Dutch Shepherd Forum

Happy New Year!!!

Making his debut, here is Odin at his first ever (with us) jump. Awesome!! We were just fooling around in the yard and wanted to see if he would jump. Yay!! I did a little scent work with him early this morning (I laid a really easy track for him) but he didn't too well with that - hmmmmmmm. have to work on that.

Since I really did not know how to do this, I printed out instructions from the internet. I tried it with Dakota also, and she did really well - although she does have hound in her so maybe that's why she did better. Odin wasn't as focused as I thought he would be. We'll keep on it.

Wow! that is a great first jump!!!

yay!!

Nice!

You know, that's a big ass jump for his first jump . Looks to me like he did just fine! (you actually teach dogs how to jump properly, in agility, for example. So, to start him off on a high jump like that is asking a lot, and looks to me like he came thru big-time)

Same thing with tracking . You start out with scent pads that you stomp out, and stay with them for a good while before you start to lay tracks.

If you're really interested in doing some tracking with him, google Shutzhund Village, and go to their homepage and check their articles archive. Armin Winkler has a couple of great articles there on how to teach tracking, and I like his methods a lot.

Seems like he's very game to try things for you guys! That's fantastic!

Nice pic. I'm envious that you can get those shots without being blurry!

Hard to tell from just the one photo, but it looks like he's got great form.

Well Done!

leih merigian wrote:You know, that's a big ass jump for his first jump . Looks to me like he did just fine! (you actually teach dogs how to jump properly, in agility, for example. So, to start him off on a high jump like that is asking a lot, and looks to me like he came thru big-time)

Same thing with tracking . You start out with scent pads that you stomp out, and stay with them for a good while before you start to lay tracks.

If you're really interested in doing some tracking with him, google Shutzhund Village, and go to their homepage and check their articles archive. Armin Winkler has a couple of great articles there on how to teach tracking, and I like his methods a lot.

Seems like he's very game to try things for you guys! That's fantastic!

Thanks!! We know nada about agility or tracking, just wanted to see what he had. The first time he would not go over, but went underneath it instead, so my husband put cardboard to block it. Then, voila, it was a beautiful thing to watch.

We are very green to this new doggie breed we recently discovered and to be honest, I did not even know what Shutzhund was.

Will ck out Shutzhund Village and Armin Winkler - thanks

Great.

FYI for Odin: I am not able to take Thor to clubs or anything, so everything we do is self-done and in the backyard--and Thor has a lot under his belt and knows at least one non-verbal command for each verbal command (and there's often more than one for the same thing). As for the jump, I'm going to state the obvious and say that you can teach Odin over and under the jump so you don't have to have the block up. He's clearly a smart, capable and willing partner, so there's a million things to do without even leaving home.

great job, both of you

felixone123 wrote: We are very green to this new doggie breed we recently discovered and to be honest, I did not even know what Shutzhund was.

Nothing wrong at all with being green...works just fine for Kermit . And, we all started out there, at one time or another.

The thing is, when you do anything new, try to start very small. Break something down into the smallest bits you can figure out to do (this is actually a bit of an art ), and then work up from there. So, with a jump, make it more like 8" the first time (use a broom stick or dowel if you don't have anything else), run along next to Odin, don't say anything, just let him figure it out (he'll go over an 8" bar easily, I'd guess), then big party (treats, and/or whatever he finds rewarding). Then you repeat a few times (like three times) and done for that session. Make sure you run alongside him on both sides, so he gets used to working with you on either side. You'll find that he'll love your excitement and will be very happy when you get very happy.

I can sure understand your desire to find out what he has...but trust me, as a DS, he has a lot! He's going to be very agile and athletic, even if he's on the low end for the breed, is my guess. (And, for him to go under something first time out is actually fine; he's gotta try to figure out what's being asked of him, and he's trying different things, so that's great. You want that.)

But, to be fair to him, just try to break things down and start small. In the long run, you'll have a lot more success that way. (And believe me, I know how tempting it is to try that next level, push a bit more...it's totally normal and an impulse one has to constantly fight )

leih merigian wrote:

felixone123 wrote: We are very green to this new doggie breed we recently discovered and to be honest, I did not even know what Shutzhund was.

Nothing wrong at all with being green...works just fine for Kermit . And, we all started out there, at one time or another.

The thing is, when you do anything new, try to start very small. Break something down into the smallest bits you can figure out to do (this is actually a bit of an art ), and then work up from there. So, with a jump, make it more like 8" the first time (use a broom stick or dowel if you don't have anything else), run along next to Odin, don't say anything, just let him figure it out (he'll go over an 8" bar easily, I'd guess), then big party (treats, and/or whatever he finds rewarding). Then you repeat a few times (like three times) and done for that session. Make sure you run alongside him on both sides, so he gets used to working with you on either side. You'll find that he'll love your excitement and will be very happy when you get very happy.

I can sure understand your desire to find out what he has...but trust me, as a DS, he has a lot! He's going to be very agile and athletic, even if he's on the low end for the breed, is my guess. (And, for him to go under something first time out is actually fine; he's gotta try to figure out what's being asked of him, and he's trying different things, so that's great. You want that.)

But, to be fair to him, just try to break things down and start small. In the long run, you'll have a lot more success that way. (And believe me, I know how tempting it is to try that next level, push a bit more...it's totally normal and an impulse one has to constantly fight )

Sorry to hear Geyser isn't feeling well, and hope she gets better soon. Maybe some chicken soup
Thanks for the info and input. Will definitely break things down smaller, duh... I get excited and want him to learn or do something all in one shot. I printed out the article on nose work by Armin Winkler and really like it alot. Going to try the scent pad and work on that for a while with both dogs (separate pads, of course). I like him, so thanks for turning me on to him.

I know Odin is still in his "honeymoon" phase, but I hope he stays on the low end. It's rather nice, after reading all the threads here about how they can be.

You're so welcome, and glad you like the Winkler articles.

Don't worry, however he turns out when he really comes out to meet you, we'll all be here