# Yelling during Schutzhund trial



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I saw this video linked elsewhere today:





I see quite often (at least on youtube videos) that when people are competing, they tend to yell commands at the dog. I understand it when the dog is far away from the handler, but I don't understand it at all when they are within 10' of the handler. See 1:24 of this video.

Is there an explanation for this?


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

I have no idea but I'm going to guess and say perhaps because the dog is in an intense state so she is matching intensity to ensure he responds to her command?

I'd love to hear what others who have experience in this say.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Not to put Jen and Boy on the spot but some dogs are pretty intense and you need to be able to "get through". Better too much than too little. The call out is not the place you want a dog to blow you off.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I have no actual clue - but I watch a lot of the videos. I thought it was so the judges could hear what command they were giving and the dog complies to that command.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Liesje said:


> Not to put Jen and Boy on the spot


Is this person a member of the forum? I didn't realize that. Certainly wasn't putting anyone down for it- I know very little about the sport. Yelling commands is definitely a trend I've seen in _many other_ videos though.



Liesje said:


> The call out is not the place you want a dog to blow you off.


Does that happen often? Again lack of experience here, but... I would have thought a SchH3 dog would obey a whisper. I wouldn't think you'd practically have to scream a command to get through to them, intensity or not. Again-- no experience here...


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

I like his looks much better in this thread than the conformation one-don't like how he is stacked there-seems he forgot to bark


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

wildo said:


> Does that happen often? Again lack of experience here, but... I would have thought a SchH3 dog would obey a whisper. I wouldn't think you'd practically have to scream a command to get through to them, intensity or not. Again-- no experience here...


No, I don't think she's a member here but I posted that vid in the other thread, not really to critique but just show an example (since that was the first time I'd seen the barking but no sound).

The thing is that when the dog is guarding you WANT them to be intense and show drive and aggression and power in the blind and be committed to engaging. If that is what you have, then you can't expect the dog to be 100% focused on your every move and whisper at the same time. A lot is personal preference I guess, but I personally do not like to see a dog that is out of the blind and in heel position before the handler has even finished giving the command (nor do I like a dog doing "heads up heeling" during the protection phase, I want him under control but his focus should be on the helper). I want the dog to obey but also stay alert and maintain that commitment to engaging the helper if necessary, not necessarily FLY out of the blind. Just because the dog is SchH3 does not make him perfect or every routine in every trial a perfect routine.

Maybe the dog doesn't need *that* much gusto in the commands, who knows? But think of other activities that are intense, like pro sports games. Are the coaches whispering at players?


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Ah! Excellent info- makes a lot of sense. Thanks Lies!

[EDIT]- wanted to add that I've never previously viewed the protection phase of SchH from a prospective other than obedience. So when you say something like this:



> but I personally do not like to see a dog that is out of the blind and in heel position before the handler has even finished giving the command (nor do I like a dog doing "heads up heeling" during the protection phase, I want him under control but his focus should be on the helper). I want the dog to obey but also stay alert and maintain that commitment to engaging the helper if necessary, not necessarily FLY out of the blind.


...That *really* helps me to understand!


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

This just falls under the catagory of training.....
The dog is very good....the training could be better...thats all.
People have things happening in their lives that take priority...and sometimes "training" has to take a second place.
Also...trainers offer so much assistance to "others & their dogs"...that their own dogs sometimes get less training.
JMO


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

I think when women do it, it just brings more attention to it, men are able to just raise their voice and the dog will snap to attention, women can't quite pull it off without "yelling". 
I had one (male) helper point it out to me with Jax with the "here's what *you* do..." *no attention from the dog* "now watch _this_"... It made all the difference in the world. I still feel self conscious doing that because any normal human being perceives it as a crazy chick yelling at her dog


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

No prob, Willy. I personally don't command my dog like that, but I know this dog (he is the father of mine, I've met him/seen him a few times) and he really likes to do this stuff!  No amount of yelling is going to shut him down. And there *are* dogs that you can merely whisper at and they will comply. There are dogs that will blow off the handler, or there dogs that are too concerned with the handler and/or anticipate commands. But that's the fun of it, all the dogs are very different, not robots. Some may have control issues (not saying this has to be the case here), some maybe farther along in training than others, some handlers maybe just give the command with more power than is really necessary (and some not enough....).


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I confess I found very stressful all that yelling when I saw the video too.

But I wont criticize others handling until I handle my own SchH3.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Don't forget this one, and what a strong presence from a little body!!


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## CarrieJ (Feb 22, 2011)

That was wickedly impressive!


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## TitonsDad (Nov 9, 2009)

You have to keep in mind that when on the field, there is adrenaline flowing between all 3 components. Dog, handler and decoy. I can't explain it any more than that until you've actually experienced it yourself. 

It's like any other game, ever hear a coach yelling across the floor at his players? Seen a baseball coach do the same thing to his players? It all boils down to adrenaline.


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## Fast (Oct 13, 2004)

I agree with Erich and want to add another reason people yell at the dog. They are trying to influence the dog. They are yelling because most dogs take yelling at them by their handler as a correction. It suppresses the dog and makes him easier to control. It's another type of handler help and I have seen judges penalize it as such. I have also seen people freak their dog out too.


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

I can really see that shutting down a dog or confusing the dog if it's something the dog isn't used to.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Agree with Erich and Fast. Some is adrenaline which in us primates tends to translate to volume, some is handler help by adding a bit of threat into the command communicating to the dog that he will do this and it's not optional. Though one needs to know their dog and the best way to handle that dog. Depending on temperament and what the dog is used to, it could freak the dog out and cause other problems as easily as it could compel the dog to obey.

And quite often it's habit that the handler isn't aware of. I've known some handlers who are just loud in general and always seem to talk to their dogs like they're in a hog calling contest. As if the dog couldn't hear them if they didn't shout. Just as dogs have different temperaments, so do people.

Also important to realize that any additional commands in a trial result in point loss. Enough of them results in a DQ. So provided a dog isn't one who'll be overly disturbed by louder than normal commands, it is often just plain good trial handling to make sure that the dog can hear the command over any other noise (such as his own barking) and the flowing adrenaline, and knows it was a command not a request the first time so as to risk the dog not hearing or responding and needing a second command.

I don't yell at my dogs in training or trial but I do speak a bit louder and firmer than I do normally during some exercises in trial, but not others. And which ones those are depends on the individual dog. It all comes down to knowing your dog and knowing the rules and smart handling to get as many points as possible.


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