Looking for Hodie(An old member here i learnt few important things from) - Page 6

I agree with much of what you've stated, BW, but how accomplished are those people competing at the national or even the world level really when so many of them consistently do so with dogs that they bought already trained?

So many of them? I'd love to hear how many people you believe are there with dogs they've bought already trained.

It's actually very common here in the U.S. One need only look at the rosters of the many national working dog championships we have here for the past several years and then learn the histories of the dogs that are competing. Doing so will reveal the extent to which people are competing with already titled dogs that were imported.

There are different people out there, like there are different dogs.
Looking at myself, I know I am very good at finding puppies suiting my needs, I am very good in raising self sufficient, civil dogs, and I am very good in training for bitework ( be it PP or IPO ). I am no hero in obedience ( although my dogs were titled ) and I am a looser in tracking ( although the dogs passed, and 2 were in the 90s). but there are people out there who make me looking like a novice after training 30+ years.
I do have a very good eye for conformation, and I have an outstanding feeling for handling ( perfect stack, gait, speed ) on shows, although some people might think bitework and shows don´t fit together - but I know I am a moron in "high class" obedience and (worse) tracking. I just don´t have "the feeling" for it...
Others are experts in tracking, obedience, or whatever - I´ll never learn it. So what?
A lot of international competitors are not able to raise a puppy, but they are able to train a green or IPO titled dog to a high level - different qualities, but not worth less.
There are some single people able to do all of it, but they are rare, and they deserve all our respect.

Every dog is different, every handler is different, the training develops, the goals change - in case you want to achieve anything ( be it sport, real life, or show ) you need a team, and in case you are open minded you will not stop to learn during your whole life with dogs.

As always, excellent post, Susie.

Susie👍, Excellent post! ...I leave most folks with this. I always liked the fact that our breed in its glory is one of versatility and utility. Not the best in anything, but very good in almost anything. When folks have taken the breed to extremes, I feel the breed has suffered in its utility. Maybe that reflects more than the dogs, I dunno. Anyway, there are many many aspects to this breed, and probably just as many supporters and mentors.

@ Susie, and Gustav : so true !
Wouldn't it be a boring world if everyone
was the same ?

In terms of knowledge of the breed, I think it rests in the hands of many folks at various levels and accomplishments. I look at it as analogous to say the sports or academics in the world/country. There are many different levels besides the professional levels or players. These have reached the highest levels in terms of performance and training. But when look at knowledge, more times than not the better coaches, managers, and executives were not able to reach professional levels or the top. There are hundreds of smaller colleges/ universities /teams in the lower levels that have coaches and managers with incredible knowledge and understanding, but have never travelled the highest circuits. Frankly, the very best competitors at highest levels seldom make great coaches, teachers, mentors. There are so many extremely knowledgable people at the lower levels of colleges, clubs, teams. Many of these people neither had the opportunity or the desire to compete on the world or national level, but are incredibly competent or knowledgable. So, I see the same thing in this breed....sometimes people at the highest level of performance are very knowledgable about the breed, often they are extremely gifted in training in their specific venue of the breed, yet not so much in the many other aspects of breed .....i think Susie would find this to be somewhat true in that in Germany there are hundreds and hundreds of clubs with individuals or longtime members with incredible knowledge of the breed, though never on the highest stage.

For me, it’s not about the large amount of different people we have, it’s more about the perception some of these people try to make about themselves…particularly online. The thing Susie did is very rare, I’ve yet to see any “forum royalty” talk about their own short comings. They tend to focus on explaining why their dogs failed or blaming the sport/judging for why their dog gets a 65 in obedience and not the 98 they were planning on getting. Many also then go on to explaining why the dogs that get 98s aren’t “real GSD” and are an abomination. It’s way easier to tear successful people down or tear down what the sport calls for now, rather than to rise to a level where you can compete with them.

I’m also not talking about the people that do have something to offer and do it in a respectful and humble way, what I see a lot of is people that make it out like they are way more than they truly are. Usually this is done by discrediting other successful people that actually have proven accomplishments, convincing the “general public” that their methods are better, and especially when it comes to Schutzhund/IPO its that the sport has changed and they’ve decided that their way is better which is why they can’t score high or in most cases even get a passing score (if they enter trials in the first place). Many times it’s not the people themselves that are the issue, it’s their “royal court” that comes in to defend them with “do you know who you’re talking to?” and “this person has been in it for 30 years, what have you done!?!?!” And when you tell them that the person they’re defending hasn’t actually done anything in the last 25 years…they refuse to believe it. It’s the people that make themselves out to be something they’re not, and their supporters, that end up driving away those that have more knowledge and also new people just getting involved that might have some new ideas to bring to the table.

A lot of this is truly an internet issue. It’s because the posters can’t prove their ability, and anyone looking to refute them, can’t just point and say “look, they truly don’t know what they’re doing.” People keep videos and scores hidden because they know what that will show about their training or their dogs. You don’t tend to see this in real life because when someone at your club claims to be great at X, Y, or Z…they have to generally prove it minutes later and then everyone that’s there can see that they’re full of it. On the internet, it’s hard to prove/disprove people’s claims about their abilities…especially when you’re trying to convince people that have never/will never be involved in the training you’re discussing.

That's especially true when people don't use their real names.