How to answer why I want a Sch dog? - Page 1

I have question that I need help answering.  My friend wants to know why I want a Sch dog in the house?  His concern is that my roommate has two children age 5 and 3.  They absolutely love my dog and they are only around when I can supervise all three of them.  He thinks if you teach a dog to attack they are untrustworthy.  I have tried to tell him a trained dog is safer than an untrained one but he has allready made his mind up.  So how should I answer him?

Not at all. As you said. "He has already made up his mind". Likely NOTHING you say will change that.

You've told him.  He won't listen, he'll never listen.  Next tell him the dog and kids get along fine and to not mention it again.

I explain it as to football, boxing, karate. 

I explain it is a sport, same as when a football player/boxer acts one way during the game, he is not so in a different social area.  Most folk I talk to understand this way of thinking.   My dog is playing a sport on the field.  At home he is not. 

Simple, but seems to work.

Same as Macawpower, only I use Karate to explain it. Schutzhund teaches them discipline, self control, confidence, yes,  fighting ability also..but like karate, you rarely see those kids acting like bullies on the school yard, as it goes against the principals of the discipline. It give them skills and tools to win a fight, but also the confidence and self control for when a fight is not worth fighting. Any trained dog is far safer with children than an untrained dog.

all dogs know how to bite.  schutzhund dogs know when to bite and when they cant. 
john

As to the why?

To me it is a high.  There is nothing more rewarding than my dog finishing what I ask, then sitting all big eyed, and tail wagging, knowing he did good.

Some love golf, I love the relationship training brings to me and my dogs.   Some love falling from an airplane, I love to see my boy sailing over the hurdle, to race to me, proud of his abilities.

I love when I'm at an outdoor hamburger joint, and my dog is lieing at my feet, and I get person after person, asking "how did you ever teach him to be so well behaved?".  It strokes my ego, and feeds my pride in myself, and my dog.

I love knowing I can stop my boy who is racing down the field, with a 'platz' command, and that every other pet dog owner is watching in amazement, and perhaps a little jealousy.

I love that everytime I pick up my coat and camera, I have my boys dancing around my feet, begging to go have some fun.

I love finding out my boy can't do this, but excells at that.

Who would not want to do schutzhund?

My mom WAS very concerned about the whole sport of Schutzhund, I explained it until I was blue in the face. I envited her to a practice and very experienced people explaine every step of the training - expecially the bite training. Now she realizes that the dogs are basicly playing tug of war and with only objects made from jute or burlap. One fo the things she was most impressed with was how the dog could be tearing up a sleeve and the helper was able to reach down and touch its face without being bit. She no longer feels the dogs are mean, agressive or untrustworthy, as is not proud that our dogs are so smart.

Doubt your friend will go to a club practice, you could try. It worked for us.

yea, some people really just don't get it.  And yes I trust my trained dogs more than someone else's untrained pet!  

I have a new baby on the way, and sure there is some concern how things are going to go.   I'm sure fine.   But it's not because I do Schutzhund with my dogs.  

Kandi, I like your comparison to Karate.  I like to tell people that it is a game for my dogs and how the dog brings the sleeve back to the helper for more of the game.  

 I like to say because I am all grown up and it is supposed to be a free country.

As far as what he thinks, most dog people know fuck all, so imagine how little he knows.