Fresh outta the crate...

Crazy brindle beast, anyone? Here's Koenig, just after I got home from work and let him out. Yeah, his OB sucks here... It improves drastically after I get some of the crazies worked out. ;)


(looks like I can't get the video to upload from my phone... I'll try to get it up later tonight!! For now, a couple pictures)

Presenting the very rare and elusive...

SLEEPING DUTCH SHEPHERD!!!

Even with as little as I felt that I've giving him in exercise/training over the weekend/holiday, apparently it was enough! :D Yippee!!

RAAAWWWWWWWWW!

See, raw food makes dogs aggressive and vicious. Didn't you know that? Watch at the end how I'm able to just take a hunk of his food, and he hardly notices... ;)

Merry Christmas!!!

Koenig's holiday weekend is going well.

Yesterday, he started out the afternoon by traveling up to my parents house, (where we previously had some serious asshole dog moments...) and got a nice run down the long private dirt road. Does anyone else out there know how fast there dog/Dutch Shepherd can run? Koenig can go AT LEAST 22mph, and that is while he's relatively out of shape (yeah, it's winter) and he's still pulling hard into the leash. Wow- what a dog!!!

(you may want to turn your sound down- iPhone's pick up wind fairly well, apparently!)

So I got this video on the way home, after Koenig had already run 1/2 mile. As you can see, he still had plenty left at the end, and I think we'll make a couple of trips up and down the road today to keep him nice and tired.

After Koenig cooled down from his little run, he got an early Christmas dinner. TURKEY! A whole turkey. :) I feed raw about 25% of the time currently. We alternate between kibble and raw, always allowing for a 24 hour fast between the switch so that kibble and raw don't meet together in the digestive tract, allowing bacteria to overpopulate. Dogs digestion happens so much more rapidly then humans, and the stomach is so much more acidic that they can handle the bacteria on raw meat that would send up to the hospital.... but when combined with kibble, it can cause some really terrible things! Never combine raw and kibble! I can't see any possible benefit from combining the 2, and even if you've never had a problem, and your friends have never had a problem, it's a real risk of a giant vet bill, IMO. Why take that risk? ;) Separate Raw and Kibble. Just in case. ...anyways.... rant over. Koenig got a turkey. A big turkey. Whole. The largest food I've ever given him was a 1/2 chicken before. Now that I think about it, I may have given him a whole chicken after he got his BH. Regardless, it's nothing compared to a 15lb turkey. He went straight for the neck, and then wasn't real sure where to go next! He didn't know what to start with. :) I have a video, and I'll try to get it up soon. (but it's Christmas, and I've got 2 legged kids to entertain, as well as a brindle!) I let him eat about 1/4 of it, and then traded him. (Treat, for turkey carcass) Koenig does not have any food aggression/guarding issues, so it's not any problem for me to remove his food, but I always try to trade him for something else he wants. I don't see a need to create food guarding!

After his big meal, he needed to rest and chill, even though he didn't think so. (He thought it was time to romp with Sophie the Saint, my mothers 1 yr. old Pup). I got him to chill. Don't need to deal with bloat!

A few hours later, we took the kids and the dog to the 'downtown' area of my hometown. It's a very small Scandinavian community, and has a very touristy old town area. Lots of little cute shops, and activity going on. There was a horse drawn carriage, tons of people, and other dogs. I was HIGHLY impressed with the overall behavior of the dogs down there. I think I only heard 1 dog being reactive about the horses and other dogs. Awesome!!! Koenig got some practice on down stays, (with me out of sight in a store!!!) and all the activity passing by. He did very well, and I was proud. We also did some nice focused heeling, and he made me happy. It's always nice getting comments from strangers on what a beautiful, well behaved dog I have! I didn't get any pictures or video of this, but maybe I'll be able to coerce someone in my family to get a video of us working today at some point.



Happy Holidays to everyone- Go enjoy your family, wether it's the 4 legged, or 2 legged variety- or BOTH! :D


-Kelly and Koenig

And the winner is......

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Saint Bernard puppy (my Mother's dog, houseguest for the next day) passed out in the kitchen, DS laying quietly behind me.

Yes, I win.


Goodnight!

It's time.... time to do do the christmas can-can

Anyone else out there feeling like this??? Holy crap, I'm not ready for Christmas to be less then 1 week away!!!

On other news, my brindle boy has decided to knock off all the crap he pulled on Sunday. The last 2 days he's been much more 'normal'. Normal, that is, for a Dutch Shepherd. I can't promise that any of you reading this that don't have DIRECT experience with the breed can fathom what normal is when you live with a Dutch... but it's entertaining to say the least.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work I looking into my bedroom and saw my 3 yr old, cuddling with Koenig. Naked. Yeah... that is my life. "Hey!! Go put your clothes on!"Naked 3 yr old aside, it was nice to see. Koenig was loving the attention, rolling over on his back for more pets. He wouldn't have done that on Sunday, I PROMISE. The kids have been under tight supervision with the dog the past few days, but I slipped up this morning. :/ All was well though.

Koe's still been getting more exercise then normal. Hard and fast fetch with a ball or his Kong frisbee in the mornings before work. (that sucks... I've been working early, and I'm NOT a morning person!) As always, any game of fetch isn't simply a game. We do position changes, recalls, and long distance commands during all of this. His stand is getting better, and fairly solid after 20 minutes of fetch. When we first start, he's too fuzzy in the brain (BALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to hear the not so subtle difference between Steh and Sitz. Dang dog.

I LOVE asking Koenig for a sit/down/stand, and throwing the ball. Wait for it to stop rolling, and give Koenig our mark 'Yes!'.  He BOLTS for the ball, and when he's about 1/2 way there I recall him. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love watching him slam on the brakes and return to me. :) My last dog, that I trained, loved, and played with for 14 years NEVER had a recall like this. I worked and worked and worked. In training his recall was very nice, but when it really counted (neighbors cat,for example) it was gone. If Kramer had something better to do, then he'd be back when he was done, and there was nothing you could do (short of chasing after him) to change it.

It would look something like this...



I've worked hard on Koenig's recall, and love watching him. This is one reason I really hate the change of attitude he had on Sunday. I have a good relationship with my dog. He loves me, I love him. He trusts me, and enjoys being with me. I don't use a lot of compulsion in my training, and I'd like to use even less then I currently do. I need to refine my marker training, and my timing. As it is, he can handle a significant correction without shutting down, and tuning me out. I don't want to ruin that as I crack down on his house manners.

Today, he's only in his flat collar (normally he does not even wear this in the house) and a 8'' tab. I've not needed to 'correct' him, verbally or with a collar pop at all this evening. All he's needed is several reminders to take his stuffed kong back to his bed. Not a big deal. If I tell him to go back to his bed, and he does not INSTANTLY take his striped butt to his bed, I'll take him there. It's working out well. The additional exercise (2x as much fetch... still not as much as he REALLY needs, but it's what I can manage right now! He should have at least a 3 mile jog/bike daily... that's not going to happen right now though) Tonight we did our basic stuff in the house, after our 1st bout of fetch that left his tongue permanently hanging out of his mouth for quite a while. We brought out the touchpad, and worked on PERFECT Fuss, Heir's, and trying to get out position changes (sit, down, stand) stationary, because he's gotten quite mobile in these. We're backing up a few steps, and trying to clarify some of our training as well as our manners in the house! :D


Tracking. I need to track. A lot. Recently, at training, we had a breakthrough and got Koenig back on track... haha. Literally though, he'd been cheating, and lifting his head (using his eyes) to find the food/article ahead. We fixed this by my genius training director suggesting that we try blindfolding him. We worked into this slowly over 2 weeks, just doing some basic OB in the blindfold, getting him comfortable. He already had a good bond with me, and trusted me so that was a nice headstart. Blindfold went on, and Viola! Koenig TRACKED, like he SHOULD! It was amazing. Anyways, tracking is not my favorite, and we put it off. Hopefully we'll get back into good habits soon, it's just so dang hard to start those good habits this week. The week before christmas is traditionally one of the busiest times at a Grooming shop, and while the pat 2 days have not been unbearable at all, it's still been busy. Soon. Soon, we will track.

We've hit a roadblock...

Well, the blog is named Train like you Play. For a reason. Dog training should be fun, right? We're all in this because we WANT to be, not because we must. (At least those of you that are reading this that have sport dogs... which I think most of my doggy friends own!) Some days, it's just not fun.

I was talking with a DS owner/handler friend of mine, and she mentioned her dog is going through a testing stage. (he's a bit younger then Koenig, but an intact male) Koe has had a couple short periods of being a punk in the 1 1/2 years I've owned him, but nothing serious. Brindles are always tossing something new at you, and today was one of those new days.

Koenig is 2 1/2. He's neutered, but was not until just after 1 year of age, so he got to that teenage rebellion stage. There is a thought that when you neuter a dog, you're rendering it emotionally stunted. He will never go through the same maturing process as an intact dog will. While this may reduce the teenage rebellion of a dog that's feeling all tough and manly.... it may not entirely avoid it in a neutered dog. 

My dog is being an ASSHOLE. We've all had those days, admit it. ;) He's totally being a jerk today, and while I may be anthropomorphizing a bit, Koenig know's he's being a prick. He snarled at Richard this morning. I mean lips peeled, SNARLING when Richard asked him to go lay down (go to his bed in the living room, and lay down. It's really not to much to ask...) It got to the point where rather then beat the dog to a pulp, we crated him. Good ol' fashioned time out. Not a time out for bad behavior, just a place for him to go, where he CANNOT get into any more trouble. Sit in there, and leave me alone. ;) So..... there he stayed until it was time to head on up to my parents for Sunday dinner. He got some extra exercise, running along side the Jeep on the long, dirt road my parents live on, and then he had a good romp with Sophie the Saint Bernard for 30 min or so once we were at our destination.

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Extra frisbee and fetch after the romping was added in, till his tongue was hanging to his knees. As always, we did OB while playing fetch and frisbee. (no video... maybe next time!)

Inside, I almost always ask Koenig to go lay down somewhere. My parents have 2 120+lb doggies, and up until recently we had 2 dogs as well. With the 2 kids, and 4 adults, it makes for a full house. Much easier for everyone if the dogs (who have manners) go lay quietly somewhere. (Since my Dad's dog, a Rott/Dobe has NO manners what-so-ever. Dumbest dog I've ever met) Today this request seemed to be completely beyond Koenig's capabilities. He was a punk. Even if I didn't move, he'd get up and start wandering. Nose around in the kitchen, get asked to go lay down. I'd leave the room (heaven forbid) and the dog would get up, again. This repeated it's self 10 times, at least. SO NOT OK with me. I told him to GO LAY DOWN, and gave him a flat collar correction with that command, and he SNARLED at me.

For those who don't know Koe, or the breed.... they can be a but mouthy. Both in 'coming up the leash' and just back talky crap. Koenig has always been vocal, and grumbles. Whatever, I've come to deal with it... it's just the dog I have, and totally isn't worth a fight. He's fine. Normally, he's not being dominant/an asshole at all, he's complying to the command I gave, quickly and correctly, he's just telling me he'd rather be doing something else. ;)

Not today. He was telling me to back off, or he'd do something about it. Of course I didn't have an e collar, DD collar, or prong with me, (or even a leash, for that matter!) so I borrowed a huge prong of my Dad's. Removed 1/2 the links (Did I mention the dogs they have are huge?) and put it on Koe. Gave him a Platz command, he snarled, gave him a BIG correction (possibly one of the biggest he's ever received) and tied him to the door, on the prong collar. Punk. At least now he couldn't get up and wander.

Tonight once we got home, his e collar went on, so if he did get any funny ideas I wouldn't have to risk a collar correction with a pissed off dog. We went out, and played another 20 minutes of HARD fetch, with lots and lots of OB. Happy, silly dog. He was 100% normal, and possibly a bit quicker/snappier in his OB then what he is on average.

Teenagers. I hate them. I hope this passes quickly, but until then we'll be upping the structure in the house, and adding in extra exercise every day. A tired dog is a good dog, and I'm really a firm believer in that! By 'upping the structure' at home, I'm thinking that Koenig won't be allowed loose in the house this week. He'll be under a stay command on his bed, actively training with me, playing with me, or in his crate. I've been pretty loose with him lately, especially since we lost our other dog. Maybe he's still adjusting to being a 1 dog house, or maybe not. I don't care- his behavior today was unacceptable, and bordering on dangerous. (He had some evil intentions, I can tell you that... I was about 1/2 a second away from getting bit.)

Today is over- dogs don't hold grudges, so neither can I. All I can do is try to prevent this from happening again, and I've got the best plan I can come up with to put into place this next week.

Brindle Butt, earlier this week at a local park. 

He's so handsome when he's not thinking about nailing me...

Kong stuffing time!

Do you ever give your dogs Kongs, stuffed with goodies? I do... nearly every day, when I leave for work, and Koenig goes into his crate. I have to make it once every week or two, and I usually make enough to fill  all our stuffable crate toys, and then some extra. Each batch is different, just to keep it interesting.

This go round Koenig got some hamburger that was a few days past what I felt comfortable eating... so that was his extra treat.

Ingredients:
1 lb Hamburger
1 C Peanut Butter
2 C Plain Lowfat yogurt (Nancy's, or Cascade has the highest nutritional value!)
1/2 C Coconut Oil, microwaved so it's liquid.
2+ (ish) C Chicken Broth (LOW SODIUM is KEY... they don't need all that salt, just like we don't!)
4 C kibble (We used Orijen)
All the stuffable toys that you can scrounge up, that you are comfortable leaving in a crate with your dog. (Depends on the type of chewer you have! )

Honestly, I've never measured any of this, it's all a guess. Really, your dog is not going to care if it's exact or not. I promise.

Brown Hamburger, melt coconut oil. Toss everything but the chicken broth into a big bowl, and mix!

Add broth, till the 'stuff' is a consistency you feel comfortable smashing into all your Kongs, Orbees, and Everlasting Treat Balls.

(Now take a look at the super pathetic, starving dog, that is pushing into the off limits kitchen, because he's  S T A R V I N G.)

Now, you'll eventually find the simplest way to for you to stuff your own toys- but I put the toy I'm using on a plate, wrap the bottom in cling wrap, and then start stuffing! When you're done, make sure to open up the bottom hole... you want to avoid having the bottom hole pugged, as you don't want to create suction when your dog gets his yummy snack! I use a bully stick, to push all the way through. Leave it in there, or take it out... your choice. ;)

Once your toys are all stuffed, and your hands are covered in peanut buttery, oily gook.... you're ready to freeze! (I could only find 8 toys, so had lots of leftovers! 

Other ideas to stuff in are cubes of cheese, smashed overripe banana, canned pumpkin, cream cheese, green beans, slices or chucks of apples, there are TONS of options! :D 

Torturing the dog, by making him 'watch' (make eye contact) while the empty bowl is in front of him is always a good training opportunity. 

...wait...

Yes! 

Last 30 minutes...

Alright. Since that last intro, we've spent the last 30 minutes doing some happy marker training. Working on positions, and just basic stuff. We started the session with food, and ended with a toy... I was tired of getting my fingers chomped. A happy, hungry DS is a slightly nippy beast at times. Have you ever tried to hand feed 5 cups of kibble in a marker training session? It takes a long time.... As for being overly excited taking it from me, I didn't want to squash the drive and correct him for being rough, so i just UPPED the drive, and brought out a ball. :) ...kibble can wait till it's in a bowl for tonight, when my finders are NOT involved...
Break down of German training commands:
Fuss - Heel (at left side, while looking @ handlers face)
Sitz - Sit
Platz - Down
Steh - Stand
Blieb - Stay (not used in SchH, but it's a good reminder in training at times)
Hier - Come to front (sit immediately in front of the handler)
Gib Laut - Speak
Aus - Out (drop it)

What I found: (most of which I've known- but it'll be nice to see it written down in front of me)
When Koenig is in doubt of what I'm asking for, he'll offer Fuss. He can find Fuss from ANY position, and it's very clear in his mind what this means. I'm not saying he always gets it perfect.... but he understands. He can find it from across a room, or from being aligned in heel position on my right side, does not matter, he'll get there when I ask for it. (and generally pretty darn quick!)

Hier is tough for him, in that the position isn't solidified in his head. From a recall he knows to come to front, but from Fuss, I'm having to step off with my left leg, to help bring him around front to Heir. He will get there 50% of the time from my right side w/o help, but still needs assistance the other 50% of the time. I need to help clarify this for him. He should be able to find the front position as easily as he can Fuss.

Reasons not to hand feed a overly excited DS... CHOMP.

Sits Platz and Steh...... Sits and Platz we're good to go in any order, but with the Steh, he's most consistent about getting it the first time w/ no negative marker if I'm standing next to him, and he's at my left side. If he's in front of me, or any distance away, we're about 50/50 on him getting it the first time. If he does not get it correct, he gets a negative mark (Nope) and he knows he needs to try again. Need to put more work into the stand, when he's at different places in relation to me, inside, in a low distraction environment for awhile before taking the work outside and proofing it. I've been working on the stand at training, but now it's clear to me that he really does not totally get the command, and I need to back it up for him.
Had some very very nice heeling, but that was expected, as we're in the living room (It's COOOOLD outside).

Did some silly agility stuff. Jumped dining room chairs, no big deal for my bouncing brindle boy. He sure does love to jump!

Thats it for tonight. Work early in the morning, so it's off to bed!

Hi There!!

I'm in need of some inspiration to kick up my dog's training a bit, as we've fallen into a slump lately. I'm hoping that a blog tracking our training will give me a bit of a boost, and maybe generate some new ideas. Maybe I'll be able to get a better grasp of the why's, when's and how's of my bad habits, and my dog's learning!

First, a little about the star of my show!

Koenig is a large 2 1/2 yr old Dutch Shepherd, likely of KNPV lines. He's far from the breed standard, but a beautiful well proportioned dog ('cept the giant ears), with a beautiful temperament, intense drive, and a fantastic work ethic! I may be a bit biased though.

I got Koenig in June of 2010, when he was just over 1 year old. He'd been surrendered to the animal rescue I worked at by his owner. "He's out of control, crazy, and mean" was what we were told. In reality, he was an intact male working dog, that was not being provided with an outlet for anything. Koenig was tied out in a backyard, and didn't appear to have ever been in a house. He growled at the dishwasher, bathtub, didn't have a clue what to make out of the toilet... he was a wreck! A big, brindle, exuberant mess! The owner of the rescue sent me a text message saying something to the effect of "I've got a 1yr old intact Dutch Shepherd. Come get him." I did, and that was it. I was in love. :) He was neutered (rescue rules!) and he came home with me the next day.

Can you see the intelligence behind those eyes? I sure can.

Our training started out slow- I knew that I wanted to do Schutzhund with this dog, but couldn't find a club closer then 1 hr away, and with 2 young kids, that was just not feasible for me at the time. We worked on lots of obedience, general house manners, and building a bond for our first 6 months together.  In our training at home, I saw what I thought to be major potential. Could this rescue dog, of unknown lines be the dog I've always dreamed about?

After some time, Koenig started showing severe symptoms of Separation Anxiety. This took quite a long time to fix, and I might detail the steps we used in a future post, but for now I'll just leave you with he's off all the medication, still wears a bark collar in a crate, and has to have his crate extra secure.... other then that, he's much better!

Our SchH training started in October of 2010. It was with a small group of people, that I was recommended to by a local pet store. As months passed, I was learning more about the sport, reading and researching, and I realized I may be able to find a better fit for myself and my dog with a different group of people, and eventually settled with a fantastic club in my area with a very experienced trainer. We couldn't be happier! They've got knowledge of my breed, and are willing to accept him in all his brindle craziness as one of the group. (made up of GSD's!)

Waiting for whatever will come next, he's always up for some work!

March 2011 Koenig got his very fist title! The CGC!
May 2011 the brindle beast got his first taste of herding, and achieved his first herding title (HCT) with ease. We both loved it so much, we hope to find the time to really get into it, and get some additional herding titles. It's not often you see Dutchie's herding anymore!
In only a year of owning him, he's officially "Koenig CGC, HCT". Not too shabby for a dog who literally didn't know 'sit' when I brought him home!
October 2011 brought us our first SchH title, the BH. I felt we barley passed, with lackluster heeling, and a near catastrophe in the long down, but hey- it's a pass/fail test, so who cares!

We don't have a date set for our SchH1, but I certainly hope it's in 2012, and I think that is something that can be achieved. There is a lot of work to be done in tracking, our retrieve in obedience, and the bite work needs a tad bit more control. It can be done.


Well, thats Koenig. He's a great dog. Wonderful with my 2 kids, very social, and just an all around fun dog. I'd better get busy training the brindle one now.