Serious obedience question - Page 3

I'm in the same boat but I don't do Schutzhund so nobody really cares. My dog doesn't look bad until the FR people show up at our club. LOL. Yes my dog crowds and he can sit crooked sometimes or come into me crooked. I don't care about that crap either but I keep trying to fix it when someone points it out and tells me how to deal with it. Maybe someday he will be closer to perfect but mostly I just try to have fun. If the tedious stuff starts to bug me, I quit and throw the ball a few times and find something else to work on. I'm not the best faker when it comes to enthusiasm. Got better months ago and dropped back to lacluster, because my dog doesn't really need my fake happy crappy anymore to keep up.

Obedience can be veeeery boring, and the way I have seen it worked in the clubs nearby, regardless of Association, it is veeeery boring. To make it fun do fun things, and the datail work comes with it. You can work all sorts of things. Good heelwork pays off, If you don't know yourself how to make things fun, maybe even consult some of the Rally signs from AKC, i know UKC adopts some sort of Rally now,too. Then you can have fun settings to work on, and work through, and then pick things you need to iprove, or go in the grwat outdoors, and heel for fun here and there for a couple of minutes.

If you just need OB for the field, forget about really needing it, i do a lot of things with my dog, and a good heel or long stay (down or sit) and straght sits are sometimes so helpfull.

I know here in the states you hardly can take your dog places, but if you do can take your dog, a good obedience is very helpfull. As for the wrapped around and head up to look in the handlers face, i believe this is changed now, and as long as the dog shows attention to you, and that might very well be just the ear up to you (instead of the whole head) it is concidered ok, even for the trail. (When I got the changes right, correct me someone if i am wrong)

I see patternwork so much and it just kills the fun! Be creative...

As for the aging of the track, I often meet with a friend or friends to do it, and the aging can be spend very nicely with a cup of coffe and a little snack... fun time to discuss some training issues,too.

As most of the readers here know who like to train in the sport of ScHh, that obedinance is the hardest disapline of the three phases

Meaning more points are lost on this than tracking and protection

For me a Ball dropper is the way to get a Dogs attention on the field, and the love for this ball is started as a Puppy Once a Pup gets to love the ball on a piece of short rope you are made

What we do is to get the Pup we want to learn to heel is to get him at the Sit, give the command and walk three yards with the Pup looking up at the face of the trainer and drop the ball, within a couple of days the ball will not reach the ground the Pup will have it in a flash

Each time a short distance with the Pup looking up and drop the ball, play with it with the pup this will also get the Pup letting the ball go but gentle at this time with its teeth

As i said i will have young Heidi heeling by the time she is 14 weeks old, but only for short distances nothing serious, and at only short periods of time, and i will make her mad for the Ball on a short piece of rope, but everything will be fun for her

Steve

Could you do the same thing with say, a tug?  I'm not big into balls...hard for me to handle, and they go off willy nilly everywhere.  Or drop a piece of high value cookie for a job well done?

How do you phase out the rewards?  That's another issue I have.  I ALWAYS reward my dog when he has done something that is exceedingly difficult for him, and he's done a good job, but I find I have a hard time phasing it out for "every day" things, like left turns (we're worst at those...he doesn't get out of my way consistently).  If you look in the videos you can see that there's more bumping going on than should be, and I know that sometimes it is ME, because I'm trying to keep a good pace with the dog, and other times it's him crowding.

Strauss is a fun dog to work...frustrating sometimes, but fun.  You should see the maniac run agility xD

I'll be lucky if he ever gets his BH...let alone his SchH I, but I'm very pleased with what we've done so far, even if it isn't on the timetable I hoped for.

You wont be able to do nice tracking or protection without a solid foundation in obedience.  You can do obedience without tracking or protection....but the obediece is the fiber that holds it all together.

I hope someone told you that you are not supposed to drill the schutzhund routine all the time....right?   You should break it up in small segments rewarding and playing with the dog often.  Only do the routine once in a while to see where you are at..  This way you can keep it like the daily fun obedience that you both like.

I can't do the routine at all..another reason we have no BH.  I can't remember the entirety of the pattern, and I'm too embarrassed to try a trial and have to look for the judge for help.  In AKC the judge calls the pattern.

I'm finding it VERY difficult to count paces, watch the position of my dog, AND try and think of what's coming next.

Notice that 99% of these shortcomings come from the handler xD

The bh isnt that big of a deal....just alot of heeling.  They arent looking for a great performance on the bh....just some control.  The dog does have to stay with you and do the in motion stuff but it doesnt have to be pretty.

You can do it!

I trust my dog, I just hate making mistakes in the patterns, lol.  We're working on distractions, as there are a couple of things I need to proof, but don't know how to proof safely.  Sometimes I swear he has ADD though...he'll be delightfully attentive one minute and then the next I can't get his attention.

I don't know if this is because I haven't worked focus enough, if he's blowing me off, or if he's going into avoidance because I'm stressing and he's trying to offer me calming signals to get me to relax.

Xeph

I like to use a ball on a short rope  called an obly ball and i where a waistcoat with a Ball Dropper at the top of the left top of the coat, it is held by velcro

a cord goes underneath inside the jacket and through two holes finishing on the right side so i have my hand on the cord when i want the ball to drop i just pull and out goes the ball

You can use what ever your dog likes best i.e small tug or treats, what ever you like best or i should say what makes your Pup go mad over

Short distances at a time three yards is enough when starting to get a pups focus and not too long at that because they cannot focus long when very young, I make it a game for them

BH you should be okay with that

Have you taught your Dog to stay down for about ten minutes or so that is around the time you will need him to stay on the field whilst the other dog is working. and do not forget to get him used to traffic and bicyles

looking at your video i think you will be fine at the BH

If you want your dog to do a left turn keep him on the leash and use your knee to guide him so he gets the idea, just push it against his shoulder he will turn and give him a little leash correction to help him, and a verbal command just to get him used to it

Finally you have to get the obedinance or the tracking and protection will not come, it all stems from a dog  being obedinant

That to me is the hardest disapline of all to get right, and the one a person will lose most points in a competition

Steve

I've probably been spoiled by this dog Steve.  He tracks because HE likes to track.  I've never had to make him to do it...it's a natural enthusiasm, and the only "corrections" he's ever been given has been to learn to indicate articles.  I have a very hard time keeping it challenging for him as I don't know how to lay creative tracks and what not.  He always pulls like gangbusters because he's so certain, and I know when he slows down and his tail drops that he's confused and has lost his way.  I generally give him a minute to work it out himself, and if he doesn't I redirect to a couple feet away and let him find the track that way.

But I'm probably doing it wrong, lol.  I have nobody around to help me.  I do this all on my own as none of my family is "into" dogs, and none of my other dog friends really do schutzhund or tracking.

I'm not sure the protection work ever WILL come, because I can't afford to take the trek out to the club I was going to currently :-(

I work with what I got, which is a good dog, and a tight budget.  Stinks sometimes, but we make do.

I appreciate the advice :-)  Maybe eventually I'll like obedience...right now it's a "do it 'cause I have to' kind of deal.  Maybe I'd be more into it if I were a perfectionist xD

Poor dog...he's an overachiever and his handler...isn't