huski

They are big pups! The biggest was born at 580g. I do wonder if/how much smaller they would have been had it been a bigger litter.

Mario is one of my favourite handlers to watch, very inspiring! :)

Steve is working on something for raising puppies that will hopefully be released in the not too distant future :)

Thanks guys they are just amazing! They were two weeks on Tuesday and all have eyes open and are walking. They are all over or close to 2kg now so they have grown heaps :) will post some more pics when I am back on the comp next week. we have heaps of pics on our Herzhund Malinois Facebook page too. Here's the lastest video up on them :) ETA: even since that video they have changed heaps!

Yep they have to search each blind. The helper doesn't have treats so she wouldn't pick them out. unless your dog counts the sleeve as one :) At trials the helper is always hidden in the last blind, but I wouldn't run it that way in a training session.

Yes this! Don't let the sight of food or a food pouch become a sign to your dog that you are going to be working or rewarding her. Keeping reward delivery unpredictable is really important.

All the instructors at my club have told me that I need to get rid of food because she is too reliant on it. I think your right I better stay with the food and build the duration and see how we go :) Some instructors feel dogs need to work without food or toy rewards but I think this is a bit old fashioned and if you look at the top competitors world wide they don't work this way. Dogs need to work in the ring without rewards present but they are still in drive and will still be rewarded at the end of the run. My dogs are all 'reliant' on rewards in some ways that they will never be removed from competition training entirely.

What is the reason for fading out food? I don't fade out rewards I just build the dogs duration :) if she is more driven for food than toys, there is no reason to switch. Lots of competitors train in food drive! :)

Have you been to a trial and watched the CCD runouts? I stewarded at some trials before competing which really helped to show me what I needed to do before I was ready to compete. Does your club do ring runouts? Have you done a full CCD run through? If not ask them to put you through one so you can see where you are at :) It also helps to think of your goals. Do you have a picture in your mind of how you want your heel work to look or other teams whose work really inspire you so you have something to aim for? The 'marker' as to when you are ready can look different for everyone depending on what they are aiming for. When your instructor said you are nearly ready did he say what you need to work on? Re whether you should train for CCD or CD. The biggest difference between these two classes is that the heel pattern is off leash in CD. I don't use a leash in training so there is no real difference, I once turned up to a judges training night with Daisy. We had never been to a trial before or done a run out under trial conditions. I intended to run her through CCD (mock trial under full trial conditions) but got asked to do CD instead. Daisy did a great job and there was no difference at all for her that the leash was off because that's how I train it.

why do people assume the more time you have = the better trained and socialized your dog is? Most average pet owners make mistakes raising, socialising and training their dogs. some mistakes are small and some mistakes end with the dog being PTS or dumped. Luckily a lot of pet owners seek professional help to fix the problems they (generally inadvertently) created. More time does not equal a better trained or socialized dog. Knowledge and experience are what raises great dogs. I work full time and handle an extremely high drive working dog. It is simply not possible for me to spend all day with her. We know this is the case when we raise our pups and build good off switches in them so they chill out until we can work them. You could be home all day but without quality interactions with your dog it means nothing.

When I bring home a new pup it is raised separately to my other dogs, they don't run or play together. I don't get a dog to keep my other dogs company. When it comes to the amount of time you spend with pups and your dogs IMO quality is far more important than quantity. Every interaction we have with our dogs is training them and spending lots of time with your dog doesn't mean it is valuable time.

Which sport are they training for? ANKC, IPO etc?

I don't question the importance of feeding a good diet, I have seen obvious changes in my own dogs when I changed to a better quality diet. I see and feel a difference in myself when I eat better and healthier food. Whether a dog is capable of living to an old age on crap food is irrelevant to me when it comes to why I feed my dogs quality diets.

That's OK just do what I did ... start your own dogsport club Would love to see some video of the work you do at your club Nekhbet :)

Well not any dog, as you already said not every dog has the right genetics to do IPO :) It is a much much larger sport in Europe (I'm quite envious as a dog sport loving person! :) ). I know many people do on sell dogs and I don't particularly have a problem with it but it isn't something I think I could do if I was attached to the dog. I also don't believe for a second I could live with and train a dog I selected as a pup for 12 months and not already be CERTAIN it has what it takes to be a good sport dog. Obviously there are benefits to doing an independent assessment (just like there are benefits to competing and proving yourself and your dog as competitors if that's your goal).

I'm not saying any dog can be trained to compete in IPO. It is a very small sport here compared to others. I wouldn't say every dog I've seen compete have all been cream of the crop genetically. But does that mean their handlers should get rid of the dogs and not bother? It is sport not life and death. Ideally every serious competitor will select a puppy with the ultimate genetics, but that's not always the case. I know many competitors who started out with dogs that aren't ideal sport dogs but put work in to get the most out of the dog as possible and they do well (i am not talking about IPO specifically). You said that handlers do the test to make sure they "got what they paid for" with their sport dogs. What happens if the dog doesn't score well? Do they just dump it? Get rid of it? Send it back to the breeder? After living and training with the dog for 12 months? ETA: if you put the work in and have a dog with super genetics is there any need to be nervous, the test will simply validate what you already know. :)

I know that it was the original purpose but that's not the case here and I would say for many people it's more about the sport and competition than testing the dogs for breeding. Do you really need a test to prove you got what you paid for in a sport dog? Wouldn't the proof be in the titles and competition, that is what that's there for and if you can't do the test until the dog is 1 or 2 then that's all that time wasted up until then with a dog that doesn't score well. I think it's good to have the option there but I don't see why it should be compulsory for sport dogs. ETA: a dog doesn't have to be a super genetic specimen to be a good comp dog. Genetics are important but if you don't have the most super dog that doesn't mean you can't compete and do well if you are willing to put the time in. I would guess that many dogs here in Oz wouldn't score super well on this style of test, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to do sport.

What I meant is that it's interesting that both this and the BH is compulsory for IPO. Sport is different to working and breeding dogs. I think the test sounds interesting but I wouldn't agree with it being compulsory for sport dogs. What is the point? Plenty of people do sport without having an interest in breeding

I think Schutzhund/IPO? I could be wrong about that, but I think anything that involves biting a suit/sleeve may require this test. A lot of working dog people regularly test dogs, it's seen as economical as they don't want to be wasting time and money breeding unsound dogs. Really? But that's what a BH is for? Interesting.

What sports is it compulsory for?

For anyone who doesn't know, Animal Naturals has just bought in Go Dog which is an all natural sports drink for dogs designed to keep dogs hydrated and safe when exercising especially in hot weather. Good timing with summer!

Thanks Steph and Twisties! We have fed our dogs (and many others) on super fuel and SS from six months with no issues. This was Wisdom at around 8/9 months. She has SF daily and after big training sessions (though is on puppy gold at the moment)

Hahaha dory Wiz says bring it on! We all know Malinois do it best! Lol! :)

Lol look at her Dory! Which DVDs?

Yep :) Awesome, it's such a fun sport. I'm sure you will love it! I'm really enjoying training for it.