Herding and Schutzhund - Page 1

I have a couple of questions. Thanks in advance for the reply.Can you train in Herding and Schutzhund at the same time? Would there be a conflict? 

Thanks,

Lynn Johnston

 If the handler can do it and the dog can do it, why not? The real problem is that most of the time the dog does not have all the necessary drives for one activity or the other, or, the handler does not have enough time to train. Dogs need to rest as well. I find doing Schutzhund takes all the free time I have.....and more.

Good luck.

Rezkat did:-)

http://www.gsdbydesign.com/versatile_Feb.htm

Sure. I know several people who have and/or are training in both disciplines, and show, and get the breed surveys.

Kirschentals get both Schtzhund and HGH titles on some of their dogs but not sure if they train for both at the same time.

My young male has all foundation set for Schutzhund titles -  is now in the process of getting his HGH title - once he accomplishes that he will continue with his Schh titles.  He shows excellent potential for both :)

molly

Eichenluft Working German Shepherds

http://workinggermanshepherd.com

I am in the Northeast Indiana area. Is there anyone in this area I can observe and perhaps have my dog tested?

Thanks!

Lynn

Lynn,

THere is very little HGH style herding training available in the US. There's a place near Rochester, NY; another with a small flock near Portland on the PA/NJ border, and a farm in Texas somewhere.

AKC herding is much easier to come by. This link to the ATBA may give you a start: www.ahba-herding.org/facilitydirectory.htm

I would stick with one discipline then move on to the other.  Rare is the dog that can do both at the same time.  There are some training conflicts between the two discipines ie. the crook being used for correction and stick threats during drives.

Kyle

Yes, you can do both given the right dog.  There is one caveat to be careful of.  Often in Herding, the herder will correct the dog with the shepherd's stick..(I think it's called a "crook" sp.)  This can cause a slight conflict with the stick hits in SchH.  I had the pleasure of working with a woman in a club in LI who did both.  She had an excellent working dog, and did title the dog in Herding, SchH and agility at the same time.  She worked very hard with the dog in all 3 activities.  The only issue I saw when decoying was that the dog was a little stick shy in the beginning.  It was explained to me that the dog received corrections with the staff, basically got hit when it was too agressive with the sheep in the beginning.  The dog got past the stick issue and went to a SchH 3.

A good GSD can do many things.  I am currently training my 2 yr old male for SchH and as a Police k-9.  The tracking is very different, but he does both styles very well.  The bite work is also very different, he does that very well also.  

Jim