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Originally Posted by jazzking1971

I'm not going to force anything on him but if he can do it then he can do it. He can do a BH right now and was ready for that two months ago. My obstacle was his age and a nearby trial. He's not ready for the schH1 yet but he should be by July. He does all of the exercises but they need to be tightened up. I've been working with people who have titled dogs to a national level. They all were rottie people at one time so they understand the breed. They think he should be ready by July and Nov.

One serious hole at the moment is his retrieves. If we can't get him to do it via positive motivation then we'll have to do via the forced retrieve and he's not ready for that yet. So if he's not doing the retrieves then his maturity will dictate the schedule. But for now, April, July and Nov is the time line. I need goals otherwise I get flakey and in this case if we don't meet them then there is no loser and I'll just reset the schedule.

I know there have been rotties that have earned their schH1 at 18mo. I believe I have a special little guy and until last saturday he's been showing it.

We ALL think we have special dogs, but don't concentrate so much on dates on the calendar for trials. The dog's training and successes will dictate it. You gotta get by that BH first, and (not trying to be a smartass here) if the dog refused to heel for you this morning in your own house, he ain't ready for the BH yet. Half of the BH OB is offleash. How is his long down? Consistent with other dog doing OB on the field? Have you practiced a lot of scenarios for the temperment portion of the OB? Having someone ride a bike slowly past your dog? Have you practiced having a group of people in a circle around you, then all move in quickly to tightly crowd you and the dog? The judge can ask for a lot of surprises on a BH.