OK, I have to admit that I don't always/ever remember any of my dog's birthdays. Kudos to them for not reminding me! They never ask for a cake or any presents, and of course a party, unthinkable! But alas I'm a new age trainer now and so I remembered that Igor turned three yesterday. As you can see from the pic I even made him a fancy "cake"!
I guess truth be told I may not have noticed this time either except I was getting his paperwork ready for his IPO 1 trial this weekend at the Calgary German Shepherd Dog Club.
So, just in case we need a bit of help, maybe judge Warren Jones might see fit to give Igor a birtday point or two??
Here's a pic of my little guy, when he was a little guy
Apparently when you reach a certain stage of your life the lure of the garden is very tempting. Not long ago I would snickered at the thought of enjoying gardening as much as crazy biting hounds(unless what I was growing rhymed with Barajuana!). How times have changed, still loving hounds but now have to fit in some garden time too!
NOT Gardening! My Buddy Henry Getting Ready For Igor on the Long Bite
I guess I'm likely thinking about the confict between these two right now as spring has arrived, garden needs some prep work, and Igor needs some/lots of work too!
Hmmm can I make both of these work? Hopefully, otherwise I will have to change the name of the blog to Gardensportblog!
The Alberta Schutzhund Association is now officially a GSSCC club (yeehah!).
It's pretty cool being part of a club that is attempting to develop a positive identity. That identity being, that the only thing that matters is SUCCESS.
As a team we have to work together to ensure that we reach the highest levels of success regardless of the cost.
Henry Ly getting a smile from Fenstad Photo Courtesy of Shelley White
However, here's the catch, everyone at our club may have a different definition of what success is to them. WHAT!! Success is not only measured in scores and titles? An odd concept indeed! So I'm hoping our club continues to cultivate the concept of helping each other reach their own goals and success. Want to just get a BH and do some tracking? Yup, we can help with that. Want to go compete at the Nationals and the WUSV? We'll be there for you. Want to attempt to drink your way through the beer fridge? (I will volunteer to help with this)
Utopian vision? Maybe. Check back in a bit to see if we have are all getting close to achieving success, and most importantly having fun while doing it.
Friends!
I'm so proud of our club for working so hard to get everything at the club ready for our accrediation trial. We put some pressure on ourselves by scheduling it early in our trial season, however I think all went quite well. I am tempted to ramble on about how great it was to be out with the hounds and all the people who appreciate these beasts, however I think I'll stick with the old "a picture is worth a thousand words" . Here's a great pic of one someone I adore who sums up how everything went....
Isn't this what it should all be about? Smiling, laughing, and having fun!
The resurgence of the Alberta Schutzhund Association officially begins one month from today! Are we ready? Nope. Will we be? Yup. Not only are we having our sanction trial one month from today but that day happens to be Cinco de Mayo. Can you say the celebration of all celebrations! Our resident party planner Leanne happens to have a famous Mexican dish she makes, hmm very convenient. Here's our checklist nearing completion...
It should be a wonderful start to the new ASA and 2012 trial season.
Adios
Time to switch gears to your impressive competition experiences.
DSB: You’ve competed at the WUSV championships the past two years, can you share with us your thoughts on these competitions. How was it travelling so far away and competing with the best in the world. Highs and Lows?
Robin: When I started in Schutzhund, I knew little about the sport, other than I had studied the requirements for obtaining titles. I wasn’t aware of the different championships such as the qualifiers necessary to go to the WUSV, although I knew there was a WUSV competition each year. As my dogs and I progressed in the sport, I started to learn about the regionals and Nationals, and the selection process for Team Canada. It was highlight of my career, thus far, to have two dogs qualify in 2010 for Team Canada. Both Cheetah and Dax had been training very well at that time, and they had a really good competition in Edmonton. I was very pleased with both of them. The trip to Spain for the WUSV competition in 2010 was a great experience. It was very special to take a dog from my own breeding program (both sides of her pedigree were bred under our kennel name, and on the one side of her pedigree, she is five generations of our breeding) to the WUSV. Our trip over was smooth, and Cheetah came bouncing off the plane, ready to go. In fact, shortly after we met the rest of the group, we went out to do a practise track. Language was somewhat difficult in Spain, but we managed by sign language, gestures, and the handy Spanish/English handbook. Highlights of this competition was the experience of being at a world level competition with the sights and sounds of the stadium, the really neat opening and closing ceremonies, and being proud to be Canadian, representing Canada there. There were no obvious lows to this trip, I enjoyed being part of Team Canada, and representing Canada at this level of competition.
My trip to the Ukraine this past fall with Dax (Dix z Perstatskeho Mlyna) was also an interesting and challenging experience. The trip was longer, with a stop over in Paris. Our delay out of Montreal (2 hours) meant that we didn’t make our connection in Paris, but we were able to get a later flight. In Paris, there was no green grass or trees anywhere. Dax had to make do with some concrete posts in the parking garage area. In the Ukraine, we had many interesting challenges with a foreign culture, a different language (with very little English being spoken), and a very tough world competition. Some of the top teams were unable to make it to the WUSV, which was too bad. Again, it was wonderful to be part of the Canadian Team, and to be part of opening and closing ceremonies, and to have your moments on the field, competing with the best in the world in the sport that we all love. Another highlight for me was meeting people from so many other countries with the same passion for training and love for dogs.
In both competitions, the tracking conditions were extremely tough. You needed a dog with a very solid foundation in tracking, good problem solving ability, and extremely good work ethic to keep working the track when the conditions were so difficult. The dog and handler needed to be a smooth, trusting team so that in the face of possibly loosing the track, or making a mistake, the dog was willing, and able, to keep working the track. In both competitions, some tracking conditions were certainly harder than others, but both years saw extremely high failure rates for tracking.
One observation of being at a world level was the realization that there is a higher level of perfection there, than anywhere else. The top dog and handler teams are extremely smooth and co-ordinated. Even in practise, the level of perfection that they showed was both challenging and fascinating to watch. But there was also the realization that everyone can have a bad day, or a tough track, or a disappointing performance (by themselves, or their dog).
DSB: How about the Masters tournament? It appears like a unique and interesting experience competing for money. Congratulations for even being invited, would you compete in such a tournament again?
Robin: The Masters Tournament was truly a unique experience. It was an international competition, drawing competitors from all over the world. It was unfortunate that a large number of the US entries dropped out, either prior to the competition starting, or once they had completed their first phase (tracking). The spirit among the competitors was a feeling of comraderie and friendship, and everyone wanting to see all the others do their best.
Our tracking fields were varying in difficulty, the first field that Dax and I tracked on had the harshest type of vegetation and the sparsest ground cover, but he did a fabulous track, earning a 98. One of the nicest parts of this competition is that all the competitors were able to watch (and almost all did watch) all of the other tracks of the other competitors. We were at a horse farm with two very large fields that we were able to use. The field was divided in half – lengthwise, and tracks were set to the left and right of the middle area. This allowed us to see the full tracks of all the competitors, and we all watched the whole tracking phase and listened to all the critiques. It was fascinating to see a variety of styles of handling, and the different tracking work of the dogs.
For the obedience and protection, we were at a high school stadium. It was a great facility, and though it was very hot and humid, we were able to park all the competition dogs in the shade behind the grandstands, under the trees there. The temperatures soared during the afternoons, and even when we had a thunderstorm come through and it poured rain, the humidity and heat did not lift. In fact, it seemed to get hotter after the thunderstorm. Again, because of the way the event was scheduled, people were able to watch all the other performances, except for those immediately before or after your own performance.
There were many excellent teams there, but it was also nice to chat with other people from around the world, and see their relationships with their dogs. Protection was the deciding factor, as there were many close scores after tracking and obedience. It came down to the last several dogs on the field and how they performed in protection that settled the final placing. We had excellent helper work as well. I would have liked to see the purse be split among the top five or ten place finishers, rather than the winner taking it all. I would definitely compete again at a Masters tournament; it was a lot of fun, and a great weekend.
DSB: Do you have a certain trial preparation procedure that you follow?
Robin: Yes, I do, but it is often different for different dogs. Most of my dogs need to track to eat for a couple of weeks before a competition (this means a pretty rigorous tracking schedule - tracking on different terrains and at different times of day. Typically, I would be tracking morning and evening with this type of preparation). This means that my dogs that are being prepared for competition don’t get any meals free in their bowls, but only on the track or at the completion of the track, depending on how that dog has been trained. This may seem harsh, but it ensures excellent work ethic, with no little physical force or correction for the dog. For most dogs with reasonably high food drive, they start to look forward to tracking, the way they would look forward to being fed.
For obedience and protection preparation, some dogs require regular, almost daily training, while other dogs do best with almost no work the week before. Especially when a lot of travelling falls the week before a competition, I tend to train only a small amount for obedience and protection, and mostly rest the dog. I always use my practise time on a field to make sure the dog knows what direction the go out is, where the blinds are, and what the jump and A frame are like, like many people do.
I think most of the work for a competition is done in the months previous as you train and prepare your dog on different fields and environments to be able to give you an animated and precise performance.
How about another change of topic to breeding?
DSB: Is schutzhund a good breed suitability test?
Robin: Yes…..and no. I would answer strongly to both sides. I have bred dogs since I was 13 years old. Most of my dogs originated from the Czech Republic and Germany. The background standard for these dogs was Schutzhund titles. It theoretically keeps a level of working ability, drive, and agility in a breed. The fact that I was not actively involved in Schutzhund did not adversely affect the success of my breeding program. By setting a high standard of work necessary for my dogs to show prior to being bred, I continued a high level of working ability within my own bloodlines. However, not everyone does this when they breed, and many people have veered away from the working ability and correct working conformation necessary for performance dogs in sport or police. One of the reasons that I say no, it is not a good breed suitability test is that I have seen puppies or adults from fully titled Schutzhund parents that lack those qualities that you want to see. Sometimes these puppies were the result of people covering a multitude of faults on a Schutzhund field with the right conditions (field, helper, etc.) and with enough patience. Not all dogs that achieve Schutzhund titles should be bred. Some dogs carry huge genetic faults making it unadvisable to breed them. The fact is, genetics are much more complicated than simply choosing two supposedly great dogs with strong pedigrees and combining them. And, some of the best dogs to add strength of character and strong working drive may not be the best dogs for high scores. And high points dogs may be lacking somewhat in some areas and be unable to reproduce themselves or improve a bloodline.
DSB: You have been breeding for a number of years now, what is your philosophy on breeding? What are the most important qualities that you look for in a dog used for breeding?
Robin: I have been breeding for more than 25 years, and as any long term breeder will tell you, it is not always easy, fun, or rewarding. The love of the breed and striving for top quality working dogs is a big part of my motivation. I believe that many people try to combine two dogs by balancing out their strengths or weaknesses. This often fails. Rarely is enough research done into the bloodline behind a dog. Many people are kennel blind and unwilling to admit that a combination of bloodlines did not produce what they were hoping for.
The most important qualities that I look for in a dog to be used in my breeding program are strong genetic health, proper genetic working ability (including conformation), and excellent temperament. Let me talk about these three things for a moment.
Genetic health means that not only do you screen the prospective breeding pair for genetic problems, but that you research the bloodline to the best of your ability to find out how many siblings or half siblings have clear hip and elbow ratings. Looking over the pedigree for hip and elbow ratings and results for 3, 4, and 5 generations (including those dogs’ siblings and other offspring) is one of my recommendations. Some times these results are difficult to obtain, but it does help a breeder make a more educated decision on what dogs to breed together. Proper genetic working ability is another quality that I feel should be closely examined when breeding.
Genetic working ability means that you look at the traits that are the norm for a certain litter of dogs, not the exception. If you have a litter of eight puppies and one is a superior working dog, but the other seven puppies turn out to have major flaws in their working ability, the genetic working ability of the exceptional dog is low. This includes the drives (tracking, prey, defense), the quality of grip, the ability to guard and to switch from prey to defence, and the ability to work with the handler as a team. Working as a team brings us into the last quality of excellent temperament. An excellent temperament does not simply mean excellent on the field. For me, it means a dog that can handle new situations, people, conflicts, and stress, without loosing working ability or drive. It means a dog that shows a good ability to bond with, and work for his/her handler without fighting that person with aggression. It also means not showing fear or submission in his work (and some of this is not genetic, but the responsibility of the handler). An excellent temperament means a dog can switch from prey to defense, and back again. An excellent temperament means a dog can move from environment to environment and display the same working ability as he would on his home field or in a “comfortable environment.” And excellent temperament is a dog that can display sound, normal social skills when not in a working environment.
In addition to these qualities, I believe the dog needs to have correct working conformation – conformation that allows the dog to be agile, strong, fast, and tireless. If a dog is endlessly fighting his own conformation, he will not be able to perform well, and certainly not with any endurance.
DSB: Bloodlines? Do they matter? If so how much? Or is it best to just breed two dogs together who have traits that complement each other?
Robin: Bloodlines matter, of course they do. Where a dog comes from, what traits are common in that bloodline, what physical characteristics are typical for that bloodline all affect your breeding. Our genetic pool in the German Shepherd breed is quite small, originating from a small selection of sheep herding dogs from Max von Stephanitz’s breeding program that were closely interbred to produce a consistent body structure and character. Most purebred dogs have a similar lineage, originating from a select number of dogs; this is how a breed achieves a consistent body type and temperament. However with the typical amount of inbreeding that is done to get this consistency comes the potential for huge genetic problems in health and temperament. Within the German Shepherd breed, we have made our genetic pool even smaller by have different groups of bloodlines that are typically not interbred. So then, if you choose to breed a dog from German showlines, and wish to keep a consistent type of body structure, coat, colour, or temperament, you are rather limited in the diversity of the bloodlines available to you. Therefore, there is all the more reason to research those bloodlines carefully and make the best breeding decisions that you can.
Breeding to balance traits in the parents is a very limited and short-sighted way to try to produce a great litter.
Multiple Choice
DSB: If you had to train a breed other than the mighty GSD, which breed would it be?
DSB: How many dogs do you plan to have qualify for the WUSV this year? (*note this interview was prepared after Robin had impressively had two dogs qualify for the worlds-and I thought the question was kind of clever!)
DSB: If you could train with one of the following for a week which one would you choose?
Thanks again to one of Canada's top schutzhund competitors for taking the time to thoughtfully answer these questions.
Yup because it isn't true. Apparently it's April 1st today. Who knows though maybe Ronny read the blog and thought it would be a good idea.
Well our club has scored multiple time WUSV champion Ronny van den Berghe to come to Canada to give a seminar. Three days long, phases B and C will be covered in great detail. Space is limited, dates and details will be on the ASA website. VERY exciting!!
Before we get cracking with the Q&A with Robin I just wanted to mention how much I appreciate her taking the time to do this. After I read the answers to the questions I was even more grateful as I'm sure as a high level trainer, breeder, and busy mother I'm sure she doesn't have a lot of free time. So without further adieu here we go...
DSB: How about a little background info on Robin Winter? Have you been training and competing in schutzhund for very long? How were you introduced to schutzhund? Always GSD?
RW: Thank you for doing this interview. It’s always great to talk about dogs. I grew up in a family where we always had German Shepherds, in fact, my parents say that before I could walk or talk I wanted to be with our sable female named Misty, getting her to put a dog toy in her mouth, and then take it out again. This was the first dog that I started training on (she was trained by my father), and she was an extremely responsive dog that was very bonded to me. She was trained in tracking, obedience, and protection work, as my father trained her with some local police Canine units. I started training when I was seven years old. We usually had puppies once or twice a year, as my parents were small time breeders. I have trained in the disciplines of tracking, obedience, and protection since I was very young, but didn’t compete in Schutzhund until 1999 when I did my first BH titles. I achieved my first Schutzhund title in 2003. Although I was aware of the sport, there wasn’t a club close to where I lived. I have trained many different breeds of dogs, but my all time favourite remains the German Shepherd dog.
DSB: You live and train in New Brunswick, for those of us who haven’t had a chance to drop by can you tell us a little bit about your club?
RW: My husband and I moved to New Brunswick in November, 2008 from Ontario. In the early part of 2009 I held several meetings to see if there was local interest in starting a Schutzhund club. From those meetings, the Central New Brunswick Schutzhund club was formed. We had our accreditation trial in November of 2009, and have held four trials to date, with a fifth one scheduled for May 4, 5, and 6, 2012. Our club is a group of enthusiastic dog trainers that are mostly new to the sport, but they are learning fast! We have a variety of breeds in the club, including German Shepherds, Belgian Sheepdogs (Gronendael), Giant Schnauzers, and American Pit Bulls. We tend to train with less forceful and more motivational training methods.
DSB: Who are the people who have had the most influence on your training?
RW: My grandfather (my father’s father) was an active dog lover and dog trainer throughout his life. He owned German Shepherds in Holland. Dogs instinctively liked him, and he had an excellent way of working with dogs that I remember from my childhood. My father also loves the breed and has owned German Shepherds for almost all of his life. He allowed me to train with him with local police units and with him privately. My parents took me to different seminars and competitions before I was able to drive myself. Once involved with the Schutzhund sport, one of the people I worked with extensively with was Owen Tober (Schutzhund Club of Buffalo), from 2002 until his sudden death in July, 2007. Owen and I focussed almost exclusively on the protection phase of Schutzhund. I trained the other two phases on my own or with friends and sometimes for fun with him. In more recent years, I have appreciated working with Darin Clarke (Fundy Schutzhund Club) to prepare some of my dogs for higher levels of competition, and have enjoyed training regularly with our Schutzhund club. Over the past 20 years I have taken animal behaviour and animal psychology courses at Guelph University, as well as have attended many different seminars.
DSB: I think you have a typo on your website. It says on there that you have five children. For those of us who do this schutzhund stuff and have children we realize this is impossible. How do the dogs and family life work together?
RW: Very funny! I do have five children; they are all great! And they love dogs. My oldest son started highschool this past fall. I currently homeschool my other four children, and this actually works out well with my dogs. It allows me to spend a lot of time with the children and with the dogs both. My children are all involved with our dogs, they love to help feed them, let them out, exercise them, and play with the puppies. Two of my daughters are interested in training. My oldest daughter Rebekah (13) has achieved a BH and AD with two different dogs that she trained completely on her own. Both of those dogs were females, and she has recently begun training a young male. My middle daughter Suzanna (9) has a young male that she is working and hopes to have ready for a BH this spring.
Isaiah walking Cheetah (Wichita von Narnia IPO3)
DSB: What you like the most about training and competing in schutzhund?
RW: I love the competition itself, as I generally don’t have a big problem with trial nerves. I enjoy taking my dogs out onto the field and having an evaluation of their abilities at that time. But the best thing is taking a dog from bloodlines you have worked with and manipulated, and taking that dog and developing the drive and ability that dog has to make it a top competition dog. That process is something that I love to do. I often have six or more dogs at different levels of training at any given time. I find it challenging and exciting to work these dogs towards the goal of a title or a high level competition.
DSB: What’s the least favourite part of the sport for you?
RW: I would have to say the politics. People get very caught up in power, popularity, and politics that go along with any organized sport. My passion in life is to train dogs. I love meeting new people all over the world that love training dogs, but I strongly dislike the tough part that politics play in our sport.
To be continued...
