Tips For Improving Your
Obedience Scores
First about mind set. Most people go onto the field with the thought
of
making a certain amount of points. If we change our mind set to,
when we go
on the field we already have 100 points but the final score will
depend on
how many points that you and your dog will allow the judge to take
away.
To become more focused and aware of how many points you, as the
handler, are
costing the team, you should have someone video your obedience
routine a few
times. Look for things that you are not able to see when you are
handling
the dog. Look for handler help that you may not be aware, that you
are
doing, i.e. bobbing your head when recalling your dog or moving your
arms
slightly or twisting your body when you finish the dog.
When you see how many points the dog is costing the team, you will
be able
to focus on certain things that will have to be improved upon
through
training. Focus on these things first, when training, then finish
with an
exercise that your dog does well, thereby leaving the field on a
good note
for your dog.
To work your dog with a pattern or mix things up has always been
disputed. I
do not work with patterns, for a few reasons.
If you train 2 or 3 times a week and you are doing this whole
routine over
and over the dog will become bored and start loosing drive and you
will have
to keep giving him bigger rewards. When prey drive is used for the
same
things again and again prey drive runs out and you are starting to
cause a
burn out.
If you are doing whole routines all the time you are only training
for his
problems and the rest of the routine, you are just practicing.
Once the dog has learned all the exercises well he will not have to
do them
over and over because he will become so familiar with them that he
will be
able to coast and lose focus on you. This will leave him more open
to
distractions.
Most people in the sport way over train with their dogs and start
taking the
edge off of them.
The benefits of not using patterns :
You can do just a few exercises each session and take him off the
field
while he is still up. Work on a couple of his problems then
something that
he does well and out of there.
The dog has to stay more focused on the handler and listen for which
command
is coming next. Do your exercises out of order.
He will not have to be introduced to a new field every time you
trial him.
Obedience is obedience where ever it takes place or which ever order
it is
in.
New experiences create spice in life.
When reporting in with the judge you should come onto the field
lively and
with a confident attitude. When you go to the starting place to
begin your
heeling free exercise, walk up field of it, make a turn and walk at
least 5
paces before stopping. This should give you a straight sit and you
are ready
to start your exercise. Many handlers go to the starting spot, pivot
around
and stop which gives the dog a crooked sit. They then stay in place
and turn
there upper body and head to the left and tell the dog fuss. You are
not
being judged here but it looks unprofessional and you are keeping
the judge
waiting. All exercises start and finish with the dog being in basic
position
(sitting at you left side).
By the rule book you are permitted to give slight praise between
each
exercise. This should be done in a way that the dog does not move
from his
basic position and he is ready to start his next exercise.
The exercise that is most missed is the sit out of motion. Once a
handler
has experienced this mistake, I think some become a little nervous
and he
will, unknowingly, give his sit command with a different tone which
confuses
the dog and he hesitates to sit. This was a 3 point deduction but
now they
have eliminated the walking stand and that adds more points to the
other
exercises. A missed sit now costs you 5 points.
A lot of handlers, when turning to face their dog and see that he is
not
sitting, they get instantly deflated. The shoulders slump and the
head tilts
downwards. When they return to the dog their body language tells the
dog
that the handler is not happy with them. and some dogs become a
little
unsure. You cannot get your 5 points back but you can go back
briskly to
your dog and give him a little extra praise, otherwise there is a
good
chance that the rest of routine will go down because your dog now
feels
pressure.
Every exercise requires heeling except for the 3 retrieve exercises.
For
this reason you must make your heeling perfect and your sits and
finishes
correct or the small points will eat you up.
All of your moving exercises that require a certain number of steps
before
giving a command or changing pace, make sure that you do a couple
extra
steps so that you will not be deducted for being 1 step short. Some
deductions are left to the judge's opinion but most mistakes have a
mandatory deduction that the judge must follow.
Obedience is the most difficult of the 3 categories to make high
points.
Protection is next and tracking is the easiest.
To people that are new to the sport, focus on your routine and block
out the
spectators. You owe it to your dog to "suck it up" and not loose
points
because you are a nerve case.
In your recall and retrieve exercises, if your dog stops short by a
few
steps, when returning to you, if you give an extra command you will
loose
some points but do not take even one step backwards to coax him in
because
by leaving the basic position, anytime during the exercise , the
judge is
required to take all the points for that exercise.
When the judge sees a performance that shows speed and a willingness
for the
work while at the same time being correct and the dog and handler
works as a
good team, the judge does not want to take points away and sometimes
will
forgive very minor mistakes. The reason being is that this is the
picture
that is desired for a Schutzhund Obedience routine. On the other
hand if
your dog is slow to respond and he acts like he does not want to be
out
there, you will be deducted for every minor error and in your
critique the
judge will comment that this is not the attitude that is desired in
the
sport.
If you train using very quiet commands, except for your recalls,
retrieves
and the platz on the send away, your dog will respond much better.
If the
handler is having a bad day and his tone changes on the loud
commands it can
cause negative results.
On the retrieves, speed both ways is required but placement of the
dumbbell
is very important. Except for the retrieve on flat you should hold
the
dumbbell by the bell end and throw it underhanded in an arc with a
back spin
on it. This way when it lands it will stay within a few feet of
where it
lands. You should spend a lot of time throwing the dumbbell without
your dog
being there. For your retrieves over the 1 meter jump and the A
frame, the
dumbbell should be far enough past the jumps to allow the dog to get
enough
speed to return easily over the jumps. If the dumbbell rolls to the
side and
the dog can see it, you risk the chance of him going straight to the
dumbbell without taking the jump. This would be a major deduction.
For the retrieve on flat you should hold the dumbbell by the shaft
and throw
it without a back spin. This is especially important for the female
handlers
as this dumbbell is heavy and you want to make sure that it goes the
required distance.
If at anytime you make a bad throw, you can ask the judge to allow
you a
re-throw.
On the 3 retrieve exercises your dog is required to go out quickly,
pick up
the dumbbell and return quickly. The biggest problems with some dogs
is they
go out fast and then drop back to a trot when returning. If you have
this
problem and you have not been able to work it out in training or
sometimes
he comes back fast and sometimes not, there is a way to eliminate
this
deduction when doing the 1 meter jump and the A frame.
You must stand closer to the jumps in a place that your dog can
still clear
the jump without touching it. When finding this spot you must always
train
from this position.
When the dog is returning he must get enough speed to clear the jump
and the
A frame and if he lands a few paces from you, his forward motion
will bring
him to you and it will not be possible to be deducted for this.
When training for the send away some clubs use a fence post at the
end of
the field to place their objects. Some will put a separate post in
for this
and some will even paint them white so the dogs will see the better.
This
being done for an extended length of time can bring problems later.
In
regional and national events they usually use a high school or
university
stadium which usually have white goal posts at each end. I have seen
many
dogs fail to go down when the command is given, trying to reach the
goal
posts. In training you should always mix up your distances and at
times go
in different directions. You should bring him to the point of being
able to
do a send away on any field that you take him on without working him
there
in advance.
To consistently do faultless send outs the dog must have a high
build up of
drive training and be 100% on his down command. The down should be
done as a
separate exercise by itself using compulsion. Once the dog will take
his
down command instantly , when it is given in a whisper, you are then
able to
incorporate it into the send away.
For the long down out of sight of the handler you can reinforce this
for
reliability. The handler leaves the dog and goes to a place not far
away
where he can see the dog but the dog cannot see him. Instead of
having
another dog doing obedience and the gun being fired, have a dog on
the field
doing bite work. If you can reinforce the dog to stay under these
conditions
he can be considered 100 % trustworthy on the down exercise.
In my opinion complete and reliable obedience training can only be
achieved
by strong motivational training to show great attitude and joy for
the work.
He can only be considered 100 % reliable under distractions by later
use of
compulsion. The right combination of drive and compulsion brings
complete
obedience work.
The judges must look for the dogs that show a joy for the work, go
together
well with his handler as a team and obey all commands quickly.
Protection Training Without Conflict
Most people are now training in the protection phase using mostly
prey
drive. The following article is for dogs 1 year or older. A lot of
the
trainers are agitating the dog, then giving the bite and slipping
the
sleeve, having the handler run in a big circle and stopping 5 meters
or so
in front of the helper. NOW IS WHEN THE CONFLICT BEGINS. The handler
is
grabbing the dog by the collar and hanging him while they are
stepping on
the sleeve and screaming "out". Once he releases the sleeve it is
quickly
kicked out where the dog cannot reach it. Then the helper challenges
the dog
for the sleeve. This not working through defense drive, it is still
working
in the prey drive.
The longer the dog is worked this way, the more he becomes imprinted
to not
release the grip on the sleeve. Later when you want to teach the
out, it
becomes more difficult and eventually it takes more force. These are
the
dogs that when they are finished have problems with the outs i.e.
slow to
release or double commands to out.
Alternative Method
This method will start to channel in some drive in defense. It will
give a
safety margin to dogs that are not real hard. It will make the
handlers job
easier. It will make the helpers job easier, with a margin of safety
to work
close with the dog, as it will be in done in a controlled manner. It
will
start to imprint the dog in a way that he will understand that if he
wants
to bring more action when the helper stops fighting and locks up and
bring
the sleeve back to life, he has to release the grip and challenge
the helper
by barking. He must understand that the out is not the end of
session but a
way to bring the sleeve back to life , fight the helper and be able
to win
the prey and take it back to his den (car or crate). This method
eliminates
the conflict between dog, handler and helper, which often becomes a
3 ring
circus.
Details
You build a fenced area. It can be off to the side of the training
field. It
should be 25 centimeters high and 50X50 with an opening 1.2 or 1.5
meters
wide in the rear for entering and exiting. A gate can be used hear
if you
want to do defense work without the handler inside , at a later
time. There
should be a stable bench built along the front of the pen and up
against the
fence. It should be .75 or 1 meter wide and run the entire length of
the
front section. The helper will be using 2 sleeves and a whip or
stick for
agitation purposes. I work dogs with a fur saver collar (the long
links) and
clip the leash on the live ring and then come back to a dead ring
and clip
the leash again. The collar should be snug so the dog cannot back
out of it
but it is not on choke. I've read other post where it was suggested
to use a
wide leather collar so it is more comfortable for the dog. My
opinion this
is hooey!!! The chain collar is only going to bother dogs of soft
temperament. This is protection work. When wide leather collars are
used,
the dog starts associating it with protection work, the same as he
does when
he see the sleeve or the helper in scratch pants. When challenged he
must
come in full drive without training aids. No this will not hurt the
dogs'
throat.
Now we are ready to start. The handler comes into the pen about half
way and
the helper agitates the dog coming in and running back. The handler
should
let the dog go to the fence and try to bite the helper. The handler
should
not be talking to the dog or praising or patting him. This only
distracts
the dog. It is the helpers job to bring the dog out. If this is a
beginner
dog you can use a young dog sleeve. When the helper knows that the
dog is in
high drive he puts on sleeve # 1 and goes up on the platform, bends
over the
fence and puts the sleeve down to where the dog can bite it. He can
then
pull the dog up slightly giving him a very short fight and slipping
the
sleeve . The handler takes the dog out the back of the pen while he
is
carrying the sleeve. The handler doesn't have to run like a nut case
just a
fast walk making a circle of medium size and returning to the pen
about half
way. Still no talking to the dog. The helper starts agitating with
the whip
or stick and the dog will drop the sleeve and go to the fence. At
this
moment the handler throws the sleeve over the side fence and the
helper gets
# 2 sleeve that is behind him. One or two bites in the beginning and
the dog
carries the sleeve to the car. You should stop when the dog still
wants to
fight . Put him away frustrated. When a dog reaches his peak in
drive you
must stop or you will be doing negative training.
When the handler returns to the car or crate, stand and relax. Do
not give
the dog out commands, just ignore him, he will get tired of holding
dead
prey and release it. As training progresses the helper can start to
stay
more up right making the dog come a little airborne to get the
sleeve and he
can at times lift the dog off the ground. These high bites will make
the dog
bite hard and full or he will lose the grip. This is just basic
build up
work and getting the dog to learn a system. The out is not the end
of the
game. You are not doing true aggressive, defense training but you
are at
least mixing prey with some defense. The young dog working behind
the fence
will be more sure of himself. When you are satisfied with this basic
work
you can take the dog to the training field to start the outs. If
there are
questions of this article, Please no e mail or PM's. Address them to
the
post. There are many other members that can give good input and
alternative
methods.
Contact
Thomas
Sauerhoefer
ThomasSauerhoefer@gmx.de
or call 1- (530) 749 - 8861
