Hi
I'll be 38 next month and have 3 gsd's. Got my first shepherd when I was 16 and have had them ever since. Live in MN, did some obedience until I got bit by the agility bug and have been doing that the last few years. Have a 10 year old white and 2 rescues, one is 6 the other 10. I was feeling kind of alone, except for Dennis, with my white dog. He's been a dream dog to me, except for that 'white hair that's everywhere'. Will be getting my first working pup this summer and I can't wait. There are no Schutzhund clubs in the area yet, but hopefully one day we'll be able to give that a try.

Just joined the crew here in march '05. Thought I'd share a little about myself to reference.

I am 20 and I have been training animals for about 5 yrs. Started with training horses off the race track to hunter/jump or barrel race and ended up an obedience instructor at Petsmart...(The more I learned, the more I hated that place-if you know what I mean), so I quit after a year and started REAL dog training- I have gained experience with personal protection, ring sport, sch, dominant/agg. dogs, etc. Dog training is my passion now. Can't wait to "learn it all"! Leerburg.com is great. Ed and I hardly disagree.

i am 25 and have been training dog for 9 years.....wow, time really stops for no one. Got first (American)German Shepherd, before I knew any better. She is 11 years old now, and still doesn't work. In 1999 I got ripped off by a "breeder". The dog had great drives minus a testicle and one soft ear...But that was my fault according to him. The dog died unexpectedly at 11 months of age. Now I have a 7 month old solid working GSD, and thank God for him. It has been a long road, but Schutzhund is going to be a blast.

Cheers Brennan will post on that link as soon as i can find the right buttons to push <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I am eighteen. I have had dogs since I was a little kid, but being they were Philippine Natives I had little success training them especially since I knew nothing, there were no such things as 'classes' back then (if there were I couldn't afford them), and we couldn't afford dog books. My parents weren't really into dogs so the dogs were mostly mine. I learned everything I knew then from reading the opened books in the book stores, or if I could buy a book on sale. When I was eight I wanted a German Shepherd so I tried to save up for one, but being we weren't a rich family in a country that prioritized LIVING before actually buying 'luxury dogs', it took me a while...and then I found out I couldn't afford it anyway. So I got a Japanese Spitz.

That dog, when I was ten, taught me dogspeak. She marked a time from when I was a wannabe to when I actually learned how to train a dog, how to communicate with a dog, and how to understand a dog. I brought her to a level wherein I could trust her off leash, I could make her do anything with a hand signal, and was ALMOST doing a (forced) retrieve, except of course she was a spitz and I didn't know anything about drives. I never looked back. Because in the Philippines spaying was something I haven't heard of yet, she had babies, and I took care of them as best as I could even with the absence of vaccinations and proper veterinary care. Most of them lived--the ones that died died with their new owners. Some I cared for through distemper. The only things I COULD afford was wormer and dog food, and even then I had no allowance left...

Anyway that's my dog stuff in a nutshell. I'm in Canada now and have no more problems with information or dog care. Hopefully I'll actually GET my German Shepherd now, after more than ten years of pining, or a Malinois as the case might be, and get started on the type of dog training I had been wanting to do since my eyes opened to the dog world.

hi,
i am 34, started schutzhund three years ago with Bernhard's seminar in Boston, but I did not have any dog at that time. I gave myself a try last year in Germany first time handling my dog in a sch3 trial. to me training and trialing are fun but I want to compete at the WUSV with my dogs, maybe it will take sometime as my country has not been recognized by the FCI yet:-(I am maybe the only one in an 80 million country involving in this sport so I dont know how I can apply for the WUSV membership for my country:-)
see me and my dogs at http://www.geocities.com/hadpham
happy training

Hi there,
I'll be 29 years old in August. Started training in Personal Protection w/ my boy about 5 1/2 years ago, then transferred the training to Police work. Dabbled a little in Schutzhund during the Personal Protection training as well. I've also been an agility instructor, have competed in agility and have trained in Obedience. My one Corgi is trained in English and Czech, as well as LOTS of tricks. He's also trained to do service type work, like getting the phone, control box, taking things to "Daddy" and so forth. I think that about somes up most the important stuff. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Brandi

Ok Ill jump in.Im 33 and have had dogs all my life including cowdogs and birddogs.I have only been involved in "working dogs" seriously for 2 years now.I have Mals ,Dutchies, and GSDs all working lines.I try to go to at least one seminar a year and help a Mal breeder imprint pups and train his dogs along with mine.Occasionally I train with LE giving their dogs something new to gnaw on.I would love to get involved in sport but theres nothing close for me and Im pretty busy as I train horses for a living and show reining horses and cowhorses.Training dogs makes me a better horse trainer and vice versa.

I guss ill jump in as well...
was 30 in dec. live in the crazy reality of ISRAEL.
when i got out of the service back in 1995 i made up my mind i want to learn and if possibly work with dogs for a living.
I traveld to the states back in 1999 to study it and then went back and did some work with friends dogs... lol
today im working for a company who work mostly with EDD's in the air ports sea ports and border crossings all over ISRAEL. there for the past three years. little more then two years in karni border crossing over at the GAZA strip .
thinking in the past few monthes after "surviving" two terror attack in karni of relocating either to the states or australia will see how thats gona go.......
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Edo

Actually, it's my wife who is the dog-girl. She's 43 next Saturday. She got her first GSD when she was about 31. Had him for about 9 years. 2nd GSD a couple of years after the first one died. She's only trained one, and moderately at that. That 2nd one was sold last February because she (my wife) realized that the bitch was capable of more things than being our pet/watchdog. too much drive. So, around the beginning of July she'll have her 3rd. Hopefully a better ending this time.