Just About Jacks

Archive for September 21st, 2009

Schutzhund Dog Training is the top of the ladder as far as dog training goes.  It takes a very special dog to start with if you would like to get involved with Schutzhund dog training. Schutzhund training started out in Germany over a 100 years ago, in order to test a dog’s ability to serve as a police dog. The word Schutzhund is literally  German for “protection dog”. Nowadays the Schutzhund dog training has changed, and the competitions include tracking and obedience as well as protection as the focal points of the training.

Most of the Schutzhund dogs historically have been German shepherd dogs, but now there are clubs that allow the entry of other breeds. The dogs need to be athletic, intelligent and courageous to qualify for this difficult training. To qualify as a good candidate for the Schutzhund  training, you dog should have the following characteristics:

• Your dog must have a strong work ethic.
• Your dog must be courageous.
• Your dog needs to be easily trainable
• Your dog must have a very strong bond with his handler (you).
• A very strong protective instinct in your dog is needed.
• Your dog must be able to persevere.

The Schutzhund dog trials are based on three different tests: tracking, obedience and protection. There are 3 levels of Schutzhund training, Schutzhund I, Schutzhund II, and Schutzhund III, with each level more demanding the the previous one. There are no better trained dogs in any field than the Schutzhund III dogs.

Tracking: Your dogs sense of smell, his mental sharpness and his stamina will be tested during the tracking ability competition on a trail that contains dropped items for him to locate. While performing the tracking trial the handler puts his his dog on a 33 foot leash and follows him around the course. Your dog must find the dropped items and mark where they are, usually by lying down and putting his front legs around the item. The dogs are graded on a 100 point system based on how well the performed the course.

Obedience: After tracking, the next trial is for obedience, and the obedience trials are help in an open field. Two dogs are paired together for the trial-one dog works while the other waits at the side of the field. The dogs will then switch positions once the first dog completes his competition. To do well during these obedience trails your dog is going to need complete focus. Among the many types of exercises, your dog will need to heel while walking through crowd of people, not loose his focus when gunshots are fired, or even to ignore a female dog in heat . There are many other exercises including a variety of jumps, climbing, retrieving, etc.  Your dog will be judged by his ability and enthusiasm to perform the exercises correctly.

Protection: During the protection trial your dog’s courage and ability to protect both himself and his handler are really challenged. He will be confronted with a “decoy” who has been placed behind a blind. Your dog is commanded to search the blinds on the course until he locates the decoy and announces the decoy’s presence by barking.  At this point the dog’s job is guard the decoy until your arrival. This is the dog’s chance to show he is qualified for the police work side of Schutzhund dog training. the handler now comes up to the decoy, and will search him prior to escorting him to where the judge is waiting. At times while the handler interacts with the decoy-searching or escorting him to the judge- the decoy will attempt to escape.During the escape attempt your dog must be able to stop the escape by biting and holding onto the decoy’s padded sleeve. When the decoy stops his struggles, your dog must release the decoy immediately upon your command. Your dog will score points depending on his ability to control his aggression, enthusiasm for the work and courage.

If you would like to learn more about Schutzhund dog training see if you can find a local Schutzhund club. However, there is not an abundance of Schutzhund clubs in the U.S., but the sport is growing in popularity. The Schutzhund dog training requires more than one person-for the tracking and the protection phases of the competition-so you will need the help of someone with your training. Having someone to help you train your dog and teach you some tips about Schutzhund training is the main reason it is great to join a Schutzhund club if you are interested in this type of training for your dog. You may have no clubs in your vicinity, but you can see how incredible these dogs are by watching a good DVD or video on Schutzhund training.

For more helpful articles about dog obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems, please click here to visit http://BehaveDoggy.com.

Please click here to read my full review of the best dog obedience training program on the Internet.

Freestanding pet gates are rapidly becoming the most popular choice for dog gates, they may look good, but are they effective?

For the most complete answer we will need to compare the t-bar freestanding pet gate and the zig zag freestanding pet gate.

Let’s look at the t-bar gate first. On both ends of the gate at the floor level, these gates incorporate t-bars for stabilizing the gates. These t-bars will vary from 15 to 18 inches and will be perpendicular to the gate. The longer gates have longer t-bars.

The zig zag gates are designed with multiple panels (two to five) which are arranged in a “w” pattern. The offsetting panels provide for the gate stability.

Now back to the key question, “Won’t my dog be able to knock these gates over quite easily?” No two dogs are the same, so it is very hard to predict the outcome when it comes to large determined dogs. Even though these gates have rubber cushions on the bottom,  It is more probable that a large dog would push the gate aside vs tip it over.

Let’s imagine that a pet was able to partially tip the gate, and then let go.

It has been my experience that most dogs are usually frightened by the motion of the tipping gate and the sound that it would make against the floor as it rights itself. The old saying of once bitten, twice shy, comes into effect here.

My advice would be to let your dog experience this new barrier while you are at home and on the opposite side of the gate. The initial minutes after the gate is installed, will be the biggest test.

Most pets behave quite differently when it comes to the zig zag style of freestanding gates. The zig zag pattern tends to confuse our furry friends. Most pets will move towards the “V” slots in the gates which are very difficult to pull on and if your dog pushes, the sides of the “V” will contract towards the pet, virtually trapping it in the gate.

The large movement of freestanding gate purchases over pressure gate purchases, suggests that the general population of pet owners are finding these gates quite effective.

With sales of freestanding pet gates now reaching over 50% of the gate sales in our pet store, it’s very hard to question their popularity.

Like with all products, there will be a small percentage of cases where these freestanding gates may not be effective for some pet owners. However, you know your animals the best, so it should be your gut feel that drives your buying decision. The gut tends to be right nine times out of ten.

The beauty and ease of use of these gates, suggest to me that we will continue to see these freestanding pet gates dominate the pet gate market for years to come.