# Cayman



## wicked1996

As many of you probably have noticed, I haven't been around on the boards much over the past several months. Between shooting photos at trials and training Carlo and Cayman, especially Cayman, I haven't had much time. 

*CAYMAN PASSED HIS SCHH 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
















Cayman was and is a tough one....a dog that many in the SCH world would have given up on long ago. Trust me, there were times when I wanted to give up and wondered why I just kept plugging away with him! Being a novice handler, I'm probably not the best handler for him, but..we are stuck with each other...good and bad!! His scores don't matter to me, I was just hoping and praying that we would pass!







Even tho it wasn't very pretty at times, we did what we had to do!! A lot of what he did I had expected him to do, a couple of things were VERY unexpected. Ahhhh...gotta luv him!!









His scores were:

Tracking---72 Cayman has been in article avoidance over the past month. So of course, he blew both articles at the trial! His nose wasn't very deep until the 3rd leg and he just had to lift his head to take a look at me and the judge a couple of times.









Obedience--70 Cayman has very little drive for the OB phase. He's flat much of the time and his retrieves are VERY slow. He really hates the dumbbells and showed that at the trial. He was more interested in why there was someone standing at the live blind. Of course anything he finds more interesting will distract him during the OB phase. The unexpected thing he did was break the long down fairly early and he decided to have a meal on the send away!







He was so engrossed in what he was eating, it took 3 commands for him to go down. He usually doesn't go down on the first command anyway and sometimes it does take 3, so no surprise with him ignoring the first two platz commands! If he had stayed in the long down, we would have gotten an 80 which is about what I had figured we'd get. 

Protection--83 His grips have never been great, so I knew we'd get nicked on points for them. He does show power in running the blinds and in the guarding. The call out wasn't very pretty. Usually he'll come out and sit maybe a couple of steps from me, but at Friday night training he showed me he was going to be a PITA about it. Also, Friday night he did something he's again never done before. When I called the helper out of the blind, he broke the sit. So yes, he did it again at the trial! I had a feeling he'd be a PITA with calling him out and breaking the sit at the trial so I asked Claudia what I should do so I wouldn't lose to many points. She told me to give the extra commands FIRMLY. Yes, that's what I had to do!!! The transport wasn't very pretty either, but the rest was fine.

All in all, his performance was right about where we had expected it to be. Cayman is by NO means a point dog but I've known that all along. He's come a long way over the last 2 yrs and I'm very very proud of him. From not showing any interest in protection until about 16 - 17 mos old, lagging a LOT during the heeling in OB, going through the pains of teaching him to go over the jump and wall, doing the force retrieve (Thank you Claudia!!!) to finally being able to at least try to trial him. Without the support from my club members and the help I got from Claudia and Becky over the last couple of weeks as well as a LOT of help from our 2 helpers, I couldn't have done this with Cayman. 

Now that Cayman has his SchH 1, Carlo is my main "project". I'll continue to work Cayman in the hopes of maybe getting a 2 on him, but we'll see. Right now, he's going to be put up for a couple of weeks and I'm going to work mainly with Carlo....a dog that WANTS to work!

Thanks again everyone!!!!! Here's some shots that were taken during the trial by Julia...THANK YOU Julia!!!! 














































Here's a couple taken at tracking by Dee! THANK YOU Dee!!!


















Note by Admin. Wisc.Tiger: Posting of OutkastPhotography Copywrited Photo's is permitted as Betty is a Co-owner of Outkast, therefor owns the Copywrite.


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## GSDBESTK9

Congratulations Betty!!! That is awesome!!!!!


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## Yvette

That is awsome Betty! Wow! Please tell Peter & Putman I said to say hi.







And give all your pups big hugs from me, De'ja & Kia.


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## Lynn_P

Congratulations Again Betty!!! Great pictures.


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## littledmc17




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## G-burg

Big, BIG CONGRATS!!!










I was getting ready to post a brag for ya!! Like I said earlier my friend.. I am so very proud of you and what you've accomplished.. 

Looking forward to Carlo's brags!!


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## Castlemaid

Huge huge congratulations!!!! 

Betty THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for posting this, for being an inspiration. I'm struggling with a dog that is a challenge too, and have been wondering if that elusive SchH 1 is in the cards, and have wondered if I should just give up, especially since I'm being told that I should just concentrate on my new puppy now. But I'm not quite ready to shuffle my older girl aside.

I guess if you have persevered, and made it, I can too!

Awesome pics, Cayman looks so great! And gosh I laughed at your description of his obedience routine, because that is a lot of what Keeta did during her BH and then OB1. Glad to know I'm not the only one who has a dog that stops for snacks, or runs over to the judge looking for treats during the recall!

I'm sure you are elated! Great work for you and Cayman and your club!!


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## Drakegsd

Congratulations Betty!!! You and your boy did great!
I am very happy and proud of you


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## Kayos and Havoc

Betty that is outstanding! Your perseverance and his ability to continue to work for you are an inspiration and an assurnace of his loyalty.

Some dogs, no matter the breed or the bloodlines, just do not have the desire. But you bought out the best in him and you should be proud of his willingness.

Congrats!!!!!!


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## Kayos and Havoc

Forgot to add....

The pictures look like a great performance, he did give you what he had!


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## Amaruq

Great job, Betty and Cayman.







on a job well done. I admire you for not giving up on him like many others may have done.


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## Mom2Sam

YEAH Cayman!! Way to go gorgeous boy!


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## wicked1996

Thank you everyone!!









Yvette, consider the hugs given! I'll be sure to say hi to Peter and Putman!









Thank you Carolina, Lynn and littledmc!

By Leesa:


> Quote:Big, BIG CONGRATS!!!
> 
> I was getting ready to post a brag for ya!! Like I said earlier my friend.. I am so very proud of you and what you've accomplished..
> 
> Looking forward to Carlo's brags!!


Thank you Leesa!! LOL, I wanted to wait until I got all the shots taken uploaded to photobucket before posting! 

by Castlemaid:


> Quote:Huge huge congratulations!!!!
> 
> Betty THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for posting this, for being an inspiration. I'm struggling with a dog that is a challenge too, and have been wondering if that elusive SchH 1 is in the cards, and have wondered if I should just give up, especially since I'm being told that I should just concentrate on my new puppy now. But I'm not quite ready to shuffle my older girl aside.
> 
> I guess if you have persevered, and made it, I can too!
> 
> Awesome pics, Cayman looks so great! And gosh I laughed at your description of his obedience routine, because that is a lot of what Keeta did during her BH and then OB1. Glad to know I'm not the only one who has a dog that stops for snacks, or runs over to the judge looking for treats during the recall!
> 
> I'm sure you are elated! Great work for you and Cayman and your club!!


Thank you and you're very welcome! I'm glad I'm able to give some inspiration to you! I'm not really a person that quits! Determination I get from my mother! However, there were times when I was ready to throw my hands up in total frustration! I know what I have in Cayman. Knowing what you have and trialing knowing it, you won't be disappointed with your scores. I said all along, I don't care what we get as long as we pass! If we don't pass, there's another trial I can do in 2 weeks! I took the field with the attitude that is was just another training day. Even tho I had to give very FIRM extra commands, I was calm and made sure I praised Cayman when I could and smiled at him. There were times I actually chuckled at his antics!! What else could I do! LOL Being angry certainly wouldn't have helped and it might have made things worse! Just keep plugging along! I'm sure she'll surprise you at times and at other times you'll be doing this...







and this...







. 

Thank you Julia!!

by Kathy:


> Quote:Betty that is outstanding! Your perseverance and his ability to continue to work for you are an inspiration and an assurnace of his loyalty.
> 
> Some dogs, no matter the breed or the bloodlines, just do not have the desire. But you bought out the best in him and you should be proud of his willingness.
> 
> Congrats!!!!! Forgot to add....
> 
> The pictures look like a great performance, he did give you what he had!


Thank you Kathy!! Obedience is NOT his favorite, especially the retrieves, but he's correct most of the time. Not flashy, but that's okay! You are correct, Cayman DID give me what he had on Sunday. That's all I could ask of him and it was enough for us to pass! Yes, he did have some pretty nice moments where he gave me focus for a split second like in that photo heeling through the group! LOL He looks pretty good going OVER the jump, it was getting there that looked pretty bad!


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## Kayos and Havoc

But with thos lovely pics you will remember the bright spots in the perfomance and forget the rest!


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## majitrix

WTG!! Congrats!


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## wolfstraum

A very very very BIG congratulations Betty!!!!!!!!!!


My first dog was mostly DDR too - and like Cayman was a CHALLENGE to train! But getting there - no matter what the score - is a terrific accomplishment with a challenging dog and makes the sucesss all the sweeter!

Congratulations again!!!

Lee


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## GSDextrodinaire

Betty,

Again, CONGRATULATIONS! 

You had a great mindset when you started tracking, and you kept it through the whole day! That's not easy to do sometimes.

You showed yourself to be a very good handler! and a wonderful partner for Cayman. When he needed you to hold up the other end of the partnership, you came through for him. A lot of handlers do not know how to do that. You were definitely a good example of what a handler SHOULD do when their partner is having a "moment".

I know you are proud of Cayman and you should be! You should be proud of yourself too! YOU were a BIG reason why Cayman passed, you were a true team!


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## DianaM

Good on you for persevering with a dog that sounds so challenging! No doubt he's taught you a lot. Congratulations and here's to Cayman's current and Carlo's future success.


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## Barb E

Congratulations!!


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## TRITON

Huge Congratulations Betty! I remember talking to you about Cayman and your ups and down with training. What a hard earned title for both of you!! Despite some of the frustrations, I bet you have become an even better trainer and partner for Cayman along the way


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## wicked1996

Thank you everyone!! I do have to say, all dogs can be a challenge for their handlers in one way or another, some are more of a challenge than others. Some of the training with Cayman was actually pretty easy, some of it was "pull your hair out frustrating". He has low drives, especially in obedience, so figuring out what would work to train him and get him ready to trial was the challenge.

Thank you Lee!! I'm sure there's many more out there that have had that one dog that gave them gray hairs while training them! LOL

Dee, thank you and thanks again for taking those pictures, sending them to me and allowing me to send them to his breeder and post them on the boards!







I'm so happy you were able to come to the trial to watch us! I'm sure Cayman stopped your heart several times during the day! There were several times I had hoped the judges pencil would break while he was writing! LOL I could hear those points being deducted in every phase!!!! Thank you for the compliment on my handling! I think because I stayed calm, I was able to think quick and just give those second commands! Watching so many trials, I think I actually learned a few things! LOL Plus, I picked Claudia and Becky's brain as to what to do so we wouldn't lose ALL the points in certain areas!

Thanks again everyone!


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## Superpup

Congratulations!!!!! Nice job! I was gonna say, the pics are gorgeous, cannot tell that there is anything wrong with your dog's drive. I really like the bark and hold picture!!
WTG!!


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## JenM66

Betty & Cayman congratulations!!!!!!! That's the best news I've heard in a long time. What wonderful feat! I am very proud of you for sticking it out. It's a amazing accomplishment!! The rest are easy now, right


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## Packen

That is a major accomplishment, huge congrats.


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## rokanhaus

Dee summe dit up best. You shoudl eb VERY proud of not only your handling skills, but how you held it together when Cayman needed you most. You did extremely awesome for your very first Schh1!!!

If handlers get better with each trial, and they do!!...the sky is the limit for you.


Hip hip hurray for Betty and Cayman.


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## Catu

Congratulations!! These are the dogs the gods send us to become better handlers


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## CWhite

I know I'm late, but congratulations to you!


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## mnm

Congratulations Betty and Cayman









I know exactly how you feel. I have failed SchH1 twice with Viggo, my first dog. Both times he blew the dumbbells. First time, I knew he probably would, but also knew that he could do them and that's what I hoped for. So of course, he blew them off. Second time, I knew that he knew them and had been doing them, but of course on trial day he goes out, grabs the dumbbell, drops it, and comes back anyway. Then goes over the jump and comes back around it. Actually did the wall, but between laxadaisical heeling, and coming about 1/2 way back to me on the sendout before he actually downed on the 3rd command, it was just too many points. 

The good side of it, is that I've learned a lot through out all of his training, and been able to do better on my next dog, and hopefully will continue to improve. I'll give him one more try for his SchH1 and then he'll just be our family dog.

So again, congratulations and enjoy your first SchH1 title!!!!


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## wicked1996

Sorry...I kept forgetting to ck this thread!!

Thank you Paivi, Jenn, Kandi, LicanAntai, Carolyn and Marsha!!

Marsha, I've learned so much training Cayman and then trialing him. Thank you for sharing your experience with Viggo!! I'm in hopes of trialing Cayman next year for his SchH 2!! We'll see how things go over the winter!!


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