I looking for suggestion on what type of training my 6 month old should start next.
He is in basic obedience now.
He is from a German Showline, but he is longhair so there goes the conformation.
He has high prey drive(based on my opinion with the vacuum and anything else that moves).
I know that he most likely won't have protection capabilities and I don't want to push that on him-but that's far down the road if I wanted to start with that anyway. He's only 6 months and I read he won't be mentally mature to handle that until 2yrs maybe longer.
So....should I try to SchH title him, do sport tracking for fun, agility or let him chase vacuum cleaners? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Thanks
Kathy

Have you thought about doing SAR with your dog? Since he has good prey drive he sounds like a canidate to try. I know they start with puppies so he's at a good age to begin.

What are you interested in?

Kathy,

My pup as well is from Show lines, but that does not mean no Sch! I have had him evaluated by 3 trainers that could not beileve he was from show lines. I am a firm believer that a Good Shepherd can be anything, conformation, working dog, whatever. In my case, a "lower" drive dog for me was perfect because I am a beginer, turns out his drive is not that "Low" but I have seen pure working dogs and I think they would be too much for me to handle. I did a ton of research on types of Shepherds before I bought my pup and came to this conclusion, based on my handling abilities, training abilities and my lifestyle. I came up with I needed a dog that would work and be great, but also I could live with.

God am I going off base here heheh sorry.. to your question, what does your dog want to do? If you both want to try Sch, you need to start bite training him now, don't wait another day, get Ed's bite training puppies and first steps of bite training. Your dog should tell you when he is ready for defense work, but he needs that prey and conditioning first!

You can do tracking as well! That is part of Sch.. why not do all three? Your dog would be happy I'm sure to try them all... then you can make a decision based on what he is best at. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I would say and I'm sure others will agree that with your dogs leval of Prey, he is a perfect canadite for Sch work....take him as far as he will go, but do it right.

Hi Muddypaws,

It sounds like you would like to do "something", but are not sure what...eh?

SAR is certainly an option and can be very rewarding for both dog and owner. Or if going after a Sch title appeals, but you're not sure he's going to have the temperment for the protection (and not all dogs do, so that's no big deal...) why not set a goal to get his BH? It's all OB, cannot be awarded till the dog is minimum 15 months old, and is the pre-requisite for any Sch title anyway.

At the same time, you could get started in tracking and by that time he's ready for the BH, you should have a better feel for his ability and temperment to handle the protection part of a Sch title.

The dog won't care if he misses out on a Sch title (titles are for human satisfaction anyway) and will be physically/mentally healthy as long as he's kept busy and can be with his pack leader. With stand-alone titles available for Tracking and OB, Agility, SAR, etc you will have plenty of options to work with your dog. I would suggest to try out a few venues, check out some training clubs...and just have fun!

We picked Gus for his temperment and then later found out his background so I'm still catching up on learning about what's out there for him to do.
SAR would be excellent and rewarding to do, but can I actually work him on a search?
I'm searching this site for all the info I can get and posting as many questions to help me along the way.
Thanks for all your help
Kathy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I’d advise against getting involved in SAR just to have your dog do something. It takes as much time as any of the biting sports but there aren’t rewards (except those that come from within).

To be a good SAR handler one must first be a good SAR foot searcher. That takes lots of education and lots of time. You must also be in good physical condition. You’ll be out in all sorts of weather, usually nasty. No one ever seems to get lost on cool balmy days, it’s always well below zero and sleeting.

The dog must be highly driven. If he’s not, people can die.

I’d suggest that if you haven’t shown an interest in SAR at this point in your life, doing it just so that your dog will have a job, is not the right path to follow.

It commonly takes years for someone to be ready to certify.

I agree with Lou, one should first have an interest in SAR, become trained and mission ready, before considering becoming a SAR dog handler. I don't want to discourage anyone who really really wants to do SAR, but it is an incredible commitment, both physically, mentally, financially, and time wise. For someone who just wants something to do with their dog, I'd suggest a dog sport of some kind, such as SchH or AKC events.

I'm curious.

How often do SAR teams really get called out?

Second, are they called out soon enough to ever do any good?