal to attack the dog. With no influence from the handler, the dog must immediately counter the attack securely and energetically through firm and full gripping. Once the dog has gripped the arm, the Helper gives him two stick hits on the thighs, side-portions, or in the area of the withers.

On signal from the Judge the Helper stops his resistance and stands still. The dog must release on his own or on a single command, and must guard the Helper.

On the Judge's signal the handler goes directly to his dog and has him sit in the basic position.

5.Back-transport ( 5 pts ): (Command "Fuss")

The handler lets the Helper walk ahead and follows him at a maximum distance of 5 paces.

6.Defense against attack ( 15 pts ): (Command "Aus")

After about a 50-paces Back-transport, the Judge signals the Helper to attack the handler and dog out of motion without intimidating noises. The dog must immediately counter the attack securely and energetically through firm and full gripping.

On the Judge's command the Helper stops and stands still. The dog must immediately release on his own or on a single "Aus" command, and must guard the Helper. On the Judge's signal, the handler makes a direct approach to his dog at a normal pace. With the command "Sitz" ("Sit") he brings his dog into the basic position. If the dog is already sitting, the position of the dog may be reconfirmed with the command "Sitz". For dogs which are in the "down" position after the “out", the "down" position may likewise be reconfirmed with the command "Platz" ("Down").

7.The handler goes, on the Judge's command, into the designated blind with his free-heeling dog.

Defense Against Attack with on watch position and guarding of Helper; ( 10 pts ) (Commands "Voran", "Aus", "Fuss")

The handler with his free heeling dog comes out of the blind and takes up the designated position. He lets his dog sit free at heel in the basic position or he holds him firmly by the collar. The dog may not be stimulated by the handler and must sit calmly next to his handler. The dog must hold this position until he is released with the command "Voran" to counter the attack.

The Helper leaves the blind into which the Judge sent him, at about 70-80 paces away from the handler, and he crosses over the field at a running pace. The Helper starts a frontal attack upon handler and dog. The Judge immediately gives the handler a signal to counter the attack.

Upon the Judge's signal the handler immediately sends his dog with the command "Voran."

The dog must counter the attack with intensity and must grip energetically with a firm, full, secure and calm grip. Once the dog has his grip, the Helper pressures the dog briefly and on the Judge's signal stops resisting. The dog must release by himself or upon a single command "Aus" and must guard the Helper.

8.Defense against attack ( 20 pts ): (Commands "Aus", "Sitz", "Platz", "Fuss")

After a definite pause the Helper receives a signal to attack the dog. With no influence from the handler, the dog must immediately counter the attack securely and energetically through firm and full gripping. Once the dog has gripped the arm, the Helper gives him two soft-stick hits on the thighs, side-portions, or in the area of the withers.

On signal from the Judge the Helper stops his resistance and stands still. The dog must release on his own or on a single command, and must guard the Helper.

On the Judge's signal the handler goes directly to his dog and has him sit in the basic position. If the dog is already sitting, the position of the dog may be reconfirmed with the command "Sitz". For dogs which are in the "down" position after the "out", the "down" position may likewise be reconfirmed with the command "Platz" ("Down").

The handler lets the Helper step back 3 paces and orders him to put his arms up, in order to place the dog in a "down" position. The handler then searches and disarms the Helper. After the disarming the handler

returns to his dog and lets him sit.

Before beginning the side-transport, the handler takes the basic position next to the Helper in such a way that the dog is sitting between handler and Helper. There is a side-transport to the Judge.

After the reporting-out, the scoring is concluded. The dog is put on lead. The Helper leaves the field.

End.

Most important aspects in the Schutzhund defense:

(Note: there is no real definition or no real line between mental aspects of a dog, this theory is meant to give a rough idea on why a dog shows a certain behavior)

Search:

(The search is no real ‘search’ as 95% of the dogs know exactly where the Helper is standing. It’s all about obedience, the dog needs to run around 5 blinds because his handler says so.)

-Fast taking all blinds (optimal)

-Fast & not all blinds (training fault or refuse of obedience)

-Slow & fast after last blind (lack of drive or refuse of obedience)

-Slow all blinds (missing of drive and-or motivation)

-Slow & direct to last blind (lack of drive and training fault or refuse of obedience)

Bark and hold: (an experienced eye can predict the rest of the trial by seeing this part !)

-Intense bark with challenge towards Helper (optimal)

-Intense bark wit no challenge (sportdog, very good)

-Intense bark with slowing down near the end (light lack of drive, light lack of challenge)

-Slow bark (missing of drive and-or motivation)

-Howling (unsureness)

Grips: (is born in a dog, we are very limited in changing the grip by training)

-Full & hard & calm in middle of sleeve (ideal)

-Full & not hard & calm in middle of sleeve (sportdog, very good)

-Not full & hard & nervous in middle of sleeve (light sign of unsureness)

-Not full & hard & nervous on elbow (serious unsureness, avoiding of stick)

-Not full & hard & nervous on top of sleeve (light unsureness and too much sharpness)

-Not full & not hard & nervous (lack of drive and sureness)

Courage test: (most spectacular part of defense)

-Fast till impact (ideal)

-Fast with slowing down (very good drive, too much aiming)

-Slow (lack of drive or unsureness)

-Fast but missing of the sleeve (not enough technique or unsureness)

Out: (dogs can fail the trial in ‘beauty’)

-Direct good out (ideal)

-Slow out (too high fight drive or light sign of unsureness)

-Out with re-bite (training fault)

-No out (can be out of too high fight drive or from unsureness: the best defense is the attack…)

-Out during work (grip not hard enough or lack of hardness)

When seeing a scorebook, a certain dog can receive 70 points protection out of training faults and slow outs, or out of re-gripping or leaving the sleeve. Judges give too easy ‘Kampftrieb A’ (Excellent fight drive) as this is the only tool to unmasque the strong from the weak dog.

The defense part starts with the revier of the blinds, some dogs walk around the 6 blinds, some dogs run like a racehorse who are bitten by a wasp and some take the short cut. Here the motivation is shown already, the dog who does it out of sport will run on his tempo to get finally at the last blind where he knows the Helper stands. The dog with the high fighting drive will run like possessed to get at the helper to challenge him for a fight. Here the fast dog should be more rewarded, some dogs need 5 minutes to get at the end, some of them do it 10 times faster. I know this is also part of the construction of the dog, some weigh 48 kg , some of them weigh 38 kg , but the most important is what’s between the eyes. The motivation has to be there, no matter what the weight is.

Anyway, let’s come to the important point where an experienced eye can predict the further trial: the bark and hold. The bark and hold is a very important exercise, not only for points but to see the actual nerve construction and guts of each dog. I’ve done the test to predict each dog’s speed and grip quality at the barking. 90% of the cases was correct !

So we must pay more attention to this part of the defense routine, no matter only 10 points are maximum

rewarded.

Then we come at a very important aspect of a working dog: the grip. I believe a grip is born, a solid full grip is born in a dog, we cannot improve a grip by training. However, we can ruïne a solid and good grip by wrong training. We can use tools to make the dog bite better, we can change the way the Helper works to cheat ourselves. Dogs with a nervous grip need to be worked calm and sportly, but on the actual trial the dog will show his real quality. Dogs who aim for the elbow can be worked with blinded elbows (plastic cover on elbow) to make the dog feel un comfortable when he bites there, but the moment there is no plastic protection on the sleeve anymore, the dog will go to the elbow again. Some Helpers are so talented that they can make the dog bite how they want by adjusting the position of the sleeve, but again the real dog will be seen on the trial.

We have tested dogs from 3-4 years old, dogs who never been on a dogclub, who never seen a Helper. When these actual dogs had talent, they were biting the trial sleeve within the first session ! Full, solid and hard.

On the other hand we see dogs who are worked since puppy and bite like a goldfish, or don’t bite at all. What are we going to end up with after few generations of these ‘made’ dogs ? The moment that e-collars are used to make dogs bite fuller and-or harder, it is poor with our genepool…

The courage test or long distance attack is certainly the most spectacular part of the defense. This is also a born aspect, dogs enter fast or not. The tricks that are used give limited result. The dog has the will to enter fast, or has not the will. Stories of dogs who were jammed once and brake since are excuses. Every working dog get’s jammed sooner or later in his career, the dog who brakes afterwards just don’t have enough guts. The strong dog will enter again like before ! This can also be said of the stick hits, every dog get’s sooner or later a stick-hit on a fragile place or a stick-hit who’s too hard. The dog who get’s afraid afterwards of the stick just ain’t got enough hardness or defense drive. Too many excuses are used, sure some extreme accidents or wrong training can cause trauma in a dog but a good dog is a good dog and a poor dog is a poor dog…

The out is mostly a training thing, when a dog is learned that after he outs he get’s the sleeve immediately back, he will out easy. I don’t see the out as important for the breeding or I don’t see it as a shame when the dog refuses to out on a trial.

This article is based on my own experience and opinion, I may be wrong off course…

Copyright by Guy Verschatse 

Belgium

 

About drives and character

Character specifications and drives are part genetic, part by experience and part by coincidence. How much each part will give in percent is impossible to say and is depending on

nature and is also individual for each dog. We can try to do everything optimal and only breed with the best specimen and give the later puppies as rich as possible society in there growing period, and pray for some good luck.

When we compare the wolf (or the wild dog) with our domestic dog (in our purpose: the working dog) we see the same character aspects but in a whole different quantity. Both are the result of selection: one by nature and his law of the strongest and fittest, and other by manipulation of man.

Our selection is not so much based on health and survival because it is an artificial selection, a selection based on our society.

We line breed or inbreed our dogs, keep them alive with medication or surgery and so on. So we have created negative breeding results such as entropium, hip-dysplasia, cataract, breaking of ligaments etc... In the character we lose prey drive, endurance and basic instincts (such as care for the puppies).

We can separate instincts into 3 large parts:

A. Survival instinct

B. Drives to hunt and eat

C. Reproduction instinct.

These 3 things are the essences of life in the existence of a living creature.

As a working Rottweiler breeder I pay a lot of importance on these instincts. These aspects of character are of very high importance, when we lose this in our domestic dogs there is something wrong! Let us please do some things in a natural way, a female who is not willing to be mated, ask yourself what could be wrong? Perhaps she knows something, perhaps nature wants to stop some animals to breed for a certain reason. We keep giving our dogs antibiotics from puppy on. We keep operating on ligaments and breed further. We keep doing artificial insemination when a dog is not able to mate or a female doesn't want to be mated. The health of our dogs is going backwards because of too much artificial help.

To come back to the character: The pure essence of every living creature is to stay alive and reproduce himself or better ones as himself. Dogs in the wild have to be able to do this, or they become extinct.

A. Survival instinct; has three parts:

1. Fear drive

2. Aggression drive

3. Obey rules

To survive a natural dog has to have enough fear. In the wild fear is not negative and is of life importance. Fear of the unknown, fear of fire, fear of larger animals, fear of man. It is partly by this fear that the wolf has survived extinction. Fear is in very high quantity in a wolf, even in a well socialized "Saarloos-wolfhound" we can see the mistrust and fear in the first impression. Our working dogs are selected to have as little as possible fear or mistrust. Our dogs are bred over-courageous, this self-assuredness is much too high to survive in the wild. Domesticated dogs are not afraid of gunshots, riding cars, thunder and lightning etc. So the quantity of fear is completely different between domestic and wild dogs.

Aggression has a bad sound, but it is necessary in surviving for every animal breed in the

concurrence of living. We have 2 kinds of aggression: out of fear (as a real answer on the fear impulse) out of dominance. Aggression is a completely normal reaction of self defense or range order. Aggression keeps a dog motivated to hunt and kill his prey, it is also the tool to climb higher on the ladder of range order within the group. It is needed to become the leader and to reproduce himself.

Our domestic dogs are bred to have enough aggression for their purpose. As a working dog our dogs must have enough aggression to guard our property, to defend us against a bad guy or a Schutzhund helper. The working dog cannot have too much aggression because he must stay a social thinking creature and obey his trainer. So, I don't have to mention the delicacy of this subject.

Too many breeders do not see the difference between aggression out of fear or out of dominance. So they select on high sharpness to fulfill the needs of the dog sporters. That this is dangerous and wrong is clear, but the society and governments are willing to disappear all symptoms of "aggression" out of our sport dogs, and this is not right! Too many people forget to use a dog breed for his purpose. A companion dog such as a Dalmatian is and must be a friendly dog to everybody. An Alaskan Malamute must be able to pull weight because he is bred for that purpose. So please let us keep our guard and working dog as a real guard and working dog. This dog must keep enough "sharpness" to do his work

"Obey Rules" is also of life importance in a group. A wild dog has to know the rules of a pack, it means the possibility to live within a group and to obey his superior. Dogs who are not listening to the rules will get a conflict with the range higher and can get hurt, killed or set out of the group. Rules means also presence of an adult to a puppy. Our domestic dogs are rarely living in a group of other dogs, but with the people of his family who are members of his "pack". The dog must always be the lowest in the range order to prevent conflicts.

B. The drive to hunt and eat has only one important aspect: "prey drive".

Prey drive is of direct life importance to a wild dog. It means to kill or be killed. A wolf chases for even days to hunt his prey. Prey drive includes the will to hunt, to carry the killed prey, to carry the youngsters by their mother. Endurance is closely related and definitely stimulated by prey drive. Prey drive is in every wild dog, in some breeds of our domestic dogs it is lost, bred out or degenerated. It is the keyword for every working dog. We cannot train a dog the Schutzhund program if he has not enough prey drive. We can train the tracking with a dog with no prey drive, but the obedience part will be almost impossible to do, but people with a lot of qualities and experience can reach the obedience over food rewards and praise. However the bite work is impossible to do without a very high prey drive. A good working bloodline is selected on a calm and full grip, this can only be reached and maintained through prey drive. A dog who is biting too much from sharpness has never a full and calm grip! A bad side of the preydrive is the so called "possess-drive", the dog comes into aggression-mode for giving his prey. Some bloodlines are known to have more as enough posses-drive, witch is not desirable... 

C. Reproduction instinct

This is almost completely existing out of dominance. Dominance is necessary to hunt big animals, to create range order, to become the leader and to mate the available females within the group. The most dominant and strongest males will be the leader of the pack. He is responsible for all the dogs, he decides the rules and he mates all the females who come in heat. When he is getting older or weaker a younger and stronger male will fight him and become the new leader.

A sport dog needs a lot of dominance, but too much of this gives only problems of range order. With a leader type dog you will have for the rest of his life conflicts: in the obedience, in the bite work, overall... Such a dog does what he likes to do and doesn't give attention on the commands of his owner. Dominant males are mostly good stud dogs, as a pet or trial dog they are not so good because of the independence they automatically have.

All this theory is nice, but into the real world the difference of aspects are not so well defined. The border of where this is starting or where this is ending is not so clear to see.

What is temperament and what is nervousness?

What is aggression out of fear and out of dominance?

What is dominance and what is self-defense?

For us dog sporters and sport dog breeders it is very important to know the real character of a true working dog.

My experience of a good working dog is a self assured 60% prey drive and 40% defense drive, full temperament but calm dog. The only difficulty is to find, this specimen because we also want a V1 Show dog in the same dog. I hope this article can give you some help to find the exit in the labyrinth.

The Character of a dog:

A. Survival instinct

1. Fear drive

2. Aggression drive

3. Obey rules

B. Drives to hunt and eat

4. Prey-& posses drive

C. Reproduction instinct

5. Dominance

Copyright by Guy Verschatse 

Belgium

WHAT IS A "REAL" WORKING- DOG?

Our bitch: Askija v Shambala, (Balou v Silberblick x Cleopatra v Hammerbachtal) HD-A, ED 0, BH, KT, AD, ZTP, POL.DH

People talk about working dogs and working lines, but what exactly is a working dog? Is there a definition "to be or not to be" a working dog? These questions will have a different meaning for everybody, so being a working dog is a very unclear definition. In this article I will try to find a universal standard to separate

the "weed from the corn".

 

My opinion about a working dog:

What are "working drives"? A working dog needs working drives to make it possible to do the work he was bred for.  The dogs we use as guard and defence dogs usually come out of Group 1 (Shepherds) and Group 2 (Molossoids, Pinschers, Schnauzers) who are also the most common Schutzhund or Ringsport dogs. To keep it short, we will  only look at three related disciplines: Schutzhund, Ringsport and Police dogs. To be able to do this work we need the following aspects (in the right propositions); prey drive, self assurance, aggression, dominance, speed, endurance and good health (see "About Drives and Character"). So from the moment a dog is able to do the task he was bred for he can be a working dog.

The Berner-Sennenhund, a breed who has the same ancestors of our Rottweiler." The task he was bred for?" Cheers...

 

Is a dog who is training towards his working title a working dog?  

A dog who is training towards his first title is also a working dog because he is already working the required program. The normal routine to train a dog for Schutzhund, IPO or Ringsport is to make the training longer and harder as the trial, so from the moment a dog is showing he is able to pass a trial he can be a working dog.

Yeti v. Schloss Hexental, (Hurko v Sittard x Uschi v Schloss Hexental) HD-A, ED 1, IPO3, KT, a upcoming stud with a born full and calm grip.

 

Does a working dog have to have a working title?  

To be a working dog he doesn't necessarily need a title to prove he has the desirable drives. Sometimes it is the owner's fault a dog is not titled. Everybody knows a good dog who is in the hands of a poor trainer. When you see a good dog with a reputable trainer you've got to be aware of this dog, he can be a medium dog who is "made" good. On the other hand a bad trainer will show the dog how he is, he will not be able to make the dog better than he is. I have tested adult dogs (2 years an older) who have never done any training before and  my experience is if a dog has the correct drives he will bite the Frabo sleeve in one training session "hard and full"! Even stick hits will be absorbed. To have ideal working drives you don't need a title to prove. There are too many examples of fancy titled dogs who don't know how to work.

Xanto v. Schloss Hexental, (Janko v Herrenholz x Uschi v Schloss Hexental) HD-A, B.MIL.DH, imposant dog who is working in the Belgian Gendarmerie as a protection dog.

 

Does a working dog need a Schutzhund/IPO title or can he have another title which is considered equal?  

The most known and respected title on the Rottweiler is the Schutzhund/IPO title. In Germany (the country of origin of the Rottweiler, German Shepherd Dog, Dobermann) Schutzhund is very popular. It was invented by  the SV (German GSD club) to test, compete and maintain the working drives of the GSD. However, in Belgium the Belgian Shepherd people created "Ringsport" to test, compete and maintain the Malinois (see "Belgian Ringsport") and was soon followed by France and Holland (KNPV). We also have the Police/Army duty dogs who are trained similar to Schutzhund and Ringsport but in "real life situations" and they carry the titles of POL..DH, MIL.DH. So all titles which enable a breed to enter in the working class (Gebrauchshund class) are "real" working titles: Schutzhund, IPO, Ringsport, Pol.DH, Mil.DH, CQN.

My (and lots of other people's) opinion on a Rottweiler who is working in an obedience program, herding and agility is that he is not considered a working dog.

Quaxi v. Kaisersteinbruch, HD-A, MIL.DH, one of the best working Austrian army dogs.

 

Does a titled dog have to have a minimum score to be a working dog?  

A Schutzhund/IPO dog has to have a minimum of 70-70-80 (220/300) to succeed in his trial. Working drives are shown in every part of the trial and the experienced working dog lover will respect all three phases (Tracking, Obedience and Character work). So theoretically a dog who passes with 70-70-80 is a working dog. For me, obedience and defence are the most important parts to see if a dog has the ideal drives. The good thing is that the defense part can be critiqued as "kampftrieb-a" (pronounced in courage) regardless of the score! So a dog can have a score of 72-"kampftrieb-a" which means he will lose the points in obedience during the Character work and not by leaving the Helper. It is a shame that too many Judges give this privilege too easily.

Castor v. Haus Swiatecky, HD-A, SchH3, ZTP, Gekort, a dog who impressed us by his speed in the bitework.

 

Can a working dog fail (or be unable)  to pass a working title?

A very strong dog can fail in a trial just because of the fact that he has "too much drive". A dog with extreme dominance will not always do what his trainer is telling hem to do. A perfect example is the dog who does not release the sleeve. He will fail because of disobedience to his owner. Another example is that the most extreme working dogs are not always "the most friendly to stranger's" dogs. Some excellent working dogs can never pass the sociability part of the BH. By this it is proven that some very good working dogs can fail in trials.

Uras v. Schloss Hexental, (Igor v Muthmannsdorf x Saaike v Schloss Hexental) HD-A, ZTP, CP, EG, "a once in a lifetime-dog" who's life had no happy end... 

 

Does a working dog need a certain "aggression" or "sharpness"?  

For me a working dog is only complete when he's got enough guard an defense instincts. This means a top scoring Schutzhund dog is not always a reliable guard dog. I have seen lots of good scoring dogs who let every stranger enter his owner's garden, house or car. This is unacceptable to me. The dog has to minimally warn his absent owner. Dogs who don't have enough sharpness will also have problems with unexpected situations, such as when the Helper is standing-marching on the dog's feet, a left handed Helper who is carrying his sleeve and the stick on the other side, the first time a dog has to bite a full biting suit, etc. When one of these things happen unexpectedly to a dog with ideal aggression-sharpness the dog will go from defense drive to fighting drive. The so called friendly "made dog" will not be able to rely on his training routine and will hesitate for a moment or even run away.

Darius a. d. Hege, HD-A, SchH3, AD, BH, ZTP, Gekort, this was a real working dog. He had the ideal aggression/courage.

 

Does a working dog need to come from a working bloodline?  

We have two types of top scoring dogs: the dog bred by coincidence and the dog coming from proven working lines. Both can be top dogs but as a breeder/trainer I prefer the last one. Good "made dogs" and "coincidence" dogs will not reproduce their qualities.

Henry v. Hirschenrangen, HD-A, SchH3, AD, ZTP, Gekort, top scoring working dog who came out of popular show-lines.

 

Is the brother/sister of a working dog also considered as working dog?  

Littermates carrying the same genetic information as their proven top working brother/sisters. Somehow there can be a big difference in the individual dogs. We know a lot of littermates of famous producers who produced completely differently.

Greif v. Oberhausener Norden, HD-A, SchH3, BH, ZTP, Gekort, who came out of pure working-lines, however he was not of the working - quality like most of his half brothers.

 

Is a working dog an ugly dog?  

In the Rottweiler breed the difference between working and show lines is not as the German Shepherd Dog for example. Some breeds have two different "breeds" in one with the working line having nothing any more to do with the show line. There are many examples of working figs who have produced show champions but I cannot find many show lines who have produced (potential) working champions.

Onex v. Schwaiger Wappen, HD-A, ED 0, WS'00, SchH3, AD, BH, ZTP, is demonstrating that a dog out of working lines can be beautiful.

 

Does a working dog produce working dogs?  

A "real" working dog is a dog who fulfills all the aspects of the above questions. Such a dog will produce working dog offspring.

Vasco v. Heyverhaus, (Max v Oberhausener Norden x Quinta v Schloss Hexental) HD-A, IPO3, friendly towards strangers and one of the hardest dogs I know.

Conclusion: 

As long as breeders are able to see the difference between "natural talents" and "made dogs" there will be working dogs! It is also VERY IMPORTANT that the brood bitch is from excellent working quality because she is responsible for about 70-80% of the character and drives in the puppies. What's important to me is if a breeder is not sure or wants a neutral opinion or advice on the quality of his bitch then he has to ask the advice of an  honest Judge and do a ZTP, character test or mental test. These tests are very important even when they don't comprise a biting exercise.

Or to quote William Shakespeare :"TO BE OR NOT TO BE, THAT'S THE QUESTION".

Copyright by Guy Verschatse 

Belgium

Pictures:

Igor v. Muthmannsdorf

Igor v. Muthmannsdorf demonstrating a full grip (at age of  only 17 months)

Uras v. Schloss Hexental (Igor v Muthmannsdorf x Saaike v Schloss Hexental) in confrontation with Cris Carr (USA)

Ursa v. Schloss Hexental (Ianki vd Traisenwiese x Ragna v Schloss Hexental) (Australia)

Vadar v. Schloss Hexental , (Igor v Muthmannsdorf x Saaike v Schloss Hexental) HD/A, ED+, BH, AD, ZTP (Switzerland)

Magnus v. Glücksstern, our second stud

Zeno v Schloss Hexental (Mambo vd Teufelsbrucke x Uschi v Schloss Hexental) in action (France-Switzerland)

Louve d. Barry d'Epmal, HD/A, Rescue Dog, GEK, CP, French Ring

Louve d. Barry d'Epmal, HD/A, Rescue Dog, GEK, CP, French Ring

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