# pictures from our HGH trial



## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Out HGH trial was today, and I finally managed to sort through the 800+ pictures my husband took today (yes, he went a little nuts...lol) and picked out some of the best. 

Kessy got her HGH along with 4 other dogs. :happyboogie: The judge was wonderful, he really wanted to see the dogs show a lot of temperament, drive, independence, etc, and also wanted them to work correctly. Every point was well earned!! But he was also super nice, I hope we can have him judge for us again one day!! He's won the BLH (which is the HGH equivalent of the BSP in Germany) a few times, I believe, and this year he was 2nd.
Each run lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. The dogs have to show an exit from the pen, bridge, wide graze, narrow graze, traffic, narrow road, repen, and defense of the handler (with a helper) at the end. 

I will show Kessy's pictures first...her score was 88 (SG) and she was pronounced in protection. 

Competitors, helper, translator, and judge walking the course...









Jumping into the pen...









Exit from the pen...she was so excited she was screaming a bit...LOL









And these are random shots...





































Vendra, one of our trainer's beaucerons




























Aiko the GSD









Ellie the GSD









And Elite, one of our trainer's other beaucerons...
At the bridge -









In the graze...









During the critique...not a herding picture per se but I love it! :wub:









Competitors, judge, and translator









The judge with Kessy and I..


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

She looks so very happy!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Love the pics! Kessy looks very proud of her job well done!
The sheep look kind of happy too? Must be the cooler temps...certainly not what they had to endure during the trial
What is the protocol(link?) for the helper/defense part of the trial?


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Yeah the idea is to keep the sheep as stress-free as possible, and they are worked every day with the dogs so they are pretty calm about the whole thing. Sometimes too calm - sometimes they will be happy eating their clover and you really have to MAKE them move. The cool weather was perfect though...they are miserable in the heat and also in heavy rain.

For the helper, it is really simple, he just agitates from a distance of maybe 50 feet, and if the dog will bark and be at the end of the leash, that's enough. If they don't bark and just stand there, they get a "present" rating (one dog today did). And if they panic and get scared they will get an insufficient and will fail their HGH completely. 

Their used to be actual bitework, similar to a koerklasse routine, but they changed it at some point. Sad for me since Kessy LOVES bitework, but easier on most people without it since it takes time to train for that.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Great pictures. Each one tells a story, so cool! 

Those poor sheep though, they must have been tired at the end of the day.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Thanks  The sheep are okay - they are only moving for a small portion of each run, they spend about 20 minutes in each graze and get to spread out and eat. And then between runs there was a 20-30 minute break. The judge really took his time and the sheep were still pretty lively at the end of the day. 
Last year we had 7 dogs in one day and the course had a lot more MOVING the sheep which was rough but was the only way to do it in that location. The sheep were definitely tired after that one and the trainer/flock owner said no more than 5 dogs in a day from then on. And 5 dogs worked out nicely, they were not pushed too hard yesterday.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

That is very cool. I'm sure the dogs loved it.


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

Congratulations!


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## Vicky (Apr 28, 2011)

Congratulations! It's so nice to see them working in their element.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Just had to share...we made it into our local newspaper today


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## Cetan (Oct 8, 2011)

Woohoo! Congrats!


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

Very cool!!! Congratulations.. love the pictures.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Thanks for sharing. Informative post. Love the pictures...and congrats


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## Questforfire (Apr 18, 2012)

Fantastic photos and well done on your very well deserved and hard earned title. Kessy is wonderful - and gorgeous too :wub:


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## doggerel (Aug 3, 2011)

Great photos! Thanks so much for sharing. It is always so exciting to see GSDs herding. Looks like your dogs had a great time!


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

bells and whistles , fireworks exploding CONGRATULATIONS -- x 100 .

Carmen


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Man, I so love this female. Incredible representation of a German Shepherd.

Love those photos. I wish I knew where to go for the HGH in my area!


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Awesome! Congratulations


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Can't believe that in your area that people are not knocking down the door to do training with your club!!!!!!! Come on NY/NJ people - one of the rarest resources in the US is at your doorstep!!!! Get those doggies out there and do the HGH training!!!!!!!!!!


Lee


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I know this is an old thread that was bumped today, but I wanted to say congrats anyway! I've really enjoyed the photos and videos (and info via PM) you've shared! What a nice dog for sure!


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