# Sch With Rescue Dogs and CNY Clubs



## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

I've been a bit obsessed with SAR and Sch for quite some time (looong before we got Elsa) and would one day like a dog that can REALLY do well at them.

Not that I've totally ruled it out with Elsa, but I feel like with rescues you're behind the swing with things so it could be hard. She hasn't been evaluated for either. We've had her about 3 months (she's probably about a year and a half) and her confidence is night and day different than what it was the day we brought her home, I just don't know if it's at the point she could do well in either of these demanding fields. She's got a pretty high drive, is very high energy, and of course like most GSD's is super-smart and loves to make her mom and dad happy. How many other people on the forums have rescues that they've done Sch with--whether is be for "fun" or for titling?

I've been trying to do a lot of drive/confidence building by playing a lot of tug (and letting her win), 2 ball fetch, and using play time with her toys as a reward for working hard.

Second part of the post, is if we do decide to persue Sch over straight tracking/SAR type work, what clubs in my area do people recommend? I'm in the Syracuse, NY area. I know all the clubs (I think) within a couple hours of me, I'd just like other people's opinions.


----------



## Sarah'sSita (Oct 27, 2001)

Glad to hear you are interested in this sport! I hesitate to recommend clubs as one person's cool club is another person's dud. Best to find sch clubs in your area, call them up and come down and watch. Many clubs require that members be persuing titles as helper/decoy time and training time is intensive. That said I find training to be fun most of the time. And this sport has really helped my dog and more importantly me, and my relationship with him. Hopefully, others can pipe in on the rescue experiences. But remember - train the dog, not the pedigree. Our club had a gal with a then five or six year old rescued GSD bitch come down to try the sport. Achieved her schutzhund 1 at 7 or 8. Nice dog! Age and injury sidelined her schH career.

Good Luck


----------



## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Grace and I were on a SAR team before we moved here. Her drive and love of the work were phenomenal - far higher than plenty of the carefully purchased dogs on our team. We quit when we moved to KY because I just couldn't commit the time to it, but it was nothing to do with her. I think the potential really just depends on the dog. She was 11 months old when I adopted her. I had already started training on the team myself. We did airscent not tracking. SAR takes a very special sort of dog but you can find dogs like that in rescue.

My only experience with rescue dogs and Schutzhund was taking a foster pup to a club to be evaluated. The people there were very nice and perfectly friendly and I think they gave her a fair evaluation but I did notice a real difference in their attitude towards the different dogs. In particular there was a puppy from one of the TD's breedings there also being evaluated. He didn't show any more promise than my rescue pup, slightly less actually, but they kept trying much longer because they were sure he "had it in him." I've since heard similar stories about clubs that sort of centered around the TD's breeding program. So... your mileage may vary trying to get involved with a rescue dog.


----------



## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

As far as clubs go i'd definitely recommend Upstate K9. (www.upstatek9.com) I've been taking Odin since he was 9-10 weeks, he's 8 months old now and is really progressing, i'm very happy with how he's doing.

We have people from Buffalo and Syracuse that come out and train, and there's someone who trains with their Brightstar rescue as well.







Everyone is laid back and helpful and the rates are very, very reasonable. $20 each session, train twice a week, and no yearly membership fees. The TD is excellent and really works each dog as an individual. People there train for Sch, ring work, police work, personal protection, detection, and i'd assume SAR as well. 

Good luck on your search!


----------



## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Thanks for the advice and recommendations everyone! I definitely get about training for the dog not the pedigree. When I meant we would be behind the swing, I guess I meant because of her age when the confidence and drive building, etc started rather than as a puppy. I definitely see something pretty amazing about her. When we first got her, I NEVER even thought about considering SchH or SAR with her...or thought much of anything would be a posisbility. She's a dog that was scared to eat a treat, jump in the car, or be in the house. Not even the same creature...a literal 180. The more we push her now, the more excited and intense she gets about work.

I probably need to start a thread on the SAR portion too to get any feedback I can about that....


----------



## lnsmdove (Oct 12, 2009)

GSDElsa wrote:
I've been a bit obsessed with SAR and Sch for quite some time (looong before we got Elsa) and would one day like a dog that can REALLY do well at them.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Good for you for multi-tasking







Just a word of caution here. If you do pursue both just be aware FEMA will not certify a dog that is known to have protection training. Some SAR teams are the same way, I think, but can't remember for sure if NASAR has issues with this. That said I know quite a few teams that have done both quite well, but it's sort of a "Don't ask, don't tell" situation.

You might want to run this question by the SAR forum. Good luck and happy training.

Susan
Grace GSD sshhhh! not telling


----------



## lnsmdove (Oct 12, 2009)

GSDElsa wrote:
I've been a bit obsessed with SAR and Sch for quite some time (looong before we got Elsa) and would one day like a dog that can REALLY do well at them.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Good for you for multi-tasking







Just a word of caution here. If you do pursue both just be aware FEMA will not certify a dog that is known to have protection training. Some SAR teams are the same way, I think, but can't remember for sure if NASAR has issues with this. That said I know quite a few teams that have done both quite well, but it's sort of a "Don't ask, don't tell" situation.

You might want to run this question by the SAR forum. Good luck and happy training.

Susan
Grace GSD sshhhh! not telling


----------



## Virginia (Oct 2, 2008)

I did SchH with my rescue pup! We started him at 6 months, he was a little hesitant at first, but once he understood the idea behind the puppy rag he loved it! I did all the same exercises as you - two ball fetch, toy as a reward, tug - and I think they helped a lot with training.

At one point I had high hopes of titles, but now it's really just for fun. Not that I'm dismissing the idea of titling, but it's just not in the stars right now. The lack of titles sits solely on my shoulders. 

If nothing else, it GREATLY improved our bond, and it was extremely helpful to have a trainer who was experienced with GSDs and working breeds to help me with my obedience. Also, it's great to be able to network with trainers that you trust and like the training methods of. I didn't really distinguish any difference in treatment between my rescue pup and other dogs with solid pedigrees, even though the TD had his own breeding program, which I really appreciated. In fact, the TD took me under his wing and gave me extra help when I needed it!

Almost forgot...when I was training in SchH I also got to dabble in helper work, which I absolutely LOVED, so another plus that came out of doing SchH with my pup.


----------

