# BH earned



## lsatov (Mar 29, 2011)

Journey and I earned our BH yesterday. It was a great experience, with a tough judge. There were 8 dogs competing, 4 failed. We did not get High BH missed by 1. The winner has been to worlds. I received a 55/60.

Would like to thank first my breeder Carmspack, for a great dog, great advice and continuous support. 
Would like to thank my club for their encouragement and insights.

What I learned through this whole process. First you need the right raw materials and a breeder that knows what these are and recognizes it.
Second need to find a club and a decoy that meets the handlers needs and can understand/read your dog.

Third after you have surrounded yourself with knowlegable people listen.

I started traing for schutzhound 4 1/2 months ago. Prior to this I let the dog develop show me what she would bring to the table. Give black and white direction, grey creates confusion, build confidence, develop my engagement and relationship with the dog.

I never trained the BH pattern never did the off leash until the day of the trial. worked each exercise in seperate short sessions, made sure she really understood all the commands and positions. then put it all together on the day of trial. I got nervous for the off leash but she was great right there with me, in fact she was better off leash.
What I learned about my dog, does not break down under pressure as I am sure she felt it coming from me, infact performs great under pressure.

The temperment part of the test was nothing that I expected, yes the usual was done but the judge made me get in the middle of a group of people with their dogs. The people were almost standing shoulder to shoulder with their dogs. I was very uncomfortable as I was unsure as to what my dog would think, she was also uncomfortable, She sat still and just focused up at me, ( when in doubt look to the leader)I was really glad when that was over. 

I will spend the winter training for IPO1.

Laurel


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Congrats!! That very first BH is a big achievement for both handler and dog!


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Congratulations! Very good post and understanding of the dynamics of training!!! 

Lee


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

a big congrats!


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

thanks for going out there and doing a great job. Unknown to the forum , is that Laurel did have another Carmspack pup over 10 years ago now , Saga, and Laurel did all the CKC route and titling. She can train ! But for SchH she had to unlearn a lot -- lose some of the control and work WITH instead. Journey is one of those dogs with high threshold and real serious bite work with great control and controllability. 

Journey , her brother Sumo (my dog) and other sister Cutter all have the genetic obedience thing. 

here is the pedigree of JOURNEY and Sumo http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/dog.html?id=691615

Great job Laurel .


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## lsatov (Mar 29, 2011)

thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. I am loving the "Journey". 
The joy to living is learning and the process involved. Working with this dog is very rewarding. The training gets me out of this crazy complicated thinking world and into perhaps a more fundamental way of looking at things.


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## JanaeUlva (Feb 5, 2011)

lsatov said:


> t
> The joy to living is learning and the process involved. Working with this dog is very rewarding. The training gets me out of this crazy complicated thinking world and into perhaps a more fundamental way of looking at things.


Couldn't have said it any better myself. Giant CONGRATS!!!

I can really relate to your post and particularly the joy you find in training. I love training, totally enjoy the process and really adore my dog because she works so hard to please and is so cute sometimes that I just can't help but smile watching her.


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## lsatov (Mar 29, 2011)

I really enjoy the teamwork aspect. Learning what is deep beneath those eyes, and recongnizing what this animal's behavior is telling me.
The whole BH for me was we came together as a team. I was stressed as I did not know what to expect from her under trial conditions and she just rolled with it. I began to relax and we came together as a team. I can trust her to do her job, that is a great feeling. The judge also commented that she was attentive and energized through the exercises. Now I just need to work on my weak areas ie foot work counting!!

I am looking forward to building on this foundation for IPO1 .


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Laurel , you said to me the judge for you BH just returned from "Worlds" -- who was he ? Just curious to see what kind of dog he has and appreciates himself.
Carmen


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## lsatov (Mar 29, 2011)

Carmen, his name is Frank McEniry, I think he scored the highest of the Canadian Team. I also understand that all team members passed which I think is a first.

Laurel


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## cindy_s (Jun 14, 2009)

Congrats!!!!!!


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## Bigdogsolo (Nov 6, 2011)

:thumbup::thumbup:


wolfstraum said:


> Congratulations! Very good post and understanding of the dynamics of training!!!
> 
> Lee


 
I agree.....Congratulations on this achievement.


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## psdontario (Feb 2, 2011)

Hey, good to hear... too bad I had to hear about it on a forum.
Sounds like you have made great progress with the club.


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