Question Regarding the BH Test - Page 1

I have a female GSD that is going to be 15 months when we go for her BH the first of May.  She is having some issues when we have been practicing walking up to the Judge, she gets overly excited, (I think she is a little nervous of the other Dog.  She has been gone after by a couple of dogs from our club, because the owners we not paying attention and the dogs were allowed to run around without a leash.)  I am so upset that she is so nervous about the other dogs, I am not sure what to do.  She has no issue when we walk past other dogs, or when she is tied up when I go out of sight and someone walks a dog past her. She has no reaction when she is in the long down, just when we check in and out with the Judge.

So my question is, when reporting into the Judge, can I have her on my right side?  I have heard that this is ok and is easier to show the tattoo in the right ear.  and next will this make her fail the temperament test.  There is no aggression, she just acts like she is excited. 


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kathyo 

I think Sueincc is correct. You may not heel to report on the right unless you are heeling the dog entirely on the right for some reason such as a disability. But, there are ways to minimize the trouble you are having, including making really sure your dog is obedient. Also, trying to end up as the person reporting to the judge (when two are reporting for the actual trial) on the left can help. In this way, you can stand in a subtle manner with your leg or body in the way so your dog does not see the other dog. However, this is something that needs a lot of attention. No judge will get terribly upset if the dog is excited to see him when he is checking for chip or tattoo, but again, you are not allowed to correct the dog, so if your dog will not obey and sit when you give that command, then you have not trained well or long enough. But if your dog is already misbehaving when the two handlers are reporting in, this is a real problem. 

As for other dogs starting problems or running around off-leash, that is an issue your training director should address and it should not be allowed and those dogs/handlers also need to have some help. We can help. Tell us more about how long and how you have trained.

What do you mean, "excited"?  Does she try to get to the other dog? 

IMO, this is an obedience issue.  Aren't you heeling her up to the judge?  Then you need to practice the check-in with another dog, and correct your dog when she breaks position.  If you are not "fuss-ing" her up to the judge, she still needs to be corrected for paying attention to the other dog. 

Remember to stay Calm and Confident yourself.  At this point it's possible you are adding to her issues by getting tense during check-in in anticipation of her behavior.  This will only reinforce her in her belief that check-in close to another dog is an issue.

She's ok on the Long Down.  How is she on the tie-out when another dog goes past?

Good luck!

"She has been gone after by a couple of dogs from our club, because the owners we not paying attention and the dogs were allowed to run around without a leash.)"

You use the past tense, so are you saying that this issue of the off-leash dogs has been addressed and won't happen again?  

Have you thought about this
You say that your dog gets excited when you approach the Judge, However what are you like yourself when you approach the Judge are you a bit nervous does your Body language change for if it does then your dog will pick up on it right away and act accordingly
What you need to do now betwen this time and May to the BH is to get different members of your club to act the part of the Judge and go through the way you will on the test excatly the same, from taking the dog olut of the car to going to the judge excatly nothing else, You can do this 3 or 4 times in a training session give a time apart from each go so you can pratice it at least 30 plus times between now and taking the test
Each time and as soon as the dog gets excited correct it immediatly, When it does it right then reward it and verbally praise it.
You still have time but first of all control your self for i think much of the fault lies with you, do that and the Dog will respond
Steve1

Thank you all for your responses. I know you all are right, I guess I spoil her and the corrections are hard for me to give, she dose so good and has been so easy to train that I have not had to use a lot of corrections.  I know I totally sound like a newbie, and I am. 

Sueincc,  you asked what exactly is she doing, well she tries to lay down and roll around on the grass. she wines a little and wants to jump on the person that is acting as the judge.  She tries to crawl to the other dog, I think she want to play but is very submissive to the other dog.  She has never been allowed to play with any of the dogs from our club, but I have let her meet some of the other dogs.

TessJ10, I am fus-ing her up to the judge, she is excited, but when she realizes the other dog is there that is when she she lays on the ground and tries to roll around. I know this is being submissive and nervous.  She is fine when I do the tie out and walk away, she just sniffs the ground and basically ignores the other dog.

Hodie,  thank you for your all of your advise, I read alot of your threads and you are good.  I have been training her from 8 wks. old, honestly she started doing the watch when I would walk with her in a heel. I had her toy so she could see it, when I removed the toy she still did it.  I have marked after a few steps and now she just dose it.  The whole afraid of other dogs thing started when she was about 12 wks.  I had her out at a park and a dog ran up to her from out of no where and growled, I was able to kick at the dog and it ran off, it was after that the we notice she was a little nervous when she was close to another dog.  Then I had her out on the field training one day and one of our club members had his dog in a long down on the side of field and was not paying attention and when I threw a ball for my girl, the other dog got up and ran after the ball and then went after my girl.  This problem has been addressed, I threw a fit,

Steve1, I have been a ball of nerves, I did not realize it until one of the guys playing the judge told me that I was holding the leash to tight and that I was tense walking up.  I guess I have created this problem.

Anyways I wanted to tell you all Thank you, this is a great site.  Last night at training we did the judge thing and she walked up a little excited, but I was able to calm her down, I had to use the pinch a little, but then she sat and let the judge check her ear, and when she tried to look at the other dog I corrected her, she looked back at me and I rewared her with a treat.  I tried all the things I read about on your threads, and it worked, at least last night.  I am going to train with her again tonight and I will let you all know how she did.
Thanks again,

Kathyo

KathyO,

Practice, Practice, Practice... practice with out another handler/dog team, get it correct then practice with another handler/dog team that you are comfortable with. Maybe even one that you could pair up with when doing the BH. Practice both ways, you going first or the other team going first. Start with going to the left side when checking in (this will keep your dog to the outside) then you can practice some more on the right side. Practice reporting the judge tracking, in obiedience, protection... you can never have too much. The more you practice the better the dog will feel and the more comfortable you will be as well. Good luck.

Michael

Thanks Michael!

Kathyo,

From the description of the problem, you might also want to start proofing her for the traffic portion of the test.  Each judge is different in this and will require different things but a judge can ask you to platz your dog, walk out of sight and the dog is expected to hold the platz while people mill about her, sometimes right overtop of her.

If she is rolling and showing excitement to people, you might just want to make sure she understands 'platz' means 'platz'.