# 10 month old GSD



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

So i live in Macomb county, Michigan and i found a schutzhund trainer that was recommended by my vet because she took her two gsds there. So this lady has showed up maybe 4 or 5 times and we started training in like october. She only charges 5$ for basic obedience (*Because thats as far as we got)* so thats good but i was wondering if anyone lives in macomb county Michigan and has a good schutzhund traininer or personal protection trainer.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Do you want to do SchH or personal protection... because those are two totally different ballgames

And how far do you expect to get and how fast? Realize a disobedient dog has no place on a protection field.


----------



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

hunterisgreat said:


> Do you want to do SchH or personal protection... because those are two totally different ballgames
> 
> And how far do you expect to get and how fast? Realize a disobedient dog has no place on a protection field.





well he was in schutzhund for a month already but the trainer doesnt do her job and i want him to compete. He isnt a disobedient dog, Why did you write that?


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

If you want to do Schutzhund you should join a club rather than pay a trainer.


----------



## sashadog (Sep 2, 2011)

Probably because the core of SchH is obedience which might be part of why the trainer has only been doing basic obedience with you. Many of the SchH participants I know have extremely obedient dogs before they really even begin any sort "typical SchH" work. Mind you, this is only from an outsiders perspective as I don't compete, but I don't think it was meant to be offensive, just realistic.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Agree with Lies. There are clubs in your general area, best to go and get an evaluation on you and your dog...contact/visit a few.


USA - Mid-Eastern Clubs


----------



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

sashadog said:


> Probably because the core of SchH is obedience which might be part of why the trainer has only been doing basic obedience with you. Many of the SchH participants I know have extremely obedient dogs before they really even begin any sort "typical SchH" work. Mind you, this is only from an outsiders perspective as I don't compete, but I don't think it was meant to be offensive, just realistic.


 

Oh i know, thankyou though. but i was saying we ONLY GOT TO obedience because she only showed up like 4 times. She told me in 3-4 weeks we should start basic tracking which should be this month and we havent trained anything completly yet.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Was this with Pat C?
This time of year, many clubs are in a down-time...tracking is limited due to the weather and everyone is taking a breather after the trials.
Another thing, many times a trainer won't even deal with protection because they want to see the dogs temperament in obedience before they go that route. Also the handler's skill is taken into consideration before any bitework is suggested.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Anita11811 said:


> well he was in schutzhund for a month already but the trainer doesnt do her job and i want him to compete. He isnt a disobedient dog, Why did you write that?


Not saying he is disobedient... just that a solid OB is the foundation to protection, so don't take it as a problem if OB is the focus initially

A month is a very short amount of time. A world class trainer could get the right dog to competition level, maybe, within a few years, FYI


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> Was this Pat?
> This time of year, many clubs are in a down-time...tracking is limited due to the weather and everyone is taking a breather after the trials.


This is a stupid question.... but given my sub-tropical environment... do you guys track in the winter? How does snow on the ground play into tracking?


----------



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

hunterisgreat said:


> Not saying he is disobedient... just that a solid OB is the foundation to protection, so don't take it as a problem if OB is the focus initially
> 
> A month is a very short amount of time. A world class trainer could get the right dog to competition level, maybe, within a few years, FYI


 
Oh, i know But im just going by what the trainer said. i had a gsd before but never did anything like this before so im very unexperienced with schutzhund (as you can tell) I hope i dont sound silly when i ask but what is the difference between a Club and just a trainer?


----------



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

hunterisgreat said:


> This is a stupid question.... but given my sub-tropical environment... do you guys track in the winter? How does snow on the ground play into tracking?



My trainer trains tracking in the winter because police dogs have to track in the snow and she said they need to scent out foot steps in all weather types because K-9's dont take seasons off haha


----------



## Anita11811 (May 10, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> Was this with Pat C?
> This time of year, many clubs are in a down-time...tracking is limited due to the weather and everyone is taking a breather after the trials.
> Another thing, many times a trainer won't even deal with protection because they want to see the dogs temperament in obedience before they go that route. Also the handler's skill is taken into consideration before any bitework is suggested.




No it wasnt with pat haha i see that i wasnt the only one with a bad trainer haha


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

hunterisgreat said:


> This is a stupid question.... but given my sub-tropical environment... do you guys track in the winter? How does snow on the ground play into tracking?


Snow tracking is so visual....
the dry grass, winds, and other factors don't bode well for a dog getting into tracking. I would put a green dog in a plowed field(no snow) to learn, but not sure the foundation would be worth it? I'd rather wait til Spring for the SchH style, because a deep nose is what is necessary to achieve points. This time of year, air scenting along with scent discrimination would be a natural given....air scenting is a no-no. I prefer the real scenario for tracking, too bad SchH isn't that way.
My comment about Pat C wasn't derogatory...and no, I don't train with a "bad" trainer/far from it!! I've never met her, but the location made me think this is who you were posting about.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Anita11811 said:


> My trainer trains tracking in the winter because police dogs have to track in the snow and she said they need to scent out foot steps in all weather types because K-9's dont take seasons off haha


Its more than that... tracking in snow, would seem to encourage using sight rather than the nose... I'm no snow expert, but its my understanding you leave highly visible tracks.

We track in rain, sun, various terrains, but snow is unique, and not something we encounter here anyway


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> Snow tracking is so visual....
> the dry grass, winds, and other factors don't bode well for a dog getting into tracking. I would put a green dog in a plowed field(no snow) to learn, but not sure the foundation would be worth it? I'd rather wait til Spring for the SchH style, because a deep nose is what is necessary to achieve points. This time of year, air scenting along with scent discrimination would be a natural given....air scenting is a no-no. I prefer the real scenario for tracking, too bad SchH isn't that way.
> My comment about Pat C wasn't derogatory...and no, I don't train with a "bad" trainer/far from it!! I've never met her, but the location made me think this is who you were posting about.


Ha.. shoulda read all the responses.. thats exactly why I asked about snow. Seems a new dog would take steps backwards tracking in snow than just waiting for spring...

OP: see... this is a good illustration of the difference between what a SchH person wants out of the dog, and a hunter wants out of the dog, and a K9 Handler wants out of the dog... and we are only discussing tracking


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

hunterisgreat said:


> This is a stupid question.... but given my sub-tropical environment... do you guys track in the winter? How does snow on the ground play into tracking?


I have a few times and stopped because it was pointless for me. I'm not worried about the visual aspect but it just wasn't worth the effort.

I actually stop tracking anywhere but urban park areas as soon as deer season opens. Luckily I have a park where I can lay multiple SchH3 length tracks and it hasn't even snowed here yet...


----------

