I am going to have to do what I have always advised others to do...and finding it a lot easier said than done! I am going to retire my sweet, handler sensitive, soft, velcro bitch from training for Schutzhund.
(This is a fairly long note, and if it gets boring, just click off... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I always advised that when training stops being fun for the dog (or handler) it's time to make a change...and this bitch is not having fun.
We failed our first attempt at the Sch1 title, pretty much due to the dogs anxious state.
Tracking was going well till she noticed onlookers on the field: 57 score to that point.
Obedience was ok, though she did the routine completely out of drive (ala most of AKC performances). Score 78.
Protection started out fine: correct, fast blind search; ok on B&H, and then she couldn't/wouldn't hold on for the escape. The judge called a halt to the exercise and we were through.

You couldn't have seen a more relieved dog than the one I then put back in the crate. Poor thing. She tries so hard for me, but gets so nervous. I could probably "make" her do the activity, but it means some fairly brutal compulsion...and that's not worth it to me.

Schutzhund did what it was designed to do: it revealed what this dog will do under stress...get anxious.

So what caused this bitch, who started out so promising to end up like this? Interestingly even my helper (new to me, but very experienced) can't say for sure. He agrees she is soft and keys on my state of mind.

Is it bad training?
I was a newbie and allowed another helper to put her into defense early and often, instead of building on what little prey drive she has.

Is genetic?
THe sire (I was told later) had been run off the field a few times, in spite of being sch3 several times over. And the dam could never get past a BH.

Is is environmental?
In the 4 yrs I have owned this bitch she has been anesthetized 5 times! 1ce for pyometra/spaying; 1ce for OFA; 1ce for suspected back problem; 1ce to remove a suspicious shoulder lump; 1ce for canine root canals. I suspect pain and such experiences take a toll on a dog's confidence.
Her anxious personality is probably a combination of all three.

My velcro bitch will now stay home and eat grasshoppers and dig for gophers. I have a new puppy to train for schutzhund; this time I am more experienced and the pup is a much more independant type.

It has come to this: give me a velcro dog to love...but a harder dog to train. (right VC? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

I can understand the situation you have been through. One of my dogs never became all that I expected him to be and I always wondered why?, what could I have done?, etc. I finally came to the conclusion that he just wasn't cut out for the work, mainly from his weak bloodlines and being one of my first dogs I trained for protection. Either way, it was a good learning experience for both of us. Now he is a great family dog who is well behaved and loved. There will always be another chance with another dog and I try not to think of it as time wasted. It was fun while it lasted.
Alison Voore

i am in the same boat but atleast you got to trial your dog.

mine won't come out of the car for training let alone trial.

so it is onto another dog,

it just sucks cause (atleast in my case) she is a great dog just does have the nerve or the drive for the work.

now researching breeders.


aint life with these guys wonderful

These are things I and many others I know have asked. I suspect that this has been asked for a long time. If I live long enough to get an answer I will make sure I post it!!!!

Dear Starting Over...
NOT... you can't start over you can only move forward. Your Velcro sweetheart can't start over // she has already been there and tried. Your new pup can't start over // it can only begin. Schutzhund is a wonderful sport that gives rewards even thru failures. The ultimate reward is the bonding of human to dog that most people never have felt. Glad to hear you are moving forward. Where YOU are?? I am "right there with ya"... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> See you at the trials... ain't it fun????? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />