IPO Journeys

[barkandhold]

My puppy was born. I'm so happy.

[barkandhold]

8. Last Question, Lets switch gears from protection to obedience. What do you think about using the ball in obedience training?

Answer: The owner should be more involved in playing with the dog and developing a connection/bond with the dog. It makes you the interest when making that interaction. The focus should be the handler and not an object like the ball. The ball is a good tool but should not be the primary motivation for the dog.

SV Judge Elmar Mannes

[barkandhold]

6. Question: What are some common misconceptions that concern you in dog sport?

Answer: Many people look at dogs with top scores and want to use them for breeding. But these dogs are not necessarily always the best dogs for breeding. I talked with many top dog handlers. They don't like the handler strong dogs. They prefer the weaker prey dogs, because it is easier for them to bring them to a higher level. They are easier to handle and people look for points. Many strong dogs out of good breedings may have problems in obedience. Strong dogs will typically have problems in obedience and be harder to handle. The quality of breeding has been going down because people go to the winner for breeding because it is easier to sell the puppies, but the quality of breeding and the strength of the German Shepherd Dog will go down very soon if this continues.

SV Judge Elmar Mannes

[barkandhold]

Villanueva

Jan 16, 2013 · #1

Another who influenced me greatly...SV JUDGE ELMAR MANNES

taken from: http://www.phoenixschutzhundclub.com/articles/articleelmar.html

A DISCUSSION WITH SV JUDGE ELMAR MANNESBy Eugenia Kellenberger

April 4, 2010 The setting was 4 beautiful spring days at the Phoenix Shutzhund Club. In attendance were German shepherds, American Bulldog Terriers and of course their handlers . The work was intense but fruitful and thanks to Elmar, his philosophies and expertise there were apparent changes in the dogs in a few days. At the end of the seminar a whole discussion ensued, the focus was in protection and how the dog and handler team could achieve the highest levels. Following is a synapsis of the discussion.

1. Question: Can you talk about imprinting and teaching the puppy in the early stages of protection training.

Answer: You ( the owner) can do a lot of work in the first few months, you can start by playing with a soft material like a sack, a tug or burlap; avoid hard items as they can cause pain and have a negative effect on bite development.



I have seen people use a fishing rod make the dog catch, then pull , then give it. The helper must not give it for nothing, the dog must pull/fight to win.

These activities give the dog it's first ideas on how to fight. The first impressions are the most lasting in the dogs life. The most important is to teach the dog how to pull and win through pulling. Through play the dog learns how to fight through the pulling. The pulling develops the fight for later in life and prevents the dog from moving the grip and gives him success and in turn makes the dog more secure. If a dog is started properly it makes it easier for the helper to start because the dog knows everything. All dogs can be started this way.

2. Question: Can you talk about developing a dog in the protection phase of shutzhund.

Answer: The most important thing is the mixture of drives, prey drive and aggression. The right level for that one dog. Some dogs are nervous and you should not give more pressure, instead you may add more prey drive to make the dog more secure.

The drive is like a "muscle" you have to train each properly. If you overdevelop prey drive you won't get real fight drive. You need a balance between drives, if the prey drive is to high then you have to train the other side; helper and handler need to read their dogs well, this is one of the biggest problems in our sport.

Today there are many sportive helpers that focus on prey drive to make the dogs look good and to make the handler feel good about his/her dog and the helper. These dogs are so high in prey drive they don't learn how to fight. The work is done by the helper not by the dog. When the helper is not moving the dog does not know what to do. ...

When I work dogs in protection, my goal is to try and make the dog bring the fight to me, no movement of the sleeve unless it is necessary to make the dog secure or to add more prey drive. When the dog pulls then I make the sleeve loose by a loose shoulder. Careful use of the whip can make the dog astonished and bring fight against the helper. Improper use of the whip can also make the dog insecure. So helpers be careful!

SV Judge Elmar Mannes

[unpretty]

??? oh my god??

this man went from singing fifties hits in gold lamé pants to solving murders with grammar I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS

HE DISCOVERED HIS TRUE CALLING WHILE DECIPHERING RECORD CONTRACTS

THIS IS REALLY INSPIRING HONESTLY

achieve your dreams and then achieve new more niche dreams, nothing can stop you, you too can trade in your pompadour to fight crime

[marsixm]

#acheive your dreams then achieve new more niche dreams

[dduane]

I thought I would mention in passing...

Yeah, I’m in trouble now.

You can follow the journey here:

https://nanowrimo.org/participants/diane-duane/novels/pride-and-prejudice-and-starships

I was watching the classic 1995 BBC version, which is the gold standard of filmed P&P for me (I say nothing of Colin Firth and the Lake, nothing… ) when this thing just jumped out of the bushes and bit me in the butt screaming MOMMY WRITE ME.

The plot? We all know the plot. Except for the deep-space battles with pirate starships.

Oh Goddess what have I gotten myself into this time? …Oh well, too late now. Everybody may as well come along and watch. I’ll start serious work early next week.

(I love that peacock. I paid money for that thing, I loved it so much.)

[justanothergreyface]

Auto Mechanics Hilariously Recreate Renaissance Paintings

US-based photographer Freddy Fabris had always wanted to pay homage to the Renaissance masters with his photos in some way, but he wasn't sure how until he stumbled upon an auto-mechanic shop in the Midwest. This led to a brilliant series of portraits with auto mechanics reenacting famous Renaissance paintings.

Da Vinci’s Last Supper

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson

[miniar]

“Hilariously”? Those are beautiful photos…

[sourcedumal]

I’m saying. These dudes are awesome

[ashleyeleigh]

This is amazing.

[silvermoonphantom]

The composition, and the LIGHTING, and the grunge… lovely

[warring-anthe-deactivated201906]

but like the colors are so nice?????

[supernachtkuchen]

@acaeus

[trickstertime]

The lighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[s-n-arly]

I love how these guys took a classical art form and remade it with a modern lens.  The color, lighting and expressions are truly stunning.

[elfyourmother]

It’s only framed as “hilarious” because of classism FYI.

[thelatestkate]

°˖✧*•  Shop, Patreon *•. ✧˖°`

[vetmedirl]

Me: *scrutinizes pet food labels for three hours and creates a well-balanced nutritional plan for dog* Me: *eats entire pot of mac and cheese in one sitting*

[canisitsnotlupus]

what the hecks a teckel!

the working name for dachshunds! same breed, generally, but with the instinct to hunt intact. 

[wyrddogs]

Oh my goodness what?! That sounds amazing. Are they any more robust than pet-line dachshunds? Because I love doxies like whoa but they are on my Love But Won’t Own list because of the back issues and what I hear about housetraining difficulties.

[spanishequestrian]

Actually, it’s the official name given by the FCI? The entire group 4 is for them, considering their three different sizes and coats! So working and pet dogs are called the same, at least here.

Working teckles are amazing, but OMG WHEN THEY SMELL/SPOT SOMETHING INTERESTING (usually rabbit tracks) THE BARKS ARE A NIGHTMARE. Back issues are just always present in the breed tbh, I haven’t been in vet school for long and I have already seen so many teckles with hernias…

[canisitsnotlupus]

Oh, it might be/probably is! I’m in America and I have to look for ‘teckel’ as opposed to ‘working dachshund’ to find actual working breeders. So while I knew that was their actual German name, I assumed it was how they differientated the working variety. My bad! 

[cynological]

Teckels are really cool. If they’re anything like my friend’s Jagd, they’re going to be a handful.

[barkandhold]

My friends teckel is a Malinois in a dachshund body. She does agility, blood trailing, dock diving and has played in bitework and impressed the decoys.

[shepherdsteps]

He has his faults, to be sure… but then again, so do I.  He doesn’t hold mine against me, so I try my best to follow his example. We do the best we can together. And whatever your dog’s job might be – working dog or couch buddy, or anything in between – that’s all any of us can ask.

On Expectations and Dissappointments: Love The One You’re With, by Dr. Jen’s Dog Blog

The phrase “we do the best we can together” is tearing at my heartstrings. That’s how every day with Bear feels. We do the best we can. We keep trying to improve that best. We make that be enough.

(via shepherdsteps)

[horsegirlkj]

MILF

Money I’d Like to Find

[doginprogress]

petty dog problems

imma little irked that the breeder I contacted three times last year about getting a puppy from, who other people also contacted for me, who literally never acknowledged my existence in any way, shape, or form,

somehow managed to communicate with and ship a puppy to someone across an entire ocean 🙄🙄🙄

ok.

what petty things are y'all a little upset about today?

[eightbigpaws]

My thing is super petty too (and probably tied to my anxiety lol) but it makes me groan when people irl ask Kaamos’ breed and I say “White Swiss Shepherd” and they are like, “Oh, okay, so Swiss Shepherd. Cool. Why did you pick white one? Isn’t it hard to keep clean? Do they come in other colours?” Like… that White part? It is part of breed name. They come only in white.

[twobigears]

-working GSD people who claim to not care one bit about color, yet act like a white spot on a dog’s chest (which isn’t even faulted) is the worst thing ever

-people who think GSDs only come in the traditional tan/red and black saddle

-people who squeeze out a few qualifying agility runs despite completely inconsistent criteria and very late handling and they’re fine with that when it gets them a Q but then they get really mad at the dog when it doesn’t

[twobigears]

another: breedism in dog sports (agility people who think only border collies matter, IPO people who look down on anything that isn’t a GSD or Mal)

[malsquad]

Seconding on the breedism. I find a lot of people who do dog sports with Border collies have a “better than all of you” attitude that I REALLY do not care for. Some of them have absolutely TERRIBLE sportsmanship and it’s RIDICULOUS.

Also, people who own high drive dogs never teaching them to just chill out as puppies and instead wonder why they never calm down when all they ever did was make the dog go and go and go so that the dog gets ANXIOUS when it’s not doing something.

[placeholder-inactive]

recently saw someone go on a rant about how only professional groomers should groom poodles

[arthurrmorgan]

When people assume Rooney must be such a great dog, perfect pet, and how I did a good deed, blah blah blah because he’s a “rescue.” Meanwhile I own a dog riddle with behavioral issues that no one wants to see or believe. It mainly bugs me because people are like, “he’s a good pet dog” as in: one you don’t need to train him. Period. He has so many problems WITH training, he’d be a disaster with none.

[barkandhold]

Elitism in dog sports (looking at you IPO)

Don't care what your experience is/what you've done prior/titles earned.

NONE OF IT MATTERSSSS

Because it's not IPO.

Because IPO is harder than everything/makes you the best trainer/*insert reason*

Eye. Roll.

I love the sport. I hate the trial by fire attitude.

[barkandhold]

[barkandhold]

We–those of us who love, live with, and/or work with dogs–will all face the euthanasia of a dog we adore at some point in our lives. Most of us will face it many, many times. Usually the dog on the other end of the needle is old, or sick, or both. But there is a type of euthanasia in which the dog dying might be physically healthy; perhaps even young and vibrant. This type is the behavioral kind; the choice to put a dog to death because his behavior makes him unfit for this human world of ours. Causing a dog’s death with intention is gut-wrenching and surreal, even when it is fair…

When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act.

Sarah Stremming - We Need To Talk About Behavioral Euthanasia

https://thecognitivecanine.com/2017/09/06/we-need-to-talk-about-behavioral-euthanasia/

[millenniallust4death]

I was just reading this post and thought briefly about commenting on FB but decided not to.

Aggression is a complicated topic. Sometimes, euthanasia isn’t the correct choice but for the trainer to swallow his/her/their pride and refer the dog to another trainer for a second opinion. This might mean referring to a trainer you don’t personally like, your direct competitor, or who trains differently than you do. If we had listened to two trainers when Bosco was ten months old then he would be dead now.

[doberbutts]

I agree, both with the original article and with your addition. Lord knows I’ve referred dogs I personally would have euthanized out, and they’ve become much better. I’ve also seen some families continue to struggle and struggle and struggle and eventually have to euth anyway, despite trying everything in their area. It’s one of the reasons I don’t judge people for how they dealt with their (human!!!) aggressive dog/s.

[millenniallust4death]

Agreed. There are so many factors involved in successful behaviour modification. Bosco’s program was the best I’ve ever heard of but it was very resource intensive and involved several experienced people. Not everyone has access to those resources. I mock Martin all the time but he’s a good trainer and had the confidence to handle Bosco at his nuttiest. That confidence down the leash is essential. I was doing my PhD at the time so I had the flexibility to drag Bosco’s ass all over the city to do the assigned homework (there was a ton).

[millenniallust4death]

unfriendlybambi said:                                                                            Admitting a dog is out of your realm of knowledge is a huge thing to do and frankly not enough trainers do it. Big reason why it’s a good idea to cultivate relationships with other trainers in your area so you can send the dog to someone you know will do right by them.      

I think the more confident you are in your abilities as a trainer, the more comfortable you feel referring out for a second opinion. Ideally, you develop working relationships with other trainers, both locally and remotely. Both Bosco’s breeder (who designed Bosco’s behavioural modification program) and Martin’s training mentor were very interested in and comfortable dialoguing about Bosco’s training program. No one felt threatened but thought of it as a learning opportunity. But they are both experienced trainers who have worked with hundreds of aggression cases. From that positive experience, a trainer’s consultation network is something I would ask about before I hired an in-person trainer for aggression issues.

[barkandhold]

I agree with all the additions.

But also we as a society are death afraid/averse. Euthanasia is not the worst thing we can do to an animal.

I think this blog post was sparked by a well known trainer admitting publicly her one dog attacked and killed her other dog and so she choose to have the attacking dog put down. This trainer had struggled with the dog. The backlash I saw toward her was horrendous.

This especially resonated: “When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act.”

[millenniallust4death]

If I’m thinking of the same example, didn’t the trainer leave the two dogs alone together even though they had a fight history? Yeah….

[barkandhold]

The dogs didn’t get along but never fought - trainer was able to redirect and de-escalate. The post is gone so I’m going off memory. Certainly nothing at the level to make them think one dog would kill another.

[millenniallust4death]

If your dogs don’t get along, you *never* leave them together unsupervised. That’s like me leaving Bosco and Senta home together and then crying on Facebook that Bosco killed Senta. Hey - she hates his guts but he’s never used his teeth on her before. Who knew? Crate and rotate is a way of life for many people for a reason. Sometimes you make a bad training decision and you learn a very hard lesson. I certainly wouldn’t PTS Bosco for my shitty choice.

[barkandhold]

I'm not blaming her for what happened. Shitty situation all around.

Main reason it's taken me almost 3 years waiting on a puppy. Hope is so same sex aggressive I can't have another female. And I'm still bracing for crate and rotate if I need to when I bring male puppy home in October.

[barkandhold]

We–those of us who love, live with, and/or work with dogs–will all face the euthanasia of a dog we adore at some point in our lives. Most of us will face it many, many times. Usually the dog on the other end of the needle is old, or sick, or both. But there is a type of euthanasia in which the dog dying might be physically healthy; perhaps even young and vibrant. This type is the behavioral kind; the choice to put a dog to death because his behavior makes him unfit for this human world of ours. Causing a dog’s death with intention is gut-wrenching and surreal, even when it is fair…

When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act.

Sarah Stremming - We Need To Talk About Behavioral Euthanasia

https://thecognitivecanine.com/2017/09/06/we-need-to-talk-about-behavioral-euthanasia/

[millenniallust4death]

I was just reading this post and thought briefly about commenting on FB but decided not to.

Aggression is a complicated topic. Sometimes, euthanasia isn’t the correct choice but for the trainer to swallow his/her/their pride and refer the dog to another trainer for a second opinion. This might mean referring to a trainer you don’t personally like, your direct competitor, or who trains differently than you do. If we had listened to two trainers when Bosco was ten months old then he would be dead now.

[doberbutts]

I agree, both with the original article and with your addition. Lord knows I’ve referred dogs I personally would have euthanized out, and they’ve become much better. I’ve also seen some families continue to struggle and struggle and struggle and eventually have to euth anyway, despite trying everything in their area. It’s one of the reasons I don’t judge people for how they dealt with their (human!!!) aggressive dog/s.

[millenniallust4death]

Agreed. There are so many factors involved in successful behaviour modification. Bosco’s program was the best I’ve ever heard of but it was very resource intensive and involved several experienced people. Not everyone has access to those resources. I mock Martin all the time but he’s a good trainer and had the confidence to handle Bosco at his nuttiest. That confidence down the leash is essential. I was doing my PhD at the time so I had the flexibility to drag Bosco’s ass all over the city to do the assigned homework (there was a ton).

[millenniallust4death]

unfriendlybambi said:                                                                            Admitting a dog is out of your realm of knowledge is a huge thing to do and frankly not enough trainers do it. Big reason why it’s a good idea to cultivate relationships with other trainers in your area so you can send the dog to someone you know will do right by them.      

I think the more confident you are in your abilities as a trainer, the more comfortable you feel referring out for a second opinion. Ideally, you develop working relationships with other trainers, both locally and remotely. Both Bosco’s breeder (who designed Bosco’s behavioural modification program) and Martin’s training mentor were very interested in and comfortable dialoguing about Bosco’s training program. No one felt threatened but thought of it as a learning opportunity. But they are both experienced trainers who have worked with hundreds of aggression cases. From that positive experience, a trainer’s consultation network is something I would ask about before I hired an in-person trainer for aggression issues.

[barkandhold]

I agree with all the additions.

But also we as a society are death afraid/averse. Euthanasia is not the worst thing we can do to an animal.

I think this blog post was sparked by a well known trainer admitting publicly her one dog attacked and killed her other dog and so she choose to have the attacking dog put down. This trainer had struggled with the dog. The backlash I saw toward her was horrendous.

This especially resonated: “When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act.”

[millenniallust4death]

If I’m thinking of the same example, didn’t the trainer leave the two dogs alone together even though they had a fight history? Yeah….

[barkandhold]

The dogs didn't get along but never fought - trainer was able to redirect and de-escalate. The post is gone so I'm going off memory. Certainly nothing at the level to make them think one dog would kill another.

[barkandhold]

We–those of us who love, live with, and/or work with dogs–will all face the euthanasia of a dog we adore at some point in our lives. Most of us will face it many, many times. Usually the dog on the other end of the needle is old, or sick, or both. But there is a type of euthanasia in which the dog dying might be physically healthy; perhaps even young and vibrant. This type is the behavioral kind; the choice to put a dog to death because his behavior makes him unfit for this human world of ours. Causing a dog’s death with intention is gut-wrenching and surreal, even when it is fair…

When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act.

Sarah Stremming - We Need To Talk About Behavioral Euthanasia

https://thecognitivecanine.com/2017/09/06/we-need-to-talk-about-behavioral-euthanasia/

[millenniallust4death]

I was just reading this post and thought briefly about commenting on FB but decided not to.

Aggression is a complicated topic. Sometimes, euthanasia isn’t the correct choice but for the trainer to swallow his/her/their pride and refer the dog to another trainer for a second opinion. This might mean referring to a trainer you don’t personally like, your direct competitor, or who trains differently than you do. If we had listened to two trainers when Bosco was ten months old then he would be dead now.

[doberbutts]

I agree, both with the original article and with your addition. Lord knows I’ve referred dogs I personally would have euthanized out, and they’ve become much better. I’ve also seen some families continue to struggle and struggle and struggle and eventually have to euth anyway, despite trying everything in their area. It’s one of the reasons I don’t judge people for how they dealt with their (human!!!) aggressive dog/s.

[millenniallust4death]

Agreed. There are so many factors involved in successful behaviour modification. Bosco’s program was the best I’ve ever heard of but it was very resource intensive and involved several experienced people. Not everyone has access to those resources. I mock Martin all the time but he’s a good trainer and had the confidence to handle Bosco at his nuttiest. That confidence down the leash is essential. I was doing my PhD at the time so I had the flexibility to drag Bosco’s ass all over the city to do the assigned homework (there was a ton).

[millenniallust4death]

unfriendlybambi said:                                                                            Admitting a dog is out of your realm of knowledge is a huge thing to do and frankly not enough trainers do it. Big reason why it’s a good idea to cultivate relationships with other trainers in your area so you can send the dog to someone you know will do right by them.      

I think the more confident you are in your abilities as a trainer, the more comfortable you feel referring out for a second opinion. Ideally, you develop working relationships with other trainers, both locally and remotely. Both Bosco’s breeder (who designed Bosco’s behavioural modification program) and Martin’s training mentor were very interested in and comfortable dialoguing about Bosco’s training program. No one felt threatened but thought of it as a learning opportunity. But they are both experienced trainers who have worked with hundreds of aggression cases. From that positive experience, a trainer’s consultation network is something I would ask about before I hired an in-person trainer for aggression issues.

[barkandhold]

I agree with all the additions.

But also we as a society are death afraid/averse. Euthanasia is not the worst thing we can do to an animal.

I think this blog post was sparked by a well known trainer admitting publicly her one dog attacked and killed her other dog and so she choose to have the attacking dog put down. This trainer had struggled with the dog. The backlash I saw toward her was horrendous.

This especially resonated: "When it comes down to it, behavioral euthanasia is a choice one sometimes has to make for the greater good, and it hurts the person who doles out the sentence. To pretend that it is a callous act is in itself a callous act."