Schutzhund Australian Shepherds

Excellent information!!

There is nothing harder to overcome in a dog than a poisoned recall cue.

You know the one- you call the dog to come to you, the dog refuses or dances around, and you get frustrated and angry and start bellowing at the dog to come to you.

The dog learns over time that your recall command means you are mad and to keep away from you.

Owners don't intend to poison the cue, but 100% of every dog that comes to us for remediation has learned that the recall command is something to be suspicious of.

So here's a handful of rules for teaching your dog a reliable recall:

1) Never give your dog a command that you cannot enforce. Your dog cannot refuse if it's wearing a leash and collar, and you happen to be holding the leash.

2) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS positively reinforce honest effort. If your dog comes to you, praise the dog SINCERELY and offer something of value in return for that effort.

3) Don't run your dog down if it refuses or is reluctant to come to you. You did that, not the dog. You breached a sacred trust, and you have to earn it back. It starts by not chasing the dog because you planned poorly and are now frustrated and angry.

4) 100% of recalls should be positively reinforced.

5) The recall should be the behavior you practice the most, with the greatest ROI for the dog. If every time you call your dog, you are locking him up, leaving him or any other activity the dog finds de-motivating, you are diminishing the value of the recall.

6) NEVER NEVER NEVER punish your dog for coming to you. I don't care what the dog did before that, but if you're not adhering to the short list of things above, that's a YOU problem, not a dog problem.

Think about it. When you were a kid and you heard your mom shout your first, middle, and last name, you knew you were in for it.

You didn't want to come to that, why do you think your dog would?

This lovely sculpture in Antwerp, Belgium by [IG]

Hilarious 😂 😃 😄 😁

Dogs at work... 😁

"I work in a vet clinic and a few weeks ago there was a competition being run through one of our suppliers for “dogs at work”. My clinic ended up winning with this pic of my dogs and thought you all might enjoy 😁

My dog on the left is wearing “stray’s anatomy” scrubs, just to add to the overall look 😂 It’s a good day to save lives 🩺🐾"

Hi everybody. Long time no post. Since I had both my knees replaced and finally able to train dogs again I am not currently training any Aussies in Schutzhund/IGP. I have been enjoying working my dogs in herding. I hope at some point to train a other Aussie in Schutzhund. Please let us know what's up with all those across the World training their Aussies in the sport! Look forward to hearing from you all.

Just wanted to share some of our recent t pups and older dogs. We have had. the pleasure of boarding some of our Scraps pups in the last couple of months. We love having them come visit with us. We love all our puppy parents that give them such good homes.💗💓💖

Word is that Michael Olson went to Norway to do a seminar. Tell us about it Michael here are some pictures. Love seeing all the Aussies working. 😁