French Ring And Schutzhund. - Page 2

Of course there are always the exceptions. But why not finish the Sch I? You are already well down the road towards that goal. I would work solely on one or the other. Ring is fun, try it but stick with one until you succeed.

Personally, I would not go the ring route - the GSD of today is simply going to be physically broken down by the wall and the "fighting," weird catches and all the exciting stuff you see the mals doing in ring sport.  I know you love your dog, but why put him through it?  Either find him a new home (and get a mal for ring or a new dog for SchH), or deal with the tracking issue.  I would guess that there are very few dogs that, providing they have the correct temperament to begin with *cannot* be taught that they *must* track.  There are exceptions - however, I would guess that with a good instructor or new technique the tracking is a training issue on your part, not something your dog is incapable of.  This is not meant to be confrontational, we all have training challenges that seem insurmountable to us, that someone can breeze right through – even with *our* dogs. I think that moving the ring route is a short cut to avoiding the real issue of dealing with the tracking.  People will come out with all sorts of examples of famous GSDs that did well in ring, however it is the exceptional dog that does and can compete with the mals.  And again, why put the physical demands on the dog vs. getting the correct breed for the sport?  If you'd just stated outright that you wanted to go the ring route, that would be one thing, but I don't think you've exhausted all your avenues of options on SchH yet and to give up due to a lack of food drive/tracking issues is not a good reason to go into ring as far as I see it.

Rebel, you do whatever your little heart desires and don't let anyone tell you GSD's can't hack it. The French do it all the time. If your boy fired up better on tyhe suit, maybe he is bored with Schutzhund,I can't say I blame him either. If ring is your thing and your dog prefers it why shove him into the tracking? People seem to want cookie cutter dogs that all fit the same mould. This is about as practical as all people working the same job. Not gonna happen. Not all GSD's need to get a Sch title or a breed survey. I don't recall you saying you were a breeder or breeding your dog. Have fun and do what makes you and your dog happy.

Kennel du Val Hurles Vent is a breeding program based off of GSD's for FR. There are others as well. No need to pound that square peg into a round hole.

Square peg round hole......................  dont be so quick to put such limitations on any GSD is my opinion.

That's right Two Moons. Isn't the GSD the best "All Around" dog when it comes to working? Jack of all trades master of none. I have had 8 pure bred GSD's and 3 1/2 GSD dogs and none were even close in character or abilities. They each had their own strengths and weaknesses making them individuals. 2 would have made fine agility dogs, 2 the best babysitters, 3 guard type dogs or PP and the rest just companions. They all served a purpose in  their own unique way.

If your dog enjoys the Ring work, and you have a club that will work with you, then why not? 

C'mon, people... not everyone is going to the Nationals.  Why is a SchH title so important that someone must starve their dog just to get those initials behind the name?  If someone is just training for fun, then why go through all that crap?  Get a SchH A title - no tracking - and then move on to someonething the dog and handler ENJOY doing together.

Yvette

That is my dog. I highly doubt he'll ever breed much. Perhaps once or twice. But we don't need a breed survey. If he isn't in sch, I think as long as his hips are done and okay, then he'd be okay to breed. Especially if he excelled at what he was in. I'm still very hesitant, and I definitely want to talk to both clubs a little more closely about it. Someone told me Mondio ring had the jump, but the other side had a ramp. I think that might be easy for him. I just like shepherds too much to go with a mal or dutchie, there's just something the GSD has that they don't, and I think most of you could agree.

I've tried not feeding him the day before, or the day of. He is almost NEVER hungry enough to actually eat it. He speeds over the track, biting up a few. I really do not want to starve my dog. He's still my baby, and I just want to see him doing what he likes most. But he does decently up to about 25-30 paces, then he begins to trail and give his attention to anything else that is even moderately more fun. But this is not my main reason for thinking about doing ring. This is just another issue  helping to spur me towards what I had already kind of wanted to do.

Yvette, I had never even thought of that! A sch A would be decently easy to train for, and I think it's well within easy reach.

Emily

   Don't forget the DVG titles, too. You can trial in OB and PR only (you must also perform in either tracking or OB to do the PR).    You could do the "equivalent" of a Sch A 1-3.

     Until a few years ago, French Ring was very big in the Pacific Northwest, with lots of clubs and several trials and seminars each year.    There was a defintie difference between the gsds who did well in sch and those that did well in ring.   But, helpers were wary to reluctant to outright refusing to work dogs trained in Ring, because of concerns about leg bites.  

  As someone else already said:  it's your dog, you are the one to make the decision and the one responsible for his well-being.  As with humans, "well-being" includes having the chance to do things you enjoy, simply because you enjoy them. 

Have fun with your dog!

Uh oh Emily. You eluded to breeding your dog without a sch title or breed survey......

 Put your dukes up, your about to get attacked 

Remeber folks she is only 15.

Mondio would be good. Yes the dog only has to jump the wall once and there is a ramp. In French Ring You do not have to do the wall until Ring 2 though. I think it's the same with Mondio but don't quote me on that.

If you do Mondio and your dog has courage, you can do PSA. I say if you can; do it all You will learn so much from doing multiple sports with multiple trainers you will be waaaaaaay ahead of the game. Especially at  your age.

Go girl go.