Schutzhund/working trials info and clubs? kent

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kizzyjerry

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Hi

Looking for for something to do with my nearly 1 year GSD (mild hip displacia been/being treated and all going very well and looking very good for her)

Have been chatting with her therapist about tracking and would like to find some clubs that do this. From browsing i see its linked to Schutzhund - obviously the agility side of things is a no go, will these clubs work for us being only able to do part of the training?

found one person that runs occasional scent work only clinics that we would be welcome at but wanted to see if there were any other oppotunties for us.

Looking for something more than 'just' obediance and that will be a bit of a work out for me as well.

Thinking a few years down the line - is it possible to be competative in the tracking work only or is it only really a 'three day event' type thing :)

Lastly i'm in kent if anyone knows of someone that does the tracking only.

thanks
 
Try the GSD League website and click on the working branch to find a Schutzhund club near you.
Schutzhund tracking is more of an obedience exercise than a simulation of the way dogs really scent, it is very sterile, very precise, every point counts and always the same combination of moves, footsteps, right angle turns and articles.

In Schutzhund tracking is phase one of a three-phase trial, the others being obedience and protection and yes, you can do tracking in isolation if the dog does not show aptitude for the other two phases but you cannot do tracking titles without first doing the BH obedience/companion dog test.
Obviously with her issues obedience would be out because of the jump and A-frame, protection also would probably be too hard on her and you cannot do protection without obedience anyway (which is a great rule IMO!!)

My own dog got his BH and his TDI and we worked towards TDII but we did not get past the start pole so I decided to let him rest on his laurels, bless him, he did really well in terms of being a showline dog with little or no drive.
In all phases of Schutzhund having ball and/or food drive is very important for the training.
It IS possible for dogs to go right up to the highest level of tracking and score more points than dogs doing all three phases.
There are also the FH grades which are much harder, very advanced tracks over lots of different surfaces for kilometers!
Schutzhund people will tell it to you straight and they do expect you to pitch in, no half measures, and be aiming for something but if you get bitten by the bug there is no going back!

KC Working Trials tracking is a bit more varied.
 
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This is us doing TDI (300 paces, three legs, two corners, three articles owned by the handler, handler lays track, track must be matured for at least half an hour) - dog must be at the end of a 10m line, steady pace and when he finds the article, must lie down with it between his paws.

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thanks

will contact people in both (working and schutzhund) and have a chat. I suspect that prehaps the working trials maybe the way but to honest dont know enough about either so will see:) thanks for the link

spent one night trying to keep up with a dog on a track (failing terribly but i blame not being allowed a torch and a big ditch) was fascinated watching him work.
 
No worries :)

Like I say Schutzhund tracking (slow, focused, head down, deliberate) bears very little resemblance to search and rescue work (fast, air scenting, too much effort for me :p), it takes a special dog to do both (I do know of a serviceman who cannot compete in all three phases because doing Schutzhund tracking would totally mess the dog up for real life work/real life work messes up his tracking) and usually Schutzhund tracks are trained first in a dog which works on the streets and competes.
Although SAR type tracking is due to be introduced as a discipline either this year or next year apparently.

If you do decide to go for it you will get an awesome nippy waist and nice bum from all the bending over and back-stepping you have to do when tracklaying :p although you will be quite stiff and lopsided and will say 'ouch' a lot :p
 
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CaveCanem said:
No worries :)

Like I say Schutzhund tracking (slow, focused, head down, deliberate) bears very little resemblance to search and rescue work (fast, air scenting, too much effort for me :p), it takes a special dog to do both (I do know of a serviceman who cannot compete in all three phases because doing Schutzhund tracking would totally mess the dog up for real life work/real life work messes up his tracking) and usually Schutzhund tracks are trained first in a dog which works on the streets and competes.
Although SAR type tracking is due to be introduced as a discipline either this year or next year apparently.

If you do decide to go for it you will get an awesome nippy waist and nice bum from all the bending over and back-stepping you have to do when tracklaying :p although you will be quite stiff and lopsided and will say 'ouch' a lot :p
Click to expand...

Do you mean that air scenting will feature as well as ground scenting, or that certain qualifications will feature one or the other? Or do you mean something else entirely? :p
 
In working trials each stake does feature agility as well as tracking, but you could always withdraw from the agility side and just do the tracking. Obviously this would mean you wouldn't be able to achieve a qualification or move beyond CD Ex but would still give your girl something to keep her interested.
Once she is tracking though you can have loads of fun just setting tracks at home, or doing search squares etc. If you want to know about WT clubs in your area let me know and I will ask a friend who competes.
 
MM- yes please that would be great.

Didn't know there were different types of tracking (DUH!) so its the faster one i'm after. waist and bum improvements would be a welcome side effect :)
 
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Pix said:
Do you mean that air scenting will feature as well as ground scenting, or that certain qualifications will feature one or the other? Or do you mean something else entirely? :p
Click to expand...

No, there will be no changes to the traditional Schutzhund track as far as I am aware, it will be an additional qualification you can go for (like the FH tracking, or the AD endurance test, which are not part of the three-phase trial but are other things you can do).
 
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