I have a 8 month old GSD and I am a new member of a Schutzhund club. At home in our back yard and else where he is very responsive to basic ob (food trainig) and very playful. When we go to the field he is improving his attention span with Ob but will not play. He is nervous and does not seem thrilled about being there. I was told that it would be very difficult but I can improve his drive. I was also told that I needed to losen up because he deoesn't respond with play, with me on the field. But at home he is very playful with me. I believe it is more nerves and that he is not happy going to the club. I have been taking him all kinds of places and distracting him with play. I think he will respond. Any ideas on what I can do to ease his nervousness so he will want to go to the field and have fun? I have ordered building drive and focus. Thanks

Lisa,
That is a great start. You probably couldn't of picked a better source of info then the drive, grip, and focus dvd. From what you've described so far it sounds like your on target. Remember everything is in increments so don't be disappointed when he doesn't respond real quick. I would also try taking him to different places like the park (not the dog park). When you do taken him though try and maintain as much control over the type and amount of exposure.
With people when they are having trouble with e.g. arthritis or something like that they will do an elimination diet so they can see just what it is that is creating the reaction. You would benefit from the same type of logic regarding type of exposure, duration, and intensity to see what bothers the dog. A dogs reaction to things are directly correlated to the distance they are from the place they consider home(their safe spot). Go for it girl.

Oh wow, this sounds painfully familiar. It's not uncommon for dogs to be distracted in unfamiliar settings, but if the Schutzhund field is the ONLY place he shuts down on you, then yes, I'd say he's not thrilled about being there. I'll spare you the gory details of my experience and just make a couple suggestions

* Was there something specific you can remember happening at the club after which he lost his playfulness there? If so, is it something you can work on getting him used to at home, where he would be more comfortable, and then reintroduce him to it at the club later? With my dog, it was the gunfire. I had to get him used to it in other places where I could just fire it off randomly while playing with my dog.

* If you can't think of anything specific, can you forget the obedience work and just play with him at the club until he realizes it's a fun place to be? The Training Director at my former club was very big on only doing the obedience routine - no variations or play - at the club. Boring.

Hope this helps

Ms. Gassner,

I'm sure you have but if you have not, on several occasions just take the dog to a field, and on a long line, just let him wander around and investigate. Call him every so often, and perhaps reward his return with a little treat.

Sometimes a trip to the field should just be a trip to the field. Basic obedience but little pressure to do anything but learn smells, and stuff.

If the dog is comfortable in his surroundings he may respond to play. Put another way, if the dog is on edge because it is unsure of its surroundings it will be more reluctant to work, and perhaps confused by how it is being 'trained.'

The dog is a puppy. It has lots to learn about its surroundings.

I'm probably way off the mark but I long ago discovered with my dogs that my performance expectations were almost always mitigated by the reality of the surroundings and the dog's confidence. And that a younger dog is becomming familiar with stuff that can distract or cause anxiety, etc.

Two cents.

Lisa,

The drive and focus DVD has some great information. Work on the game shown in the DVD, and once your pup gets it down in the back yard put on a long line and go play this game in different places after the pup gets used to them. Soon the pup will know when it sees the tug or ball it's "go time" no matter where you are.

Hi Lisa,

Things to consider....

Your puppy is still very young and may have issues with a new place but.....the issues may be yours more than his!

When I started with Schutzhund, for a long while I was very nervous about doing the right thing and not doing this and that! Forget it and go play!

Don't do ANY work with this dog on the field! Just go there and play play play. The guy who trains me is a huge advocate of this and believes it's more important for your dog to love being there than being too correct with the dog in the beginning! (horses for courses of course and the more experienced will imprint properly from the get go). Take your time.

I'd cut down or cut out how much you play with him off the field for a month or so and see if this changes his attitude to playing with you on the field (this will be his main opportunity to play with you).

Don't use too much in the way of food or toys on the field and have him more focused on playing with you (roughhousing etc.)

I have a great wee dog with no environmental issues and these are the things I'm being told to do with her, always building her confidence and drive up, up, up. Too much OB can be a problem for the dog as well and you may be putting too much pressure on him right now, ease off a bit?

HTH

John

Anita
At the Club i belong to the VVDH Kring 46 in Belgium they do not allow Play there
On the field it is serious, That is the work area not for playing at all, The Trainer said to me, Do not bring your Pup over here in the Week on your own to Play otherwise when he comes on a training day that is what he will expect to do
Here he said is for work only. He also said that if you bring him to play on the field he will not respond correctly to the work and if anyone goes on to the field to play when other Dogs are Working they are told to get off, and i think rightfully so
There is a area small puppies and such away from the working field but these pups are only about 2 months old. plus only Pups up to 6 months old are allowed in the Club room
With our Pup 'Fredrick' when his work has finished we put him in his carrying Crate in the Car with the back door open, he can see the other Dogs and relax while we have a Beer
on the 23rd Sept the Whole of the Belgium Limburg Championships will be held at our club, i am looking forewards to it

That seems insane. I play with my dog in the back yard, and we work on scent (discrimination, etc) and advanced OB back there, and when we "go to work" he's deadly serious. Saying, essentially, that a dog doesn't know the difference between work and play or can't decide to behave appropriately in a given situation is just silly.

To contrast my obvious disagreement with Steve's TD, I have little experience with Schutzhund and I'm an amateur handler. Obviously I'm no expert, but the idea of "no play because it will taint the work" seems like...madness.

David
I too am a beginner to this, When i said no play, it is on the Working Field that no play is allowed, the working field is for work only
Of course we play with the dog at home and in other places but Not on the working field at the club, Why would you need to go to a Club to play with your Dog, As far as i am concerned we go to the club to learn about the sport and to get help from the Trainer there in the right way to teach not only the Dog but more importantly Me' as i said i am a novice to the sport even if i am an Old Novice in years i take it very serious when i am at the club I can play with the Pup anytime at home or in another place
Look at the Leerburg DVDs on differnt aspects of people teaching on them, Would you think that they would allow you to play around with your Dog on the field whist they are working or Teaching some other person and there dog one, I do not think so
On our Field you can have as many as 10 Dogs working at any one time there is no place there for playing with your Dog and they would not tolarate you doing it
And when i said the trainer told us not to bring the Pup there during the week to play it was for that reason When the Pup goes to the Club he must know it is for work, and not for playing around

Steve,

The real question then is "what is considered working to a puppy"? All you are doing with an eight month old pup is drive building and work in prey drive. You want only positive fun experiences for the pup at this age and to pup it's all a fun game. We absolutely play with our dogs on the field which leads to the obedience portion of training. All the OB we train starts as a game and then transitions into fun work and then into performing since the dog now knows what to do. A pup that is nervous on the field initially needs to understand that only the most fun things in it's life happen on that field. Where else do you get to chase prey, bark your head off, and bite as hard as you can... AND GET REWARDED FOR IT!!! I have played with my one year old pup from day one on the field and the second she comes out of the truck and sees that I do not have a tug in my hand she knows she's there to work with a helper. She drags me onto the field and wants to get to it. No confusion in her mind AT ALL.