PROUD MAMA

I am so proud of Sophie, she takes such good care of her babies. She doesn't want to leave them at all. Prior to having her babies, if I crabbed her leash, she would absolutely go nuts. Now I have to drag her out of her kennel to get her to go potty.     

 

I

TWO MORE PUPPIES

Last night at 8 o'clock Sophie gave birth to a girl, 17 minutes later she had another boy. Both puppies were weak but are now doing well.

THEY'RE HERE

Last night was a very long night. Sophie started labor about 8:30. She was restless and panting. Then she started digging in her whelping box. By midnight, she was really going nuts, switching positions trying to get comfortable. This went on for another two hours,

At 2:00 a.m., I went into the house to ask Mr. Aloha if he thought she should have had her puppies by now. I was concerned she may have a puppy which may be too big to give birth too. Sophie did not get very big, so my thought process was not paranoia. By the time I went down stairs which was all of three minutes, she was giving birth to the first male. Eight minutes later, the second male was born.

I stayed with her till 4a.m. to make sure there were no more and went to bed.

Mother and babies are doing fine. I honestly don't know if I will be doing this again. Will post more pictures later. I really should go to sleep now.

IT'S OFFICIAL THERE WILL BE PUPPIES AT CHRISTMAS

Sophie is finally showing. Now she looks pregnant. It was so hard to tell until this past Wednesday. Now we have to hustle to get things ready for next year. I am so excited and nervous, this is the first time a dog of mine is having puppies in over twenty years. Will try to post a picture of her in the next to days!

NOT MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT, JUST UPDATED PICTURES

As you can see by theses pictures, it is difficult to tell if she is pregnant. The anticipation is driving me and the people who want to buy her puppies nuts. It is difficult at this point, to get excited at the thought of Christmas puppies.

Posing nicely for a picture

Another nice pose.

Playing with her toy.

Sophie's intense stare

Sitting in the shade

Waiting for me to throw her ball

This is the first time I got her to stand for a picture

Side profile picture

PREGNANT OR NOT?

That is the question of the day, week, hour? Sophie is supposed to be due on December 25, that is less than twenty days and yet she doesn't look pregnant. Oh well, maybe she is maybe she isn't. It's possible she is only going to have one or two puppies. Which is unfortunate, being that I have three possible five people interested in purchasing one. Not to mention I would have like to keep one, this just makes it easier not to keep one.

CHRISTMAS PUPPIES...........HOPEFULLY

Add caption

The Monday after the trials, Sophie went into heat. Unfortunately, we could not use the stud we had previously picked. I failed to ask the owners if they had his hips x rayed. Lucky for us, Ted was able to find a stud for us to use. Below are two  pictures of him

His name is Ness Vom Younghaus, he has excellent  working dog bloodlines. We choose him because of his line and classic German Shepherd looks. We believe he and Sophie will have some gorgeous puppies. For more information on Ness you can type his name into a search engine to see his pedigree. He comes from a long line of working dogs who have some excellent Schutzhund titles.

Classic German Shepherd stance

Cruising on the beach

Sitting nicely

We were thrilled to be able to find such a beautiful dog on such short notice.









If all goes well or should I say went well, Sophie should have her puppies on or around Christmas Day. We won't know for a few more weeks if she is pregnant.

THE TRIALS OCTOBER 14, 2011

It was a gorgeous day and hot as hell. Once we got there, things were nerve wrecking. We were going first then we were going last. It was back and forth for a while. Here's how the day went.

There were four phases of the trials that day, BH, Schutzhund 1,2, and 3. You would think they would do the the trials in that order but noooooo, they did it in the reverse. The BH dogs went last. 

Here is what happened with Sophie and I.

THE WRITTEN TEST 

Here, I am taking the written test

I had to take a written test and pass, in order for Sophie to do the BH. As I stated before, Schutzhund originated in Germany, it is open to dogs of all breeds, even mixed breeds. So why would I need to know how many teeth a German Shepherd has or what is the normal temperature of a German Shepherd? That question I knew, it's a 101, which is for most dogs. Lucky for me and every one else, Schutzhund USA posted the questions on line for you to "study". Still, what do these two questions have to do with the trials?

TEMPERAMENT TEST
 

Judge Ann Marie checking Sophie out!

The temperament test must take place before the beginning of the trial.
  
Your dog is to be on a slack heeling lead, with no commands given. The judge should be able to approach your dog without incident. The judge verifies the documentation of either a tattoo or micro-chip. This must match the pedigree/scorebook submitted by the handler

The following are some examples of traits a dog must possess in order to pass the temperament test.

THE DOG IS,
self-confident; 
quiet, secure and attentive; 
animated and attentive;
impartial and good natured; 
friendly and outgoing.


The temperament evaluation occurs not only at the beginning of the trials, but,  throughout the entire event. A dog who shows any type of bad temperament during any part of the trial is disqualified.

 

ANTICIPATION

 My nerves were shot. Harold took this picture of me with my sister, Joe Feeney. My stomach was tied in knots. I was going over the exercise in my head. After all this was the first trial I have ever done.

WAITING OFF FIELD

Sophie did well with the temperament test, now it was time to get ready for the exercises. Here, we waiting for our turn on the field.











CHECKING IN WITH THE JUDGE

Ann Marie, Teresa & Ka'imi, me & Sophie, Tony & Bond

Here we meet up with the judge, introduce ourselves, give the dogs name and state what phase of Schutzhund we are trying to pass.

There were only three dogs in the BH class. The first dog is a Dutch Shepherd named Ka'imi, Sophie and a Yellow Lab named Bond, as in James Bond.

Because there were only three dogs, we had to do a round robin.


Here is how it worked. Teresa and Ka'imi did the obedience exercise, Sophie and I dog did the long down, well she did the long down, I stood thirty feet away with my back to her. Tony and Bond were off the field. Once Teresa and Ka'imi were done,  they did the long down. Sophie and I went off field. Tony and Bond came on the field to do the obedience exercise. When they were done, Sophie and I came on the field, Tony and Bond did the long down.

I was hoping Sophie and I could do the obedience exercise first.  Don't get me wrong she did the long down perfect. It was going off field and waiting to do the obedience exercise that messed things up. She was waiting for her reward for doing good. Actually I messed that up. I could have given her a reward while we were off field. There were so many "do's" and "don'ts" that I was afraid I'd make a mistake and she'd be disqualified.

When it was time to do her obedience routine, it was obvious she was hot and so was I. We started off pretty good. On leash, we walk up the field, she was a little wide on the about turn, we did the normal, fast, slow, back to normal heel just fine. We did the two right turns, she was a little wide again. And by wide I mean she was not next to me. We did the about turn, walked seven paces, which is where I messed up. I was supposed to stop with my left foot which she would then automatically sit. Well, I stopped with my right foot, confused, she sat very slowly, slower than normal. At that point I thought to myself," Aw the hell with it, I already messed up, lets just have fun". 


I totally forgot to speed up the pace into the group and remembered half way into to it. We walked out of the group, lo and behold she sat perfectly. Then we did the whole exercise off leash.

When we did the walking sit, walking down, we lost a few points. As I explained in previous post, you have your dog heel at your side, between 10 to 15 pace you command your dog to sit, which she did. Walk 30 to 35 paces away, turn and face your dog. Wait 3 seconds or for the Judge to tell you to return to your dog. After picking up my dog, we did the walking down. I walked 11 paces gave the command down.

For some reason I am unable to upload the any of the videos for the trials. I really would like you to see how Sophie sits. It's actually quite funny. She leans out to left of me waiting for her reward.

THE TRAFFIC

I haven't explained this exercise before, quite frankly, I forgot about it. This portion of the Schutzhund BH is to test your dog in everyday situations. A person jogging by, a bicyclist riding by and walking up to a person in a running automobile. You dog should be walking calmly at your side as the jogger and bicyclist pass by. Upon approaching an automobile, you should have your dog either sit or in the down position.

The important thing is she passed and for that I am happy.

SOPHIE PASSED THE SCHUTZHUND BH EXERCISE!

I am so proud of my dog. All in all she passed, it was great but she did good. I made a couple of mistakes which threw her off but at least she passed. Next year we will be trying for a Schutzhund 1 degree.

I am extremely exhausted so I will tell you about the trials later. I just wanted people to know she passed.

TODAY IS "D" DAY, TRIAL DAY THAT IS

TODAY IS SOPHIE'S BIG DAY

We went through her routine briefly this morning. She looks good, confident and happy. I on the other hand am a nervous wreck. Wish us luck!

SUNDAY IS THE LAST PRACTICE AT THE TRIAL FIELD

I once again forgot part of her routine. Ted had just got through telling me do the whole pattern off leash. I walked to the start of the pattern, stood there for a moment. I actually went blank, I was standing there thinking what do I do next. Then it came to me, the walking sit/walking down. Of course that was wrong which messed Sophie up for the rest of the routine.

It has taken me two days to undo that screw up. I have all the faith in the world Sophie will do just fine. It's ME I'm worried about.

Practice tomorrow at our field, then Friday, the big day. Wish me luck and hope that I don't screw it up for Sophie!

THE TRIALS ARE NEXT WEEK FRIDAY

Life has been a little hectic this last month. Sophie injured her paw amongst other things. I had a horrible migraine last week, this week I have a bad cold.  I'd like to tell you what has been going on with what I now call practice, since we are only doing the obedience part of her training. If things are a little muddled, it's because of my cold.

A few Sundays ago we went to the field where the trials are being held to practice. We do this so the dogs can get familiar with the field. With the exception of sniffing the ground, Sophie did just fine, I on the other hand, not so good. I was so nervous because were practicing with the Schutzhund Hawaii club, these are people I have never worked in front of before. I actually forgot to do one part of the routine. I was so embarrassed, at one point Ted told me to breath. While Sophie was doing her long down, I said to Ted "I"m sorry I'm so nervous, it's because we are practicing in front of people I don't know." His answer was something like this, " You shouldn't be nervous because of them, you should be nervous because of the people you know." I looked at him and said "Why, they've seen me fall down several times." We both just laughed at that.

The following Sunday was much better. I had relaxed a little, but, I did get a little confused with the pattern. I'm thinking, on our field doing the routine is second nature. I'm in a new area and actually have to think about what I am doing. 

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Last Wednesday was, I want to say, the best practice I have ever had. Ted paid us both compliments. Sophie did her routine so perfect. I got complimented for how well I have been doing with her. He was happy with me for giving the commands correctly and praising her at the right moments. He said he could tell I have been working really hard with her these last few months. 

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

Thursday, everything seemed fine. We practice and she looked good. Friday, not a good day. Sophie was once again limping, only this time it was really bad. I had taken her up to the National Park to practice in the ball field, we stopped by to see Mr. Aloha. He helped me check her out, as this is a very difficult thing to do by myself. She's a big dog and I'm a small person. Unlike the last time she was limping, this time we found a cut on her pad on her right paw. I think she may have cut it on a rock in our drive way.  I sprayed her paw with a topical antiseptic called Gentocin which heals sores quickly. I also kept her crated until practice last Sunday.   I have to say, by Sunday, her paw looked much better.

This past Sunday was an even better day for us. No mistakes, well that's not exactly true, I may have made one or two. I really don't remember, I just know I did the pattern correctly.

Here are some videos of Sunday's practice.

   
Checking in with the Judge

In this video, the dogs who are competing in the BH obedience segment of the trials must walk together up to the Judge. You are to introduce yourself to the Judge, (your dog should be sitting properly at your side) give the dogs name and what Phase of Schutzhund you are doing. You then decide who is going to do what first. It will either be the Long Down or Field Exercise

The Long Down                                                     

An explanation of the Long Down: You walk to the other end of the field, when you come to a stop your dog is supposed to sit without you telling it to. You take the lead off, tell your dog "down", then walk 30 paces away from your dog, stand with you back to him/her for about 7 minutes. When the judge tell you to return to your dog, you walk back all the while your dog is to be in the "down" position. Tell him/her sit, put the lead back, have him/her heel then start the Field Exercise upon the Judges say so. If you have completed both the Long Down and the Field Exercise you then return to the Judge  to check out.

   HEEL ON LEAD (problem loading video)

In the heeling on lead, your dog should go willing with you, be attentive and close to you. Your dogs shoulder blade should be approximately at or near knee-height through all of the changes in pace, turns and in the group. Once you have gone through the group with the leash on, you take the leash off go through the group again, and do the field exercise again.

Starting from the sit position, give the command heel, you walk down the field roughly 50 paces. Make an about turn, give your dog the heel command, walk 10 to 15 normal paces, 10 to 15 fast paces, 10 to 15 slow paces, 10 to 15 normal paces (you give the heel command each time you change paces). Make a right turn, walk 10 to 15 paces, turn right, walk 10 to 15 paces, about turn, walk 7 paces come to an abrupt stop. Your dog should be sitting at your side. 

Wait 3 seconds, give the heel command then walk 7 paces, turn and walk into the group making a right turn and then a left turn, stopping by one of the people in the group. Your dog should be sitting at your side. 

Walk out of the group, take your dog off leash, walk through the group again, then do the field exercise again with the dog off leash.

Once you are done with this exercise, you go on to the next exercise. The walking sit/walking down.

 

WALKING SIT/WALKING DOWN

Here you start from the basic position, the sit. Tell your dog to heel, walk 15 paces, while in motion tell your dog to sit. Walk about 35 paces away from your dog, face your dog. Wait for the Judge to tell you, you can return to your dog. Walk back to your dogs side, give the command heel, walk 15 pace, while in motion tell your dog down. Walk to the end of the field, wait for the Judge to tell you to call your dog. Give the command here. Your dog should run to you fast, stop close and sit in front of you, wait 3 seconds give the command heel. Your dog should be sitting close and straight on your left side.

So, there you have it in a nut shell. It's a lot to remember. Hope I didn't confuse any of you.

GREAT NEWS!

Sophie has been to training off and on for the last couple of weeks. She still limps now and then so I don't push her. Besides, she knows the routine, I'm the one who needs work.

SOPHIE HAS A HUSBAND

Above is a picture of Whiskey, he is the perfect mate for Sophie. He has wonderful drive just like Sophie and a good disposition. As soon as she goes into  heat sometime at the end of this year, they will meet and mate.........hopefully. Will keep you posted. If you  or anyone you know would like to purchase a high drive working German Shepherd, leave a comment.

 Also, Sophie's hips and elbows are now certified which means no hip dysplasia.

LOOKS LIKE NO TRAINING FOR A WHILE

Sophie is not getting any better. Not only that she is getting.....frustrated? Due to no playing. 

How do you explain to a dog, you cannot play with her until she is better? I've checked her over so many times, I can't seem to find out why she is limping. Looks like a trip to the vet.

SOPHIE'S HURT

I thought it looked like Sophie was limping as she was running back to me after getting the ball. As she got closer, she looked fine. I threw the ball once again she looked to be limping. I watched as she returned with the ball, through the yard. She looked fine. I then thought to myself maybe the driveway isn't a good place to play ball with her. Our driveway is not paved. 


Later that evening Mr. Aloha and I were outside, I let Sophie out of her kennel to go potty. I asked Mr. Aloha if she looked like she was limping. Of course at the time I asked the question, she was in the yard. After he watched her for a while, he said it kind of looked like she was limping.


I hadn't been feeling good all weekend and really didn't feel like going to practice. We went anyway, when it was our turn, I mentioned to Ted I thought Sophie was limping would he take a look at her. He knew she was the minute he saw her walking. He asked if I checked her paws. I told him I checked her paws, gently squeezed her legs from her shoulder down to her paws. She didn't wince or act like anything was wrong. He said not to work her hard, just practice with food instead of her ball (which is high drive work). We did sits and downs for a while, then her dumbbell work. 

It was raining real hard, which didn't make me feel any better. After a while I took Sophie to the truck. I walked back told Ted I was leaving, I really didn't see the point in being there. She really couldn't do anything and what she could do, I could do at home.  He said to keep her crated at night and walk her on a leash whenever I let her out so she avoids getting hurt any further.  Let her rest for a few days. I said okay. As I was walking back to the truck, I couldn't help but think "Let a high drive dog rest for a few days, how am I going to accomplish that without Sophie going bonkers with pent up energy!"

So basically we drove 30 miles (60 round trip) for nothing. Not really nothing, I wasn't sure if she was hurt or not. Believe it or not, our dog Ginger limps when she wants attention. She is so funny, she will be limping on one leg, we shower her with attention then go back to whatever we were doing. Next time we look at her she is limping on the other leg. When we let her know she's been caught faking, she walks normal with a huge grin on her face. Dogs can be just as funny as humans.

TODAY WAS PLAY DAY

Today we just played. At the advice of Ted, Sophie and I took the day off from training. I grabbed the chuck it and well, chucked it for her until her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. Sophie and Harley had a good time chasing around after each other. We may just play again tomorrow.



It was time to take a break. With all the "practicing" we've been doing you would think we wouldn't have had a day. I swear it seems to me, if we practice twice a day in between training days down at the field, we do horribly. By horribly, I mean both Sophie and I do not do well.

One of the most important things people seem to forget, dogs are living beings. Like humans they too have "off days".  It's really bad when we both have an off day.

Yesterday,  was one of those days. Sophie did the long down without any problems. After that, I have no idea what went wrong. When we started off doing the routine, she was distracted. I had to correct her several times. Then when she would look up at me like she is supposed to, I'd forget to say good girl.  It just was not a good day.


I felt like we didn't practice at all.

TRAINING IN A DIFFERENT AREA

Yesterday we did something different. I took Sophie to the park to practices her routine. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that is, there is a baseball field at KMC (Kilauea Military Camp). It was nice going to a different area to practice. She was distracted at first but once we really got into practicing her routine, she did quite well, until the recall. 

Below is a video of Sophie's walking sit (after she sat), the walking down and the recall. You will see once I give the command Here, she pauses briefly in front of me, then does the finish Heel without waiting for me to give her the command.  This can be very frustrating especially with the trials being so soon.  (I am trying to get Mr. Aloha to video the whole routine so I may post it on here for all to see.)

Part of the problem is me. I am supposed to praise her. A habit for some reason I can't get. Since I am concentrating on her getting it correctly, I almost always forget to praise her and give her, her ball. As you can see in the video above, I ask Ted, "Now what do I do."  I know what to do, why am I asking him? I've been doing this for so long. Maybe it's because the trials are soon. As I said before in a previous post, I do not do well with test! I am amazed at how much patience Ted has with all of us.

 Back to yesterday, I must admit, after repeating this exercise several times, she did get better or shall I say, we both did good. We practiced at the park for about half an hour. After we were done, she played for a bit chasing the ball. It was a hot day so she didn't play for too long. She absolutely hates getting hot!

ALPHA DOG

Last week Monday I had no voice. Saturday night I let Sophie out of her kennel to go potty. As I was bending down to pet Ginger,  Sophie jumped over her, hurting her. Ginger grumbled and that was it. Next thing I know, the two of them are fighting. Mr. Aloha was in the house watching TV, I must have screamed his name at the top of my lungs (while closing my ears) at least ten times. He came running out grabbed Sophie by the hind legs, I grabbed Ginger and we pulled them apart.

Ginger is 13 years old. I think I've mentioned that before. I'll be damned if that dog didn't charge after Sophie once we got them separated. I am at a loss for words. Jenny and Ginger still have it in them to fight with Sophie over the Alpha dog status. So now I have to keep Sophie away from both of them. She thinks she should be the Alpha, and the other two aren't ready to let her be it. 

After we got things under control, Mr. Aloha said to me, "One more dog fight and you have to get rid of Sophie" My response was simple yet firm "No". I couldn't believe he actually said that to me. 

I went outside to smoke, while I was out there, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Sophie had gone after Ginger like that. She had never done that before. When I went back into the house, I quietly said "I'll find a home for Sophie. You're right, we cannot go on like this." Mr. Aloha was quick to respond. "No, I don't want you to get rid of her. You've invested a lot of time and money. We just need to talk to Ted and find out how to get this under control. If it means he has to come over and help us with it, then that is what we will do."  As much as I hate admitting it, Mr. Aloha was right, we just needed to get a handle on it. 

The next day was training day. Ted asked me if I was sick or just lost my voice. I told him the dogs got into a fight, would Mr. Aloha and I be able to talk to him when training was done?

After class we sat down with Ted, told him what had happened. We talked for a while. I told Ted I was considering finding Sophie a new home. I cannot even begin to describe the shock on his face. "No, no, no" was his answer. He reiterated what Mr. Aloha had said the night before about all the time and money I have invested in training her. He also mentioned how dedicated I am. Which made me feel good. Ted then explained to us Sophie is a high drive dog, working dog, bred with all the qualities needed to work. With out any type of training she would be the same or worse. He also agreed with me when I said "It's the third dog syndrome."

What we or rather I need to do? Tie Jenny or Ginger up or put her in a kennel, have Sophie on her pinch collar. Walk up to her, when Sophie tries to fight with them, turn in the opposite direction while giving her a good yank on her leash. When she comes into the heal position tell her good girl. Repeat until she won't even look at the other dog. Have I done this yet? No. Am I going to? Yes. 

I asked Ted what to do if Jenny growls at Sophie while I am doing this. I said I felt Jenny was too old to be yanked around on a choke chain. Ted agreed, he said to keep a choke chain with me when Jenny growls throw it at her. It won't hurt her but it will startle her. 

THE PRESSURE IS ON!

The Schutzhund trials are October 14. If Sophie doesn't pass the BH (obedience), it will be my fault. I know the pattern (routine), Sophie knows the pattern. I just haven't got the paces correctly. We have been training for this for just about a year and a half now. For some reason I tend to panic, I am not the kind of person who does well with tests.

The other day I was practicing with her on the back of our property, I gave her the wrong command for the recall. You are supposed to say, Here, instead I said Heel. Sophie start running towards me realized I gave here the wrong command, stopped dead in her tracks and went into the Down position.  All I could think at that moment was "Great, I'm going to screw up my dog!"

Let me explain this whole BH pattern, I've put the commands/actions she should be doing in italics.


Start of Routine:

Dog is Sitting  at your side.
Give the Heel command, a minimum of 50 paces, do an about turn, 
Heel 10 minimum to 15 maximum normal paces, 
Heel 10 min to 15 max fast paces, 
Heel 10 min to 15 max slow paces 
Heel 10 min to 15 max normal paces, 
Turn right Heel 15 minimum paces 
Turn right again Heel 15 minimum paces 
About turn 7 paces Halt, your dog should automatically Sit, wait three seconds,   
Heel 15 paces left turn 
Heel 15 paces, then Heel through a group of people then Halt your dog should be sitting between you and one of the people. Below is a diagram of the pattern.
 Once all of the above exercises are done, you go back to the top of the field for the Walking Sit, Walking Down and Recall

Walking Sit:

With your dog sitting at your side, give the Heel command. 
While walking give the command Sit, this should be between 10 to 15 paces continue walking (pray that your dog sat, you aren't supposed to look) walk 30 paces away, turn and face your dog. You then have to wait for the judge to give you the signal to return to your dog. Once you get the signal, you have exactly 30 paces to return to your dog.

Walking Down with Recall:

Once you return to your dog after the walking sit, you give the Heel command. Heel 10 to 15 paces give the Down command, continue walking  at least 30 paces, turn face your dog, wait for judges signal, call your dog with the command Here. Your dog must then come to you rapidly, sit close and straight in front of you. Wait about 3 seconds, give the command Heel, your dog must  rapidly go to the basic position. Which is sit at your left side.

There is room for errors, points will be taken off depending on the error. Also if your dog does not do a command for instance Sit, you are allowed to give the command three times (with point reductions). After giving the command the third time, if the dog doesn't do the command, the exercise is terminated and no points are given.

Now that it is down to the"wire", I'm trying to get the exact paces and give the commands at the same time. It's not Sophie, it's me. I am going to have to practice her routine with out her in order to get all the steps correctly.  I AM STRESSED! Wish me luck!