Dog Sports Q&As

My dog and I just passed the BH test and are now training for Schutzhund 1. A problem I am encountering is this: my dog doesn't bark easily at the bark and hold, so we went back out of the blind to build the dog's drive to bark through the helper standing in front of the dog cracking a whip while I am holding on to my dog. The dog starts barking and wants to go for the sleeve, but can't right away because he is supposed to sit and bark. But he gets really frustrated and starts to look aro...

Dear Mr. Frawley, My boyfriend and I adopted a 13 month old neutered male red Doberman less than a week ago. He's very well mannered and is progressing well with the ground work we've been doing with him. We've been poring over your material and following your suggestions since the second we've gotten him and things have gone well so far. I was reading your e-book on introducing dogs to cats and I noticed you made a comment about not allowing anyone to touch your dog for any reason. Thi...

I have a 6 month black lab that I want to train for Schutzhund and police work. Would you recommend against a second handler for the Schutzhund only? The second handler would be my wife. Would this cause a problem? re-enforce her role in the "pack" order (above the dog)? Is two handlers in Schutzhund a bad idea?

Hi Ed, I just finished watching, how to raise a working puppy, and building drive focus and grip. They were great videos. I plan on buying preparing your dog for the helper. At what age should the information in that video be applied to my puppy. I will be building his drive, but what is a good age to start working the puppy on preparing him for the helper. If it's best that I wait until the puppy matures a bit, then I will wait and get the video later. I am getting my puppy in two...

My friend told me that a Schutzhund dog that has been trained to bite a sleeve can never be a Personal Protection dog because it will not bite a person. Is this true?

I have a 9-month-old German Shepherd puppy that is working in schutzhund. Who has avery strong backing in working lines. My puppy does excellent in tracking and also does excellent in protection. But lacks interest in the ball. Do you have any solutions for me? My puppy is very motivated by food but I would like to start introducing the ball more. Please respond if you have a chance. Thank you

If you will, please voice your opinion.. I have a 3 yr. old GSD, German lines, who got his SCH I 2 weeks ago. We had never practiced a "judge" coming in on the B&H which was not real intense to begin with...we had only been working it for some 6 wks prior to that (once or twice a week). At trial the judge caused him to leave the blind and I had to give the reverie command again.. he went back in and was satisfactory. He does well on the courage test, attack on handler, etc. Now, in...

My Schutzhund 3 male is 5 years and will not out in trials. In training we work with electric collars but the dog is trial wise and will not out in a competition. What can we do?

I have just purchased an adult GSD who has earned her Schutzhund III title ten times. She also has earned FH title. In addition she has been surveyed with result "KKL1." She is truly a very well behave dog, very great temperament. The only problem is since her first day with me, I never heard her bark, not even once. When somebody came and knocked the door of my house, she just laid down on the floor as if she didn't care. When I look at her report card on her Schutzhund test, the ...

Schutzhund over here in England is frowned upon by the establishment. My nearest club is about 1.25 hours away, but they are very friendly and welcoming folks. My question is this. How related are Schutzhund and personal protection? Will going through Schutzhund be of benefit to my dog as a protection dog or should I simply set down the path, at a suitable age of course, of protection training him? Although again over here finding good helpers will be difficult outside the Schutzhund establis...

Hello, I just ordered two of your videos, "Bite Training for Puppies" and "The First Steps of Bite Training," and I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival. I have a question that I have posted on the message boards and asked several trainers about all with varying responses. First of all I have a Belgian Malinois pup age four months. I want to eventually train him for personal protection since I own a retail business. I also like the idea of competing in a sport such as Schutzhund...

Can you tell me why GRIP is so important to train in Schutzhund?

Dear Cindy I have a 3 year old GS female SChH 1 that leaks/whines during obedience during the long down. She will not move but will cause a commotion. I have tried nylon chocker, lifting up until she is quiet. I've also tried food when she is quiet but that does not last long. As soon as I walk away, she will start back up. The leaking carries over into healing. Any thought that might help my girl, I will be happy to call you? Thank You Dan

Do you know of anyone in the Illinois area that works in the Michael Ellis system? l have ordered all three tapes, but need a little guidance. I have done the leach pressure work. He does the tug well. He outs but it is getting better. He will sit, stand, down, & come while tugging. The problem is healing. My dog is almost 1. He has more drive for the tug like most working dogs. He has good food drive. For food I use a log roll that you get at petco. The problem I have is when I take step...

How do I start teaching the send out exercise for Schutzhund?

I have a question about training my dog with Jumps. I am looking to get my dog in a Schutzhund Club. At the moment the club that I am trying to get into is not taking anymore dogs at this time, so at the moment I've been working with my dog on how to build drive, retrieving, obedience and some basic bite work. I have a 9 month GSD that I've now started to work some basic jumps (heights of 2-3 feet). Is it too soon to work jumps? The dog has No difficulty making the jumps but I do n...

I came up with a unique repertoire of responses to people who try to come up and touch my dog when I am working on the "B" crowd stuff. Since I do not have a close club, I utilize parks and certain areas around town. If they ask then I explain that I am a trainer and busy and would be happy to answer any questions after I finished the excesses. I then explain why I do not allow any person to touch my dog. This has gotten me quite a few training clients by the way. One guy actually ...

I have 2 male GSD's that I am training for SchH. I am fairly new to the sport but am an experienced dog handler. Both are 5 months old, from different litters. One is DDR/Czech working lines, red sable, the other german working/show, red/black. Both are big healthy boys with what seems to be high drive and good confidence, for their age. For SchH I was told not to do much obedience, if any, on my pups until they are about 1 year old. I was told that during the first year I should b...

Dear Ed, I have a male German Shepherd that I have been training for Schutzhund. I have been working on adding distractions with him on the down stay, however when the other dogs are out on the field and he see's them running he will start barking uncontrollably. I have him where he won't break the stay but the barking really gets on my nerves. What do you suggest should I give him a good correction or I have a tri-tronics no bark collar I purchased from you, or just let him...

I am talented but new to dog training, would like to get into Schutzhund and any Obedience competition I can find. I am wondering if buying a Schutzhund trained K9 is the way to start? I figure I could learn while competing and just improve as my skills improve. I am single, early retired so lots of time, and no other dogs, cats, etc in the house. Given this choice, what would you suggest and why?