May 19, 2011
I have an 18-month-old GSD who I'd like to do Schutzhund with. He won't bite a sleeve and has tail-chasing problems. Is there away I can work with him?
Full Question:
HI,My name is Andy and I have an 18 month old German Shepherd male with 1/4 DDR. He is not a German import but he does have the bloodline due to his mother and father being imports. When I first purchased him I took him home and only started on obedience work. But after learning more about the breed and acquiring a few more shepherds I have decided to train him for Schutzhund. He has all his obedience work needed for Schutzhund but I have not trialed him yet for his bh. He also does great on the agility course. But when I try and get him to do bite work he will not bite the sleeve. Also when I try to get him to track he will only focus on me not the ground. The reason I want him to get trained for Schutzhund is because he has a problem. He chases his tail all the time. I have tried using an electric collar, putting a head collar on him and even giving him a ball or two for him to switch his attention from the tail to a toy. The only time he does not chase his tail is when I am working with him on obedience work or on the agility course. It seems he has no prey drive at all but I know he has got to because of his pedigree and the way he constantly chases his tail all day long. Is there a way I can get him to bite the sleeve to get his attention off of the tail???
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![Cindy](https://leerburg.com/Photos/articles/authors/cindyrhodes.jpg)
A pedigree or specific bloodline is not a guarantee of anything. It’s simply a family tree and how a dog is raised and brought up can either bring a dog to his potential or it can leave him falling short.
The tail chasing is an obsessive compulsive disorder, and may actually prevent your dog from functioning as a normal dog, let alone participating in sports.
I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website for any additional questions you may have. If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q & A’s and posts on our forum. Tail chasing has been discussed a lot.
We have an extensive section on Schutzhund too.
I think I’d be more concerned about resolving the tail chasing at this point, and would get to the root of this before progressing on with more training.
Cindy
The tail chasing is an obsessive compulsive disorder, and may actually prevent your dog from functioning as a normal dog, let alone participating in sports.
I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website for any additional questions you may have. If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q & A’s and posts on our forum. Tail chasing has been discussed a lot.
We have an extensive section on Schutzhund too.
I think I’d be more concerned about resolving the tail chasing at this point, and would get to the root of this before progressing on with more training.
Cindy
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