My boy is growing up, advice please - Page 1

Drake will be 8 months on Sunday! I can't believe he was such a little fuzz ball such a short time ago.  My husband was all excited the other day because he cocked his leg to pee for the first time.  It was like some male rite of passage in his eyes, such pride!  You guys just kill me sometimes..."That's my boy!!" kinda thing.  I do have to admit it was pretty cute tho, we have daughters so I guess this is as close to a son as he'll get LOL.

Anyway, I'd like some input on which way to turn with my big boy.  I have had him to the SchH club in our area(over an hour away) a few times and they said he did better with prey drive than most his age...that he has promise.  Being new, I don't know exactly what that translates to.  How far does "promise" usually take a dog in this sport? How do I really know if he has what it takes and what age is best for this type of evaluation?  I'll tell you the reason I'm asking.

The SchH club is over an hour from my house.  I have had Drake in OB (10 min. from my house) since he was 10 weeks.  It's the same place I took Link (he was going into advanced) and when we lost him they were devastated, he excelled.  Needless to say, they kind of spoiled us with Drake and fit him in to a puppy class that was already full, they're nice folks!  He does REALLY well in OB, he's the only dog in his class who is really consistent with obeying the commands he knows, really is a good boy.  He is also very good with children and other dogs, loves everybody.  So...we'll be going for OB and CGC, and maybe even Therapy later on.  I know you can do all of these AND SchH but I don't want to put time and money into something I'm not sure he or I are capable of??  Also, if I intend to do SchH later on, should he have been learning german commands from day 1?  He had learned all of his commands in english at puppy and beginning OB before my hubby or I had an interest in SchH.  Some of these might sound like stupid questions but since I'm a newbie to the sport I don't want to set him up for failure.  Thank you in advance.

P.S. He will be oversized also, he's weighing in at over 90 lbs at 8 months.

if you think you would enjoy the sport, then go. Most sch fields will not tell you your dog has promise and not mean it.

He's a big boy!  Learning commands in two languages is not a problem.  We use English for more casual and our German for precise response.  Nothing says you HAVE to use German, we see people use English, French, and others, much depends on where the dog was raised and trained.  Continueing with your obedience and other plans shouldn't hurt at all later on.  He's young yet.  (Our club is right at an hour away, many drive farther to get there.)

Okay, there are no guarantees & all puppies are a crap shoot.  Most of us who are not breeders get involved with schutzhund for fun - in other words, it's the journey not the destination.  You are pretty lucky having a schutzhund club that you like only an hour from you.  Many of us travel well over 2hours each way to get to the good clubs.   The dog wouldn't be "disappointed" whether he is a dog that can "just" get his schHI by the skin of his teeth, or compete at the local,  regional, national or international level.  He doesn't  understand or care about that, he's just happy doing stuff with you.  So I say, DO IT, and HAVE FUN doing it with your dog because in the end isn't that really what it's all about?

Sparrow...Your puppy is a very big boy...and any German Shepherd or large breed dog should have Ob training...so you're on the right path...and as the other poster said...most Schutzhund clubs won't tell you that your dog has promise unless they mean it...But on the other hand you have no idea of what he'll really be like until you get him going and doing some of the work...But if your dog has good to very good prey drive then he should be just fine...But Schutzhund isn't a sport for everyone...It takes a lot of time and dedication...Ob...Tracking...and Protection...You have a lot to learn and there's only one way to learn it...go out and do it...So good luck and if you'd like you can contact me on my e-mail...

~Bob~

P.S. "Prey Drvie" is nothing more then the drive of the animal to chase and catch it's prey...like catching food in the wild...

Thanks for the responses, it's kind of what I was thinking but am just scared being new.  I'm not really familiar with what a good pedigree is tho I know his isn't the greatest, but he does come from working lines.  How important is the pedigree?  I don't plan on doing any breeding, I know he's not breeding stock even if I do title him, just want to let him be the best HE can be. His pedigree is on here, I posted it about a week ago but I hate the pic, tried to do it myself and it was a real treat trying to keep him still while I got the shot, then changed it a few times but still don't like it.  Also had to add some of his lineage so it took me a while to get it right. But...here it is.

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/516166.html

He  is a good looking dog.  That's a better shot than I can manage even with 3 people!!!

Sparrow I would say you are on the right path. Keep his obedience at just a motivational level. I think once you get going with Schutzhund you will either get addicted or not, then you will have your answer. I think it is harder for the big dogs doing the jumps and wall and such but you can build such a bond and dogs love the work if they are suited to it. My only advice is do it for fun!

Sparrow- It's perfectly normal to be a nervous wreck being a newbie but you'll start to loosen up once you get into the swing of things.  Your dogs pedigree should not discourage you from giving SCH a try he may very well be a good candidate despite the fact he may not look as appealing on paper.  If you're not going down the road with breeding I wouldn't worry about the pedigree at all.  There's a flip side to things also that a dog may look good on paper and comes from very nice working lines but they lack the ability to shine in the sport.  Only way you'll know is to try.  Even if your boy doesn't do as well as you'd like it's ok, I'm sure he's not gonna be your last GSD and it gives you a chance to learn what you can to make the next dog you get a little easier to train with. 

Working lines????? There are no working lines at all!!!   Just do it for fun.... Almost undeniably he is vastly overweight.... Cut him down now!!