Working Question--How do you tell if she can work? - Page 2

I hate to tell the idiot that told you , dont waste your time and effort on your showline, dog,,,but  what does he think Jada v steffen-haus , Mark v Haus Beck , Uran Wildsteigerland, Ham Urbecke, and on and on ,    all of the steffenHaus dogs work  and you can fill this whole page up with very great SchH 3 x 15 on more showline dogs than we all have hairs on our heads...that have many titles more than some working line dogs and are sometimes far more balanced.....

Willy: You are only one among all of us here, that have been talk to like that........I have taken 5 or 6 people to the different clubs , in my area , and they listened for 1  1/2 hours like you , and left saying  ,,,"Im not going back ,,,,,,they are very rude and they think they have the only dogs in the country that work..and can get a title...:  no thank you......

I never let any of them get to me,,,,it is politics    101 , and you go and make friends , study and read books, and ask questions here....show them you love your dog, and be determined to train to your best ability....read Ivans books,,,,and Susan Barwig and get videos on obedience and tracking  first,,,,dont worry about bite work  ,,,,let the people you have been working with,,,help you  , also....

Thanks Everyone.

Well were going back, and were signed back up for advance obidence classes again with the trainer, and were going to take private lessons on tracking to get us started for 6 weeks. Hannah is 14 months old and is doing very well so far. So were going to play and be nice.

I think it will be a challenging for us, but will make me want to work harder to prove she can do work.

Of the 12 people there they were very nice, I was just shocked a Judge would say this to someone wanting to learn, but he's probably seen alot more then I have, but I still going to work with her.

If you would comment on her pedigree also would be helpful, Hannah vom haus blackhills, yes she a longcoat which I din't tell him that. I already know she cannot show, which we do not plan on, but she can do working parts.

Thank you for names on books to read also, good info.. I check them out tonight...

Willy,

You may have run into the "village idiot" but another possible explanation is that a lot of clubs are burned out on the "window shoppers".  I haven't been in the sport that long myself but I can't help but to start the involuntary rolling of the eyes when the new van comes rolling in to the clubhouse.  Very few first-timers show up with a great dog.  They can linger for months before they decide it's too much work to get Fifi to fuss, and then just leave. 

It's a classic Catch 22 because it's the right thing to do to welcome newcomers, as they are the future of our sport, but if my club had a dollar for every newbie who showed up to trying this "Shuts-hound" thing, we'd hardly need to collect any dues.  The best advice that I can give you is to not worry about whether your DOG can work, but if YOU can stomach the effort.  Talk to the other people in the club, ask them how much time they spend in training.  Compare their dogs's drives and nerves to your own.  A high drive, energetic, hard dog is going to be an easier dog to train. 

My first "SchH" dog was a pet GSD with mediocre drives, soft temperament, and weak nerves.  I stuck it out for a year and a half with this dog, and couldn't even get a BH on her.  I personally have never seen anyone else last half that long with a mediocre dog. 

There's a reason that some working line folks look down on show line dogs.  Go to a few SchH trials and make up your own mind.  So, don't take it personally.  If YOU are ready to work, then a good SchH club should be willing to work with you, regardless of the caliber of your dog.  If you demonstrate your commitment to training, then I'm sure you would be welcome in any decent club.  Not everyone is out to win the Nationals, and I think most folks in the sport understand that. 

Best wishes!

Yvette

"A high drive, energetic, hard dog is going to be an easier dog to train. "

...well, depends. :P