Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip  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. |
Until the other day his OB was stellar. His long downs are better than any other dog in our club. I disagree that just because he refused in the house he isn't ready. It tells me something is going on with him, he's either testing rank, he's sick, stressed out or hurt. The weather has suddenly changed from being nice to hot. Daytime temps are mid 80s already so that's possibly a factor too. My wife mentioned the other dog has stopped carrying objects on walks since friday.
As far as the traffic portion of the BH, we often go to malls and stores etc. A week ago I had extremely good attention heeling in the middle of a busy outdoor mall where there were hundreds of people moving about. He's fine with bicycle, rollerbladers and skateboarders. He might have a problem with being staked out, having a dominant dog walk past and give him a look. He's proven to be fine in crowds and amoung other dogs out in a very busy and public environment. I'm not working on my own, I train with two groups and there are national level people in both. We're training for schH3 but with an eye for what is coming up and that's the BH. I'm new to schH and follow the advice of those who have been there before with multiple dogs, they are respected members of the local schH community, they know me and know my dog.
I only believe my dog is special because other respectable and knowledgeable people tell me so. To me he's just my dog to others they say they've only seen a few rotties with the level of drive he shows.