Saint Bernards and Schutzhund - Page 1

No, this isn't a joke...  ;-)

A friend of mine who raised Saints, and I were discussing this and I had to tell her that I honestly had never heard of it.

I was wondering if anyone knows if there are, or have in the past, any Saint Bernards who have competed/or are competing  in the sport and how they have done?
I know they were not bred for it, but I know that there have been other breeds that you'd not expect to see compete in the sport including unusual mixed breeds, so we were wondering if a Saint could do it at least fairly well...

I'm sure it would be pretty hard to find a helper that would have the strength and want to work with the dog.

I have been googgling and have had no luck...

If anyone can find any links I can share with my friend please post them and I will refer her here to check them out, as well as any comments or thoughts...
Much appreciation,
Stacy

When they were making the movie Cujo, SK insisted the dog be a St Bernard. The dog trainer kept asking to switch the breed because it was too hard to get the St Bernard to look the part. I don't fully remember but I think they did the old Mr. Ed trick to get him to snarl with his teeth. I'm not an expert on the breed, but ever SB I've seen would be pretty damn hard to do all three phases. You have to have all the necessay drives, athleticism and temperment. I think you'd be better off loaning one of your dogs to train. Nothing spells disaster like a newbie to the sport and a St Bernard.

It's tiring just thinking about it.  It would have to be a dog that was a fluke of it's breed, like every other unconventional breed that's been trained for SchH.

That's what I thought... I love Saints to pieces and had one myself, and Sam I heard that in some scenes of Cujo, they had to use a Lab... I don't know if that's true or not but just what I was told by my uncle who was/is a diehard SK fan :-)
Maybe I can loan my friend one of my GSDs LOL

Shady, I laughed aloud when you wrote "tiring" ... I couldn't walk my boy without a prong on. The funniest part about it was that I only corrected him with it ONCE in his entire life and he was devastated LOL As soon as it went on after that he was a perfect gentleman... :-)

 I just can't imagine it. There are some off breeds that I can see doing it - at least you can teach them to do the routine and make all the right moves at the right time (like you would teach canine freestyle dancing lol) but St Bernard is not one of them. 

this is the sort of question that no matter how one answers, someone else will come back with an isolated case to refute what has been said.  i am going to say this:  st. b's don't have the nerve to handle the sort of stress that will be put on the dog in schh.  sure you can train the dog in obedience with praise, treats, etc.  tracking wouldn't be a big deal either.  but any real pressure put on the dog in protection/phase C and the dog is going to blow.  the nerve is just not there.  they weren't bred for it.
i think your friend would be best advised to find another avenue for her st. b.  they were bred to save victims of avalanche, so if there is any of this left in the breeding, perhaps the dog could do SAR?  i wish them luck.
pjp

Thanks guys, and I'm going to send her here to read this...
As I mentioned, my guy was very, very soft...
He even yelped, cried and carried on when I have him his his parvo vaccine... The funny part... my 1/2 pound (if that) chihuahua puppies I vaccinated the same day didn't make a peep LOL
PJP,
I talked to her about doing some tracking, and I think that SAR would be awesome and something her dogs could really excel at! She has been showing in conformation successfully  and has been wanting to get into working her dogs as well, but wants to do more than just obedience.

My dogs fascinate her, but I just cannot picture hers being suitable for the sport and wanted some verification from you guys ;-)
Maybe when I move to the country I can trade her a GSD pup for a Saint pup... I think I'd have to send her with a lower drive puppy though because seeing pictures and videos of a worklingline GSD and owning one are two different ballgames... Especially having Saints.

I appreciate the feedback and will forward this link to her, maybe some of the SAR folks can post some links for her (She is in Cali, if that helps!)

Thanks again guys & gals!

Stacy

I think you would have an easier time training it to brush itself and clean up his on drool. Maybe she can put a keg on it's neck full of water and he can be the club's water boy.

I have seen some very aggressive saints, I work with one who is very small for a saint, surprisingly agile and plays very well on a jute tug. However, she wouldn't hurt a fly.

I think you *can* do a SchH1 with just about any dog. Doesn't mean it would would look pretty, and you might need a catapult to get some of them over the A-frame and jump!

Stacy, what about weight pulling with her Saint?

I agree with KCazja but the St Bernard would excell in the tracking part and you could do your sport in parts.  Get the Bh , then do the tracking as that is their talented venue.

Then obedience and maybe SchH1, as the bite work would depend on the conditioning of the St Bernard, preferably a young slender SB>

They are bred for rescue dogs originally which still makes them , if of the correct bloodlines, bred for work , are still in place.. Your friends St. Bernard just might not be from  solid working rescue lines..She can try and may want to contact some breeders who do specialize in a work ing St. Bernard bred for rescue...Then she can raise a pup and start early imprinting.

This is a huge picture I have in my sunroom  . When I visited Switzerland I spent a lot of time while others were skiing , talking to a lady on the elevator up to the tip of the ski mount, loving on a gorgeous st. Bernard.]
I collect  C . Barton Barber prints and this is one of  his. His prints all contain dogs and he uses the St. Bernard in many of his portraits that are his prints.

     




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