Finding a good experienced helper at a club that is open to newbies with a good environment is often the hardest part of getting into Schutzhund. I was extremely lucky when I found a club (Joliet Schutzhund) about 40 minutes from my house with great people that are very open to beginners and a helper that has quite frankly forgotten more about dog training than I'll ever know. Watching a great helper work with a dog is amazing, it is truly an art form. When I was lucky enough to purchase my pup from Ed and Cindy, I was not even sure I was going to work her in the sport. Once I got her home, her focus, intelligence, and athleticism blew me away. I knew I had to get her into something. I did an Internet search and came across my club. I made an appointment to go out there for an evaluation. I didn't even know that Ed helped the club get started and has an endorsement of the club on his site. A few weeks later I was watching the Flinks drive and focus DVD and it turns out the helper and training director of our club is the helper Bernard is working Itor (my pup's grandfather)on! Working with an experienced highly skilled helper from day one has allowed me to avoid many common rookie mistakes up to this point. Also, the sport is VERY addicting. If you are interested in canine behavior at all (which it sounds like you very much are) you will get very addicted to Schutzhund. Now I just have to focus on not screwing her up moving forward!

WOW, it looks like you are in very good hands.....

Hopefully I will get lucky in find someone to help me. It seems that there are many ego issues in some clubs.....I don't know why but there are some clubs that even "discriminate" breeds lol....

Anyway, I will follow your advise, and hopefully (no, I will do a good job!, have to think possitive) I will raise my pup good.

Hopefully I can still bug you with more questions, but I will do my homework as much as I can.


Thanks again man, I really appreciate your help!

Fernando.

I have read and heard about a lot of ego and political issues with clubs. Personally, I have only come across very nice people that have been very open, and geared towards educating any that are interested about the sport. I went to the nationals earlier this year, a Flinks seminar, and two different clubs and have had nothing but good experiences. As far as further help, I will help in any way I can. Raising a puppy is the one thing I can actually help with. My e-mail is in my profile, as well as my pup's page on Leerburg's site. Check it out.

A question along the same lines as Fernando's..

How much can a new puppy interact with an existing, older dog without becoming "doggy"? and up until what age should they be kept separate?

I work in rescue and I have seen what an adult dog who is "doggy" is like. It would be difficult to get a dog like this to be a working dog. I would like to know how to prevent it and I kind of think that's what Fernando was getting at (am I right, Fernando?) He wants the new pup to be focussed on him and not his dog?

The answer to that will depend on the dog, but as a general rule you want your pup to interact and train significantly more with you than she plays with the other dog. I actually introduced and had my pup spend time with my older dog from day one, as long as I was there to supervise and ensure she was not dominated. But, I did this knowing that my older dog was neutral to puppies. They got along quite well actually, and could have fed them from the same dish if my male was not such a piggy.

Angela, like I said, I keep pups seperated to 10 months old and then slowly increase time spent with older dogs. 8 weeks to 10 months is IMO enough time for the pup to learn that the world revolves around you.

I am not a fan of young males being dominated by older males though, I want a working dog to be king of the world. I know a dog that would have been really great, but the owner let an older male dominate the dog from puppyhood, so the dog gives up his ball to the older dog and really isn't anything special work-wise, while his littermate is a phenomenal dog raised as the only dog in the house.

Yes Angela......that was one of my questions....that this guys, (specially John) were kind enough to answer.....

John, Zahar looks awesome!, carrying the sleeve all proud!!! awesome pictures!!! congratulations!

F.

Hey, Mike, I don't know how I missed your first post, very informative.....

Thanks for sharing your experiences.


F.

Thanks Mike... I have a litter of large (will be around 70 lb) mix breeds out of a rescue dog and I was thinking of keeping one for competition obedience and agility. These pups are very confident and hard, and have excellent temperaments and don't startle. Too bad I don't know what they are! Having had rescue dogs that are "doggy" I think it is definitely something to try and avoid in a dog you want to use for working or sports.

I appreciated the "over-crating" question too.