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Posts Tagged ‘German Shepherd’
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
 The term “whelping” is used to describe the final stages of canine pregnancy and the birthing of litters. As is true for pregnancy in any mammal, a pregnant canine will require care and attention to unsure that the whelping goes smoothly and that the pups are born without difficulty or complication. Unfortunately, some complications are impossible to avoid, but knowing what to expect and when to expect it will help you prepare for the best possible whelping scenario.
Canine pregnancy typically lasts about three months from the date of conception. This varies from breed to breed, but is generally true of most medium-sized dogs, such as the German Shepherd. Mark the expected date of birth on your calendar. The litter may not necessarily be born on this exact date, but it should serve as a good reference for when to start preparing for whelping. One to two weeks before the litter is expected, your dog should be noticeably pregnant, with an enlarged abdomen. You should being taking your dog’s temperature regularly during this time, as changes in body temperature will mark the first signs of labor.
Labor typically begins between 24 and 48 hours before birth. The first stages may not be immediately noticeable, but the temperature of your dog will begin to drop from its regular temperature of about 99-101°F. As her temperature drops, she will begin to pant heavily. She may vomit, or begin shaking, and will likely need to urinate frequently. Her temperature should bottom out at about 98°F, at which point she will begin giving birth within 2-12 hours, depending on whether or not it is her first litter. At this point, your dog will be in her second stage of labor, and will be visibly straining with contractions. Newborn German Shepherd puppies will not be far behind, so be sure not to leave her side during this period.
Of course, having your veterinarian on speed-dial is a necessity during whelping. Complications in whelping can risk the life of the pups as well as the bitch. Be prepared to transport your dog to a veterinary hospital if the need arises. Hopefully, all will go well, and your female German Shepherd will have successfully whelped a healthy litter of German Shepherd puppies.
Tags: German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies, litter, Puppies, whelping
Posted in Canine Health, Puppies | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
 The decision to have a female dog spayed is one that is often made under the assumption that caring for a dog in heat is too much work. For those who’ve decided to keep their female German Shepherd intact, knowledge and preparation are all it takes to keep things under control without it being hassle, and for those who’ve decided to take on the task of breeding, knowing your dog’s cycle becomes key to success.
The first step is being able to predict when your dog is going to be in season. Unlike some animals who enter mating season at specific times of the year, female dogs can be in heat at any time during the year. However, this does not mean that your dog is ready to mate for the entire year. In dogs, mating follows a regular cycle. It varies between breeds, and between individual dogs, but the majority of female German Shepherds will be in season approximately once every six months. Take note of the end of your dog’s last cycle, and you can predict that it will happen again another six months from that time.
You will know that your dog is in season because she will begin menstruating. Bleeding typically lasts about a week, and is followed by about three weeks during which your dog is fertile. Unless you plan on breeding, it is very important that you keep your dog separated from male dogs during this time. Nearing the end of this time, your dog may require more attention and petting than usual.
Whether you’re planning for German Shepherd puppies, or have kept your female German Shepherd intact for other reasons, knowing your dog’s cycle and knowing what to do when your dog is in season are extremely important.
Tags: Dog Breeding, German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies
Posted in Canine Health, Puppies | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
 One of the most important aspects of a good protection dog is good nerves. If you’ve ever seen a pet get spooked in a loud thunderstorm, you know how loud noises can often throw an animal off-guard. Even most humans jump at the sound of a large bang. For police officers, recognizing the sound of gunfire, being able to remain steady and calm, and being able to act quickly and effectively to neutralize the threat are all life-saving necessities. The exact same is true of protection dogs.
In French Ring sport, there is an exercise intended to test the nerves of a competing dog, and how it performs during gunfire. In this exercise, the decoy/helper is given a gun that fires blanks. The dog is instructed to take a bite on the decoy, and the decoy fires the gun twice during the approach. The decoy fires once more during the bite, and then freezes, at which point the dog lets go and begins to guard the decoy. The judge then signals for the decoy to attempt two escapes, during which the dog will take two more bites to prevent escape. Finally, the judge signals to the handler to disarm the decoy and end the exercise.
It is important that protection dogs be trained around gunfire, and this exercise certainly accomplishes this. However, French Ring dogs are being trained with a fatal flaw that could end disastrously in a real-life situation. The third shot fired by the decoy is made after the dog has already taken a bite. In a real-life situation, this would be fatal to the dog. A criminal with a gun is not simply going to fire blanks into the air during a real confrontation; he’s going to aim at the dog biting him. A true protection dog should always be trained to target the weapon-arm as a first priority. Waiting for the handler to disarm the opponent is simply absurd, and could quickly end in death. The sooner that the gun is out of the criminal’s hand, the more of a chance there is that all involved will survive without serious injury.
The Belgian Malinois, and German Shepherds that compete in French Ring exercises are certainly impressive, but when it comes to true, functional protection work, you need dogs that are trained for real protection in real-life scenarios.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, dog training, Firearm, French Ring, German Shepherd, Guard Dog, Protection Dog
Posted in French Ring Sport | Comments Off
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
 French Ring Sport is a European dog sport that originated in France during the 1900’s. It shares a common history with Belgian Ring Sport and has a similar set of rules. Although the idea of dog sport began as a way to test the working ability of participating dogs, French Ring and Belgian Ring have always been somewhat of a spectator sport, intended to impress on-lookers with feats of canine agility and bite-work. This has lead to the development of some of the most physically demanding exercises of all dog sports.
One of the toughest exercises in French Ring is known as the palisade. It is considered an advanced agility exercise, and is only required for Ring II and Ring III titles. The palisade is essentially a vertical wall that the dog is expected to scale. The palisade must be jumped twice in a single exercise: once over, and once more to return to the handler. The minimum height for a palisade is 1.7m (5.5′), but an additional 2 points are awarded for extra 0.1m of height added to the palisade, for a maximum of 2.3m (7.5′). To put this in perspective, most municipalities impose a limit of about 2m (6.5′) on fences surrounding residential property.
The palisade in French Ring is built from horizontal planks of wood stacked one atop another and held in place by two wooden posts. During training, an incline is sometimes added to one side of the palisade to allow the dog to descend easily rather than dropping the full height of the palisade to the ground. This incline is, of course, not present in official competition.
To train a dog to scale a 2.3m palisade is certainly an impressive feat, but one should keep in mind that impressive feats in sport do not always translate to effective protection in real life. A dog that can take on a palisade with a smooth wooden top may have a great deal more difficulty attempting to scale an uneven chain-link fence. Respect should be given to those who put in the immense amount of dedication required to train their German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois for French Ring, but true protection work should be left to dogs who have been properly trained for protection work in the real world.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, dog training, French Ring, German Shepherd, Palisade, Protection Dog, Ring Sport, Sporting Dog
Posted in French Ring Sport, Sporting Dogs | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
 Schutzhund is a dog sport that is practised by canine enthusiasts in Germany, the United States, and many other countries worldwide. It began in Germany as a way to test the ability of working German Shepherd dogs during the early 1900’s, but has since grown into a popular sport with dedicated followers from all over the world. To the average spectator, the sport of Schutzhund may be indistinguishable from real protection work, but when it’s time to invest money in a dog who is expected to protect oneself and ones family, knowing the difference between a sporting dog and a protection dog is invaluable.
There are many Schutzhund exercises that fail to properly train and prepare a dog for real life scenarios, but one of the worst, by far, is the Bark and Hold exercise. In this exercise, a decoy will hide himself behind a two-sided structure known as a blind. The decoy wears a bite sleeve over one arm, and holds a stick in the other. The dog is trained to corner the decoy inside the blind, and bark aggressively for a length of time. Eventually, the dog is given the signal to take a bite. During the bite, the decoy will strike the dog with the stick in an attempt to distract and disorient it.
Amongst true protection dog trainers, this exercise is given another name: Bark and Die. As grim as this may sound, the reality is that Schutzhund dogs are being trained to make several mistakes in this exercise. In a life or death situation, these mistakes could have terrible consequences. The first big mistake is that the dog is trained to stand and bark in front of a man holding a weapon. The idea behind this is simply absurd. The reality is that an armed criminal is not going to stand idly by while a protection dog barks at him; he is going to attack. The second big mistake is that once the dog takes a bite, the weapon arm is not targeted. Targeting the weapon arm is absolutely essential, as it prevents the criminal from fighting back. A real criminal will not be softly hitting the dog with a small stick; he will be attacking with a real weapon. In a dangerous situation, these mistakes can not only cost the dog its life, but could also cost the lives of the human beings it’s protecting as well.
Whether you’re looking to purchase a German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd or Belgian Malinois as a protection dog, it is vital that you understand the difference between a sporting dog, and a real protection dog. Schutzhund is just a sport, and a dog trained in Schutzhund simply cannot be depended on to protect the lives of you and your family.
Tags: German Shepherd, Protection Dog, Schutzhund, Sporting Dog
Posted in Schutzhund | Comments Off
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
 French Ring is one of several European ring sports, with the others being Belgian Ring Sport and Mondio Ring Sport. There are small differences between each, but these differences are far outweighed by the many similarities. French Ring sport, in particular, was developed in France after the popularity of sporting dogs took off in the neighbouring country of Belgium during the early 1900’s.
Like other dog sports, French Ring awards titles to dogs who perform well in exercises. These exercises are divided into three categories: obedience, agility and protection. Between dog sports, many of the basic obedience and agility tests remain the same, although each incorporates its own methods and rules for how each exercise should be performed.
Jumping exercises are one example of how the same basic concept can be performed quite differently from one sport to another. In French Ring, the agility exercises take on an element of classic track and field. For the long jump exercise, a metal “key” is placed on the ground, which the dog is expected to jump over. This key consists of hurdle-like bars that are knocked out of place should the dog fail to jump the entire distance (a minimum of 3 meters), thus allowing judges to measure the length of the jump. While it is commendable to test the distance-jumping ability of a dog, there is a big difference between jumping over a metal platform in sport, and jumping over a gap or ditch in the real world. On the other hand, KNPV makes more of an attempt to mimic real world scenarios through their hedge jump and ditch jump exercises.
Of course, you should always remember that any dog sport will never be nothing more than sport. Training German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for real protection work requires real protection dog training.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Dog Sport, French Ring, German Shepherd, Protection Dog, Ring Sport
Posted in French Ring Sport, Sporting Dogs | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
 Schutzhund is a dog sport originating in Germany as a way to test the working ability of German Shepherd dogs during the early 1900’s. Since then, it has involved into a popular sport, and is enjoyed by canine enthusiasts worldwide. The sport itself offers titles to dogs who compete favorably. Teams of handler and dog can compete for specialised titles that focus on one specific area, but the standard Schutzhund titles demand proficiency in three areas: tracking, obedience and protection.
The purpose of obedience is to test a dog’s loyalty, intelligence and ability to be trained. Obedience exercises are performed in all levels of Schutzhund training, and are especially important during the preliminary Begleithunde (BH) stages. One such exercise is known as the “send out” exercise. While the basic concept of Send Out is fairly simple, this exercise is considered one of the more difficult to train for, especially for inexperienced handlers. In the exercise, the handler gives a “send out” command (typically “voraus”), to which the dog must respond by running in the direction signalled by the handler. After about 30 paces, the handler gives the “platz” command, to which the dog must respond by immediately stopping its run and entering a down stay.
As with all distance exercises, it is best to start training at short distances, and gradually increase the distance until it is above 30 paces. Before training the send out exercise, it is important that the dog already be trained for to down stay with the platz command. Begin the send out training by having the dog simply run out, and then gradually add in the platz command. Many trainers begin training by placing a toy in the field and having the dog run to the toy. However, the effectiveness of using a toy is debatable. Regardless of how training begins, one should keep in mind that no toy or object will be present in the Schutzhund ring during judging. Speed is important in this exercise, so it is important that you train for the exercise when your dog is well rested and has energy.
Whether you have a German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd or Belgian Malinois, obedience is the most important factor in successful training. If a dog cannot consistently follow basic commands, there is no way it will be able to complete complicated protection exercises. One should also keep in mind that Schutzhund training is effective only for sporting dogs. If you want a true protection dog, you need a dog that has been trained specifically for real-world protection from the very beginning.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, dog training, German Shepherd, Protection Dog, Schutzhund
Posted in Schutzhund | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
 Schutzhund is one of several European dog sports established in the early 1900’s as a way of testing the capabilities of working dogs to ensure that only the best were bred and allowed to work in police and protection dog roles. Having originated in Germany, the German Shepherd dog is the breed of choice for the sport, although other breeds such as the Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd are permitted to compete.
In Schutzhund, dogs compete to earn titles which are awarded for sufficient performance various trials and exercises. Based on their score, dogs are given grades of excellent (V), very good (SG), good (G), satisfactory(M), unsatisfactory(U). During the protection exercises, dogs are also graded on their nerves and ability to handle stress. For this, judges award the dogs a grade of insufficient (nicht genugend), present (vorhanden) or pronounced (ausgepraegt).
Before a dog and handler may compete for Schutzhund titles, preliminary trials must be passed. Three certificates are offered at this level: Begleithunde (BH), Wachthund (WH) and Ausdauerprufung (AD). However, only a BH certificate enables a dog to participate in more advanced Schutzhund trials. The BH certificate shows basic obedience while WH is intended to test low-level watchdogs, and AD is simply a physical endurance test.
Once a dog has obtained the Schutzhund BH certificate, it may compete for proper Schutzhund titles. The basic title is the Schutzhund 1 (SchH1) which tests tracking, obedience and protection. There is also a Schutzhund 2 and 3 title which offer the same basic tests, but with intermediate and advanced levels of difficulty. There also obedience (OB1-3) and tracking(TR1-3) titles, again offered in three levels, which focus purely on either obedience and tracking.
Even though Schutzhund was originally intended to train and test dogs for their ability as a working police dog, its adaptation into a sport has made it somewhat ineffective for this purpose. One should always remember that Schutzhund is just a sport. If one wants a true German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois protection dog, one must train for real world scenarios; this includes working in water, and targeting the weapon hand, neither of which are covered by Schutzhund.
Tags: Dog Sport, German Shepherd, Guard Dog, Protection Dog, Scthuzhund, Title
Posted in Schutzhund | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
 The guard dog has a long history of working with humans. In fact, guarding livestock was one of the first working roles given dogs. Since then, the work of a guard dog has expanded to include guarding property, personal belongings and even families. Given the importance of these things, one should always strive to have the best dogs from the best breeds watching over what’s important to them. However, there has always been debate over which dogs are best for the job.
Before aeroplanes and automobiles, transportation was limited. This lead to a wide variety of different breeds being developed in many different regions, all for the purpose of creating the best guard dog. Today, the world feels just a little bit smaller, and the same breeds that used to be found only in very specific regions can now be found all over the world. What many people don’t realise is that the breeds themselves have continued to change over the years. In the world of canine breeding, genetics can change dramatically from generation to generation. Many breeds that were once excellent guard dogs have now been given the role of house-pet as they were unable to keep up with the strength, intelligence and nerves of other breeds. The best breeds for use as a guard dog today are the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd, in that order.
Of course, one cannot assume that any dog of a favorable breed will be suitable for work as a guard dog. Every dog is different, and choosing a suitable guard dog happens on an individual basis. However, the basis of a good guard dog is good genetics, and the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd have some of the best bloodlines, which have been fine-tuned for years to be the very best.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, Guard Dog
Posted in Guard Dogs | Comments Off
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
 KNPV is a lot closer to real protection work than many other dog sports because it comes the closest to mimicking real scenarios. One scenario seen in KNPV that isn’t seen in other sports is the presence of water in the environment. In the real world, a police protection dog must not only be able to swim, but must be able to do so with speed and efficiency in order to engage a target across a body of water, or to rescue a drowning person from a river with strong current.
KNPV uses two exercises to test a dog’s swimming ability. In the first exercise, the dog is instructed to swim across a canal with a minimum distance of 15 meters, wait at the other side, and then return to the handler when instructed. Unfortunately, while it is admirable that KNPV would include water exercises, this exercise does not come close enough to a real scenario to be effective as training for a true protection dog. In the real world, the dog will be sent across a body of water in order to perform a task, such as engaging a target. To have the dog sit and wait for a second command to be given on the other side of a river is absurd, and wastes valuable time. The dog should be trained to swim the distance and engage the target with one command.
In the second exercise, the dog is instructed by the handler to retrieve a large object in the water, approximately 7 meters out, and bring it back to shore. Again, it is admirable that KNPV would include this exercise, but it is still not close enough to the real scenario. The most important thing a dog could be bringing back to shore in this instance would be a human life. To depend on a dog that has only been trained to haul an inanimate object in calm waters to save a living human being is simply unacceptable.
The bottom line is that KNPV is just a sport. Whether you’re training a Belgian Malinois, a Dutch Shepherd or a German Shepherd as a police protection dog, it must be trained for the real world, using real world scenarios and real danger. There is simply no substitute for true protection dog training.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Dog Sport, German Shepherd, K.N.P.V., Water
Posted in K.N.P.V. | Comments Off
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