Importance of titling your own Showline dog and then campaigning in shows - Page 4

Judy, my last dog was a SL female imported from Gemany. She was HOT trained and handled here in the US. When she was exhibited at the 2005 German sieger I've been told that she received a standing ovation for her bite work. I didn't own her then, wish I had.

Sometimes common sense fails me, vonIsengard LOL. 

That's awesome Blitzen.  Kudos to you for doing such a great job with that girl.  I'm sure you must be very proud of your accomplishments. 
Judy

I didn't own her then Judy but I'm proud of her just the same.

Come to think of it, I don't think many people from the US show at the German Sieger.

I too would love to know any stats or thoughts on how HOT dogs have done in past SSs both in performance and in the ring. I wonder who the highest place dog or bitch has been that has been HOT....

The age is a huge problem I've noticed. Everyone is trying to hurry as soon as their dogs are 15 months they jump in and get a BH and as soon as their dog is 18 months they go trying for a SchH1.
I know someone like this who is trying to hurry hurry. It saddens me because they thought bragging their 5 month old puppy did a whole BH routine was great.
 

I had to copy this because it is so true, I just left a club where this is the mentality, most of the people have trialed and failed many times because they did not lay a good foundation, they are all in a hurry, it's thought of as a race.  So in a trial when they could not correct the dog for a mistake, the dog / handler falls apart.  I did fall into this with my female, the pressure to get her BH when she was just a week past 15 months, and she failed.  I learned a huge lesson.  First not to let anyone talk you into anything until you feel ready, and Second just because they are 15 months old and know most of the exercises does not mean that they are mentally ready for the pressure in a trial situation.  Why put them into a trial just to have a bad experience?

I just titled my girl at 2-1/2 years in IPO I, it took alot of work.  We train at least 5 days a week, and I knew she was ready, I did not let anyone talk me into it.  She proved to me at the trial that she was ready, for example in tracking, she lost the track at the first corner, she stayed calm, I stayed calm and she found the track and continued. The judge told me at the end that she loved the way my dog worked out the corner on her own, how her speed never changed she did not get hectic when she lost the track she just worked through it. 

This is a great thread!

What a great thread!

VonIsenguard - your posts are really insightful and mirror what I have experienced myself and what the trainer at my club has been telling me.

In June this year I titled my boy, Mascani Ikon, to SchH 1 and in July to Kkl 1. I have been showing dogs for 30 years and I don't think anything has come close to the huge sense of acheivement I got from that. http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=654811 

It all started because I wanted to enter a dog into the working class at the British Sieger. I have bred all but one of the dogs which I own (5 - mostly veterans!!) and although I show and breed they are mainly my companions so the thought of sending my young dog away to be trainied was a no go! Having decided to give it a go myself, I am so glad I did and I now have three obsessions - breeding, showing and schutzhund.

Without a doubt the bond that I have with Ike is deeper than any other dog I have owned - I love them all but they do not "know me" like he does and I do not "know them" like I know Ike.

We are working towards SchH 2 now - fingers crossed and I have a litter of 4 week old pups that I intend to keep a bitch from and start all over again - so excited!

Shirley

If you feel a BH is a little much for your young dog, a better way to get started might be a CGC or the GSDCA temperament test.  Also AKC rally novice is a fun thing and requires only basic OB; dogs that know the basics, all done on lead - heel, sit, platz. come, stay - can participate and have fun doing it and those basic exercises are need to compete for a BH. Any of these can give you a better understanding of how your youngster will behave in different situations  while gaining some ring presence that will be valuable when trialing for a BH. 

Very true, Blitzen. I have a young bitch here almost done with her RA, all top scores (her first perfect 100 at 7 months) that I intend to SchH title next year. You must keep in mind though, the people rushing their dogs to title do so because they want to breed them and don't give a damn about what the dog can do, let alone representing the SV type at AKC events. Being a breed ambassdor isn't their agenda, money is.

I agree and I am taking it slow even with my own dog. He is over 15 months, but I feel he needed that extra time before I started training more than basics when he was a pup. I just enjoyed him and play bonded for a long while and concentrated on the service dog aspect of his life which brought us even closer together.