Foundation

Foundation is very essential to working dogs, this builds their character. While some working dog breeders will opt to finish the vaccines of their pups until given foundation, the true working breeders work the pups as even before the pup has been given a shot. The importance of foundation will show during training and when the pup or dog is put to stress, it will always go back to its foundation.

If the pup is given a wrong foundation or have not been given any foundation there is a low chance that it will be of good character. I never knew this when I started having working dogs. Or even when I started owning dogs. When I brought a pup home I expect that since it is new to the surroundings and environment it is ok that the pup is not at ease or very stressed. I thought it is normal that the pup or dog finds itself in a different environment and will recover in a few days. I believe many people have the same perception with this. They think that it is normal, when in fact the truth is the pup was not given enough foundation or was not

given any at all.

I had my share of this, the first working line GSD I had was not given foundation. I got it at 5 months old, never left the compound of the breeder. Because the compound was big, it was given exercise inside the compound, the pup is set free from time to time to run. First day I got him, he was not very comfortable traveling in a car. Yet I thought its ok its the first time. When I arrived home, I opened the gate, got him out of the car. Unfortunately the collar was a little loose, it got away and went under the jeep of our neighbor. The pup was so scared. Still I think its ok since its the first time. A friend of mine decided to also get a working line GSD, I refer him to the same breeder, he was able to get a pup at the age of 2 months. It was the first time the pup went out of the breeders place. As it seems normal it did not stop crying and was so stressed.

After working with this pup for a couple of months I was fortunate to be able to participate with an exclusive group for a couple of times. There I see there were 4 puppies being given foundation. At the age of 8 weeks they were very comfortable in an environment that is new to them, they didn't mind having big dogs with them. Yet my 6 month old pup was so stressed with the environment. I have seen the difference but at first little did I realize that foundation was the reason behind this.

I worked my first working line for a little less than a year, and decided to sell it so that I can purchase another working line pup from this group. When I contacted the breeder when can I see the pup and choose my pick, he told me we should meet at a place where he is working the pups so I can see for myself what pup would fit me. This is kind of unusual right? Most breeders will invite you home to pick a pup. So we met and I was able to pick my pup. The pup were still 7 months old at that time, and I decided to get the pup at around 8 weeks because I was not experience enough to give the pup the foundation it needed.

A week after, I got the pup at the breeders house, then went straight to Tiendesitas to meet some friends and grab a couple of drink. To my delight the pup just followed us and did not show that it was so stressed or uncomfortable. At first she was a bit hesitant but after a little encouragement she was very comfortable already. We sat at the front near the band where it is very noisy, I just put her in my lap and she did nothing but sleep. I was glad with her reaction, it was very different from my first working line GSD. When we got home she got out of the car, just followed me around the house and never felt uncomfortable. At the bedroom she jump over the bed immediately and looked at me like she wants to play and is very energetic. That time I realize how important foundation is with working dogs. The next day I started working her, we walked around the streets with in our village, and I can see the difference in the confidence of the pup.

A week after I brought it to a friends place, I saw a body of water, I decided to work her there. Once I got into the water she immediately followed. It was a different experience. Another week later I brought her to a river, we introduced her on tracking. I went to the other side of the river while a friend of mine was holding her, then I hid. When she was released, she confidently cross the river and tracks me. So I spend most of the time working her, and until now I continue to work her.

Today it is a common practice not to let the pups out of the kennel until after the pups have completed their vaccines. Some owners also after getting the pup at 8weeks old opts to keep the pup inside their house because it has not completed its vaccines. Little that they realize that they are losing valuable time to give their pups a good foundation. They will start to walk their pups outside at around 4months or older. Most people will accept that their dog is so stressed out because it is the first time for their dogs, when in fact if the pups are given proper foundation it will react differently. Some will even think that its ok to let them out a little late because they will make up for it, unfortunately this will not work for foundation with pups. That window of opportunity have passed. We will not be able to make up for it. I'm not saying pups with no foundation cannot be work, but pups with foundation will definitely show more character during training and during the work itself.

A simple example is during tracking, when a pup was given foundation it will track in any scenario and will focus only on the work. A pup without foundation will track but when faced with unfamiliar obstacle or terrain it will lose its focus.

I wanted to share this experience so that those who are looking for real working dogs will benefit from my lesson. So that they may not commit the same mistake I had before. As I previously said, if one is looking for working dogs, one must go to a working breeder. In my little experience on handling working dogs, the right foundation builds a pups character rather than building its drives. Because when there is a need for serious work, only dogs with character will perform.

A properly trained man can be a dogs bestfriend

I have read this phrase but I forgot the author. I believe this to be true. Come to think of it do we really need to train working dogs? If we think deeper, most that we ask our dogs, they can do it naturally. A dog can naturally sit, down, stay, come. Its agility is also natural in them, the dog knows how to jump, balance swim etc. It also has its natural talent, sniffing and tracking. So do we really need to train them? I guess its more appropriate to say that man should be the one who needs to undergo training.

A good example, when we usually arrive home, the dog will naturally come to us, if you stand still in front of the dog long enough you will see that it will voluntarily sit near you. All we need to do is build our communication with our dog. In my opinion it is one of the most important part of man-dog partnership, establishing our communication with our k9 friends. Why do we also teach dogs to track? I believe we are not capable of teaching the dog to track, we are not capable of using our nose to track, what gives us the knowledge to teach the dog to track? As often done in schutzund, they teach the dog foot step tracking by using food. Its either they are fooling themselves or they are fooling others. In a real search the dog should be allowed to use its natural ability to be able to succeed. Usually a dog will do foot step tracking when the track is old, and air scent when the track is fresh. We should allow the dog to use its natural ability where the dog is comfortable. We should only learn to ask then to track for us. If we know how to communicate with them properly, the dog will willingly do it for us.

The more we spend time with them with activities that present challenges to both man and handler, we will see what is natural with them and we will be able to communicate with them with out using any treats or toys. The dog will be able to understand its handler with the tone of his voice, with body language, and emotion, and in return its handler will also be able to read his dogs expression and body language. If both dog and handler will be able to communicate with each other there are a lot of work that can be done.

With this communication we can ask the dog what we want and it will obey us in its own free will even though in the absence of treats. We can simply ask the dog to track for us, and the dog will, it will give us signals that we need to interpret in order for the search to be successful. All work is possible when we are able to communicate with our dog.

The dog will only go as far as where his handler is willing to, therefore we must provide the exercise to be able to develop our dogs. A good dog will show poor if handled by a poor handler, and a bad dog will show to be a good dog if handled by a good handler. So if one want to be a good handler, one should spend time handling his dogs, and learn to communicate with his dog. One must also be sensitive enough to see what is natural with the dog, because one cannot build a communication with the dog if its unnatural with him. The success of communicating with the dog should be base on what is natural with the dog. Therefore we must learn from the dog and not the other way around.

Another factor that also affects our communication with the dog is our intention. The handler must have a good intention to be able to achieve this communication. If the handlers intention is not pure, he will not be able to reach this, why? Because the dog knows and can read our emotion. If the handlers intention on training his dog and making his dog good so that he can show this off, there will be no success. For the dog to follow his handler it should be with pure intention and out of need. This allows the dog to show what is natural in him and will willingly share it with his handler. If not he will deny his handler of this communication.

If we give a pup to a kid, we can see how natural the pup will go with the kid, the pup will follow him and not thinking of getting anything in return. When a pup hesitates to follow, a little encouragement from the kid will make the pup follow. Why does the pup follow? Simply because the kid has pure intentions, the kid has no intention of showing off on what they can do, he simply enjoys the company of the pup.

To be honest it also took me sometime to understand this, the deeper meaning of communicating with the dog. When we do such activities of building communication with our dog, we should not think that we are doing this so that others will see that our dog is good. It should not be done just to have bragging rights. It should not be done so that our dog can be as good as other dogs. It should be done simply because we need our dog to do it. It should be done with the intent of enjoying our journey of life with our dogs as a partner.

My First Lesson

My First Lesson

Ever since I was a kid I was a dog lover, but only after college was I able to buy a pure breed dog. I researched the net, bought some Cd's of dog training in order to train the dog my self. Most methods I encounter use treats as a form of training tool. This was the first method I apply. At first I found it good as the dog is learning slowly, he will do stay for a couple of seconds, then a minute and so on. I trained him inside the house because that was what most suggested. I was satisfied and fulfilled. Why not after all I don't know how to really train dogs. It was an achievement for me at that time.

There was an incident that made me decide, I should get a dog that will be suitable for protection. A suitable choice for me would be a GSD, for ever since I was a kid I was dreaming of having one. I finally got a male working line GSD, the next problem was having him trained. During that time I was observing a local dog forum, there was a group there that was quite controversial, and they where exclusive. Their philosophy about dog training was intriguing as they are more on the practical side of using dogs for real work. Their methods and approach were very different from what is commonly available information on dog training. I had a hard time entering the group, and my first working line GSD needs training ASAP.

I was assisted by a new friend to train my dog, I was excited as I on my way to their place. There I meet his group, most of them have Belgian malinois. My dog was so unstable and I don't know what to do. I was not allowed to use prong, only soft collar. He said using prong collar on my dog at a young age will destroy my dog. Since I was new to working dog training, I followed. Next week I went back to their training group, we did the same routines. I got back home and my dog did not learn anything. I cannot say its the trainer or the method, may be it was because of me.

Suddenly I received a message from one member of the group I was mentioning. I was invited and had the privilege to join their training. Once again my dog went unstable, wanting to bite anybody and any dog near us. I was told to put the prong collar, so I did, my dog became a bit controllable. Then we started training. Their approach is very different, they exposed handlers and dogs to different stressful situations, crossing the river, crossing the bamboo bridge, having some smoke in the path, and with some gun shot simulations. We are doing this as we are teaching obedience to the dog. All this are done without treats or toys, we just simply praise the dog. This was done during the morning. Then we went for a break. Our mentor then asks that the dog be on long down stays. I was shocked, with all the other dogs, chicken and other people around he is asking me to ask my dog to do long down stay, and I have to do this from a distance. He said to me “put your dog on a down stay and come here”. I don't know what to reply, so I said, my dog never did a long down stay before. He replied, “just tell your dog to down, say stay and come here”, so I did tell my dog, down, stay, but as I was walking away from my dog, may be around 3 steps away I looked back at him and I was hesitant that he would follow my command, so right there he stand slowly, I have to put him to down position again. The trainer said, I should not look back and I should learn to trust my dog. He said “TRUST your dog, put him on down stay, then come here and don't look back”. That was exactly what I did, and when I reached my trainer he said, “see your dog can do it, so trust your dog”. He even asked me how come the dog stayed, I cannot answer, so he jokingly said, its magic.

So after some years that has gone by, I can never forget the first lesson I learned, and that is I should Trust my dog. Today as I meet some people interested in working their dogs, I see my self a few years back, they are telling me their dog may not be able to do it. I just smile and answer them, “trust your dog”. Those who do is surprisingly amazed of the outcome as quoted from a true Dogman “It is human mindset that stands in the way of success. Believing is a very strong power, as disbelieving. - Guenther”