First Schutzhund Training

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by triodegirl on 14 May 2007 - 19:05

I took my 3 year old male for his first Schutzhund training this weekend. Although I had my doubts, I let the trainer try the aggression thing with him. Trigger was barking and stood his ground, but didn't lunge right at the sleeve as the guy predicted. The owner of the place mentioned using some kind of whip but I declined. I think Trigger was more confused than anything as he has to remember the trainer. Trigger was born in the trainer's house and lived there for the first 9 months of his life. Then the second owner brought him back later for some training with the same guy. How could the dog not remember him? (Would have been funny,though, if he would have chewed his face off anyway.) Just kidding. I think I'll keep working on the obedience for his BH title and be happy with that for now. Today Trigger is none the worse for wear except for some head shaking. So it's off to the vet to make sure he didn't pick up some ear mites or something.

by Shelley Strohl on 14 May 2007 - 19:05

My advice: Don't give up so easily. Try Trigger at least half a dozen times in a row. The whip, with its cracks and excitement, might just "trigger" something inside you didn't know you had.

No pun intended.

by triodegirl on 14 May 2007 - 20:05

The guy was talking about using the whip on the dog. If I heard him correctly over all the barking, the whip is used on the inside of the dog's back legs. He said it works particularily well on the pups and doesn't hurt at all? Sounds to me like it might hurt.

by zdog on 14 May 2007 - 20:05

do I have this right? You took your dog for its first training session and he wanted to try out this "aggression thing" with a sleeve? No drive work, see how the dog reacts to different pictures? any of that, or just "put on the sleeve" and go?

by triodegirl on 14 May 2007 - 21:05

zdog,you are correct, just put on the sleeve and go. That's why I said I had my doubts. I made the trainer promise not to touch myself or the dog when he came at us (with the sleeve) pretending to be an attacker. He did try several times and ended up tossing the sleeve at the dog's feet when he wouldn't lunge at it. Trigger just started sniffing the sleeve like what am I suppose to do with this? Not too exciting for his first Schutzhund training.

by Get A Real Dog on 14 May 2007 - 21:05

Find another trainer.

by GSDfan on 14 May 2007 - 21:05

Like I said before I really don't agree with this. The dog hasn't been taught what to do, even if he bit the sleeve it wouldn't be a correct grip and he'd likely bite and release. Not the way to do this IMO.

[[I think I'll keep working on the obedience for his BH title and be happy with that for now]]

So that's it, you just give up...why not find a trainer that will start him in prey?

by SchHBabe on 14 May 2007 - 22:05

Something doesn't sound right here. If your dog has never had foundation work in bite training, how could your trainer possibly expect Trigger to know exactly what to do? I don't get it.

Doesn't it seem more plausible that you should build up his foundation work with a rag and work him in prey to teach him the rules of the game? Geez I would never expect a completely green dog to react in that situation like a well trained dog would.

Am I missing something here? You might want to check with other experienced trainers before committing to this path you're on. Do you have any other clubs in your area? If someone new shows up with an adult dog in my club, we never just throw on a sleeve on to see what happens. We rag the older green dog just like a pup and teach him what the game is all about. That's why I'm concerned about the approach this trainer is using. Doesn't make sense to me.

Any other thoughts, gang?

Yvette

by zdog on 14 May 2007 - 22:05

I certainly would look to find another trainer. You were very smart in not letting him do more. Any idiot can put a sleeve on and whip a dog to get it to bite, those types are a far cry from being called a trainer. Find someone that will do proper foundation and work the dog up. who cares about the sleeve if the dog doesn't know what's expected or how to bite. Trust your instincts and I wouldn't go back.

by triodegirl on 14 May 2007 - 23:05

None of it made any sense to me, either. I don't plan to give up, just take things slow and get hooked up with a Schutzhund club. I am told there is one perhaps 50 miles from here holding some kind of event the first part of June. Will have to see if I can invite myself.

GSDfan, I do recall your misgivings about the whole thing. I changed my mind about going for a few days, but really wanted to see the other trained dogs they had. One is a SchH 3 male and for sale. (The dog was trained over in Germany, I believe) That dog was fun to watch but wouldn't let go of the sleeve. But at least the trained dogs knew what was expected.

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