I just thought I'd post an update.

There are 3 ScH clubs in my area and 2 are no longer accepting new members. This week I finally heard back from the third and they are willing to let me come out and see how things go. This club would be a bit more of a time commitment due to travel time since they do their tracking practice a bit further out on Saturdays, about a 1-2 hour drive for me. Still, I'm excited to have another shot at finding a club since I thought we were going to be on our own for the year.

I have my fingers crossed and I'll be going to their practice on Monday here in town. As usual, I plan on going without my pup so that I can focus on getting to know everyone and observing well.

In the meantime, I've been looking for strategies to work on him barking for attention without effecting his ability to bark when I need him to and he's been doing well with our other basic obedience training.

Excellent news! Paws crossed for you.

So...I think the cookies made all the difference!

This club seemed a bit more relaxed than the other local club I had visited and actually seemed interested in Sam's mix and his potential. We've been invited to come to their tracking practice on Saturday!

So far, I like that this club seems more diverse as far as what they are looking to get out of Schutzhund. They have many members who are working to get their dogs titled and even have dogs that have their ScH3 title, but then they also have a member who only does the obedience and tracking and another member who trains her dog in everything, but doesn't trial with her. Then, they have dogs that members are trialing in both Schutzhund and AKC events including obedience, rally, lure coursing, and agility.

I also like that they start with dogs as puppies and start with marker training and positive reinforcement. I think this club might be a better fit for Sam and I, particularly at this point.

I'm excited about getting him out and seeing what kind of potential he might have as well as having a lot of fun doing it.

" they also have a member who only does the obedience and tracking "

We have three of these too.

Your new club sounds great to me! Congratulations!




eta
We always have cookies and lemonade after, and also beer and chips.


Edited by Connie Sutherland (07/23/2013 11:51 AM)
Edit reason: eta

When do you go again?

We're going on Saturday to tracking practice. I'm very excited and trying to figure out what I should bring. Since he's just a puppy, I was thinking a regular harness and some different lengths of leashes, his favorite tug and treats, and tons of water, as well as snacks and drinks for me, bug spray, and sunscreen. I'm also getting him a new flat collar for basic obedience work. They sometimes do some obedience or bitework after tracking.

Be sure to tell us how it went today!

We had SO much fun!!!!!

We did tracking for a few hours, with Sam doing 2 puppy length tracks. He loved it and each time wanted to do more. I was fascinated talking to some of the members who also do search and rescue and police tracking about the similarities and differences as well as following some of the more experienced dogs and handlers and watching them train.

We did a little bit of obedience after and some light tug with the puppies. I learned a lot and left with a very tired and happy puppy. He did even better than I had hoped for with warming up to the new people and dogs and settled right in to working in that environment. We are already looking forward to practice on Monday.

I just loved seeing my dog light up like that and I had so much fun learning!

 Quote: Karen Tunkel

We had SO much fun!!!!!

We did tracking for a few hours, with Sam doing 2 puppy length tracks. He loved it and each time wanted to do more. I was fascinated talking to some of the members who also do search and rescue and police tracking about the similarities and differences as well as following some of the more experienced dogs and handlers and watching them train.

We did a little bit of obedience after and some light tug with the puppies. I learned a lot and left with a very tired and happy puppy. He did even better than I had hoped for with warming up to the new people and dogs and settled right in to working in that environment. We are already looking forward to practice on Monday.

I just loved seeing my dog light up like that and I had so much fun learning!

I'm so happy for you! Isn't it great to find the right group and venue?

(My dog also loved FST right from Day One.)

It is great. I think the other club just wasn't the right fit, right now. This one, I feel like we're welcome and aren't a burden or distraction.

Tonight we have obedience and protection practice. Sam is well into teething and has a sore mouth, so I plan on focusing on obedience and mainly just watching and learning in protection. If nothing else, he's really doing great with socialization and improving with engagement. I'm loving seeing his confidence increase and him be more relaxed around new dogs and people.