Is this Normal for a Schutzhund Club - Page 2

Agree very much so with what GSDfan and Renofan said.   You too Kyle, as far as maybe giving the dog more time.  14 is pretty young...and yes some are cookie trainers and not capaple of having to work a dog differently if they have to.

Some clubs are as Melanie said, "higher end."  We tend to have a mixture of both, some hobbyists and some that are more competitive.  I'm somewhere in the middle myself. 

I was once told that a SchH1 was all my Ike would be able to do.  But, with hard work and dedication you'd be surprised at what can be acclomplished.  A year and a half after being told that.......we got our 3 with respectable scores under a not so easy judge. Had his handler been more competent as well, we could have done even better.  LOL Even pondering a FH at some point in the future too.  That can be his full retirement present!  Right now, retired from Schutzhund to train in herding, and I'm working my other dog. 

Kathy

Well I would say you smell a rat for a reason, when I moved to my current location, I visited several clubs and it ranged from if you dont by a dog from one of our breeders you dont work here to you are not in the click or trained with the wrong people so you cant play in our sandbox.  I agree with Cheryl, find a good personal trainer with credentials, by credentials I mean has their name appeared on national teams, international team, do you see them consisently placing in national competitions.  Cheryl is lucky enuf to have a private trainer that meets those qualifications, and has the patience and skills to work with show dogs.  Find an independent evaluation for your dog, before you make an decisions.

Have they explained to you any specific things they observed with the dog or you as the handler that made them come to the conclusion that he "couldn't make the cut"?  Maybe their reasons are valid but even so there's a tactful way it should be presented to  you without being offensive or coming off like "if you don't own one of "ours" you ain't got &*%T! 

If you're like me you want to know your dogs strengths AND weaknesses; but I wouldn't just ask one person or rely on the other club members opinions.  I'd go elsewhere and ask someone who's respected and honest.  Anyone that would ever suggest I sell my dog to get another they can "find" me I personally would walk away from.  I'd have more respect for someone if they said "it's my opinion that the goals and expectations you have in mind for this young dog are too much for him/her to accomplish based on the following reasons...., if you can accept that this is all this particular dog can bring to the field then you will enjoy working together, if you can't accept it and want to accomplish more then I would suggest you look for another dog that can and just have fun learning with the one you have now.

Doesn't that sound much better than "don't waste your time with this dog, he aint got it, but for a fee I can find you one that does?"

Do you have other clubs in your area or are you limited?

This is a simple one :

1. Get a second and third opinion, no harm done. If your trainer cannot help you work on the dog's issues then go somewhere else. Some "advanced" clubs with championship dogs will be geared as such and may not be suited for absolute greenhorns. No fault of theirs, no fault of yours, just not enough hours in the day to cater for everybody. Some clubs are more fun oriented and have the time to do the basics....it sounds like this is what you need.

2. Post a youtube video.....but be prepared for the half-wits who don't know the first thing about SCHH to chip in.

That particular process cost me a lot of money when I first came into the sport 20+ yrs. ago. Always get several trainers' opinions. BTW: I DID title the dogs the 1st TD (who just happened to have a very expensive young dog for sale)  swore would never make it, one within only a few months of the negative announcement.

SS

RTHe Dog is being judged way too early, and no one at any club should say it is not up to standard, It cannot be compared to other Dogs the same age not at all, some mature quicker than others and the slower matuing dog can be better than the early maturing Dogs proven time and time over here in Belgium

Do not be hasty in condeming the Pup its too early and if anyone comments on it tell them to worry about there own Dog 's talent, not your Dog

If any club offical says otherwise, they are not acting in a professional manner, and they are better not bothered with and that is the truth, no one over here would dream of doing that to any owner, they would do all they can to help the Dog and its handler , but then i guess we think different over here in Belgium, meaning the club officals

Steve

Every club has a different "personality" and their own policies and goals.  I remember seeing a web site of a club in my old region that stated that they are a serious training club and if you aren't getting titles on a reasonable timetable then you don't belong.  That's a paraphrase, of course, but you get the point.  However, there is nothing wrong with this per se because they are completely up front about it.  Some clubs are highly competitive and the "just for fun" person is out of place.  C'est la vie.

Sounds like you've got two issues here... 1) Is my dog "good enough" for the sport?, and 2) Is the club Prez pushing you into spending big buck$ for a dog that you may or may not need?

If you're having fun training your dog, and your club understands that you're just in it for fun, then who cares if the dog is podium material or not?  If your club is OK with you just "doing the best you can with what you got" then the whole issue of whether or not to take out a second mortgage to buy that high rent import is moot. 

Yvette

It seems there is a conflict of interest, and in a perfect world there wouldn't be, but we all know it ain't perfect.

Breeders work their dogs to put titles on them to proove their stock.  It's a lot of work and expense.  Egos can

get in the way of good judgement in all endeavors.  If you can't work your dog there for fun, then it won't be fun,

and you should look elsewhere.  This is unfortunate, but there are only so many hours in a training day, and one helper

can only work so many dogs before he/she runs out of gas.  Maybe you could offer to learn helper work if that's an issue,

and spell the helper so he isn't doing all the work.  Makes the day go by quicker, too.