Still, the point remains that if true SchH fans thought that the majority of individuals in a particular breed excelled at the sport, they would be competing with them. They still choose mostly GSDs and Mals
And I take back what I said earlier -- that the tests weren't open to all breeds. Aren't actual SchH tests open to any dog large enough to handle the 2lb dumbbell, scale the wall and most importantly perhaps in terms of limiting breeds -- jump the high jump? Why aren't Labs and GSP's shown more often in competition? I concede that just about any dog can learn to bite the sleeve as a tug toy, as a game, but there's more to SchH than that.
"the point remains that if true SchH fans thought that the majority of individuals in a particular breed excelled at the sport, they would be competing with them."
Actually the point of this post is to discuss things one can do to work the prey drive of their Shika Inu. The comment I made regarding SchH was exactly that: I was suggesting that SchH would be a good tool for working/testing your Shika Inu's prey drive, tracking skills, and baying if you do not hunt with them. I was NOT suggesting any of the Shika Inu would make good police dogs, or even excel at SchH, I was just suggesting it as a tool for working their prey drive.
GSD & Mal are used so much for the sport because they are very good all-purpose working dogs. The standard Poodle also excels at it, actually I did some work with a decoy/trainer that exclusively used Standard Poodles. Blue's breeder, who is also a decoy, does a pretty nice job working their CCs in the sport too - and has even placed a few CCs on the police force (like Blue's dad).
For some, it's not always about winning a ribbon. Some people just enjoy working their dogs, even if their dog is not the perfect fit to win them ribbons.
Labs and Poodles aren't very commonly seen, but they have and CAN do the work. The reason you don't see very many trialing is because the people involved with those breeds aren't interested in doing Schutzhund with their dog.
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I've played around with bitework on Shoushuu:
As a puppy:
Bite Pillow
He can bite, but he can't grip to save his life. And I've never really bother to work with him on improving his grip. Without grips, there's a hugh liability for him on injuring himself. In the courage test in Schutzhund we want to be able to safely catch a dog and put him/her on the ground as soon as possible and drive the dog. Shoushuu may bite, but I'm pretty certain he's gonna release just after the bite and fly off the sleeve. This makes it very unsafe for him.
I've also done a couple of herding sessions with him:
His very first time with sheep, he kinda just followed and chased them (this video). On his second time with sheep he was nipping and wanting to "get at" them. So he has the instinct.
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The Japanese breeders breed both on conformation and temperment, but are namely concerned with structure. However, they've still been able to "preserve" their working qualities. The keyword here is "preserve", so long as those qualities still exist...one can start breeding towards a more "working line" Shikoku with the appropriate combinations through "selective breeding". It works both ways...so rather then focus on conformation, you focus on other qualities such as drives, tracking/scenting ability, speed, sharpness and so forth.
NIPPO does test the reactiveness of a dog as apart of their structural evaluation. I've seen Shikoku act aggressively towards a judge, I've seen them act in a playful manner and seen some individuals that don't particular care about the judge's presence. They do "gait" the dogs and they run the pattern of a triangle.
I don't have boar to test out my Shikoku, but I do have sheep available . Really, any medium to large sized prey item will do: prey is prey. If the dog has the drive and instinct it will show. It might be time for me to go back out to the pasture , it's been awhile since I've been focusing on my Mali at the moment.
Anyway...
....here's another video of Shoushuu as a young pup up against my dog aggressive cat. Check out his reflexes. He's very good about dodging her attacks and while she may be a small feline...imagine if instead she were a dangerous boar?
Although I'm doing some obedience work, tracking and agility...I plan on taking tracking to the next level. That is, if I can find a trainer in the area and a place to legally do this. My newfound "sport" with my Shikoku is called "blood-trailing".
If a hunter shot his prey and his now injured prey runs off. I could use my Shikoku to follow the blood scent and lead the hunters to the prey. Blood trailing would be their "job", but (law pending - to do this legally) I could always teach them to "stand" prey (if it tries to escape again) until the hunter can get to it. It really sounds like a lot of fun!
So, give it some time...but I do plan on importing many more Shikoku and I have a few co-owners lined up so that I don't end up with more dogs then I can handle. I plan on breeding more "working line" Shikoku but still dogs that are conformationally sound. Structure is important for them to do their work properly. The more structurally sound they are, the less likely they will be prone to "skeletal" injury due to incorrect placement.
I'll also probably "graduate" and go more "in-depth" with the hunting (have dogs attack prey), but I plan on using future puppies for this, most likely ones from my own breedings but maybe a few imports as well. Again, I have to check out the laws on this but if I have to, I'll travel to a location where it's legal...even if it's something we only do for say...1 or 2 months out of the year.
And yes, I understand perfectly well the risks involved with attacking prey. However, this is what they were bred to do. I think I'd rather live a short life knowing I accomplished a lot and had fun...rather then live a long life of extreme caution and boredom.
It's okay to be cautious but don't allow this fear to consume you. Take a risk once in a while, you might be happy that you did. And even if you don't succeed...wouldn't you be glad that you had the courage to take that risk? It depends on what that risk is, but where concerning the dogs...I think the risk is more rewarding in itself.
Comments
Bouvier de Flandres doing Schutzhund
Jack Russell Terrier
Do not assume that because you haven't seen it, that it never happened.
And I take back what I said earlier -- that the tests weren't open to all breeds. Aren't actual SchH tests open to any dog large enough to handle the 2lb dumbbell, scale the wall and most importantly perhaps in terms of limiting breeds -- jump the high jump? Why aren't Labs and GSP's shown more often in competition? I concede that just about any dog can learn to bite the sleeve as a tug toy, as a game, but there's more to SchH than that.
Actually the point of this post is to discuss things one can do to work the prey drive of their Shika Inu. The comment I made regarding SchH was exactly that: I was suggesting that SchH would be a good tool for working/testing your Shika Inu's prey drive, tracking skills, and baying if you do not hunt with them. I was NOT suggesting any of the Shika Inu would make good police dogs, or even excel at SchH, I was just suggesting it as a tool for working their prey drive.
GSD & Mal are used so much for the sport because they are very good all-purpose working dogs. The standard Poodle also excels at it, actually I did some work with a decoy/trainer that exclusively used Standard Poodles. Blue's breeder, who is also a decoy, does a pretty nice job working their CCs in the sport too - and has even placed a few CCs on the police force (like Blue's dad).
For some, it's not always about winning a ribbon. Some people just enjoy working their dogs, even if their dog is not the perfect fit to win them ribbons.
----
--------------
I've played around with bitework on Shoushuu:
As a puppy:
Bite Pillow
He can bite, but he can't grip to save his life. And I've never really bother to work with him on improving his grip. Without grips, there's a hugh liability for him on injuring himself. In the courage test in Schutzhund we want to be able to safely catch a dog and put him/her on the ground as soon as possible and drive the dog. Shoushuu may bite, but I'm pretty certain he's gonna release just after the bite and fly off the sleeve. This makes it very unsafe for him.
I've also done a couple of herding sessions with him:
His very first time with sheep, he kinda just followed and chased them (this video). On his second time with sheep he was nipping and wanting to "get at" them. So he has the instinct.
---------------------------
The Japanese breeders breed both on conformation and temperment, but are namely concerned with structure. However, they've still been able to "preserve" their working qualities. The keyword here is "preserve", so long as those qualities still exist...one can start breeding towards a more "working line" Shikoku with the appropriate combinations through "selective breeding". It works both ways...so rather then focus on conformation, you focus on other qualities such as drives, tracking/scenting ability, speed, sharpness and so forth.
NIPPO does test the reactiveness of a dog as apart of their structural evaluation. I've seen Shikoku act aggressively towards a judge, I've seen them act in a playful manner and seen some individuals that don't particular care about the judge's presence. They do "gait" the dogs and they run the pattern of a triangle.
I don't have boar to test out my Shikoku, but I do have sheep available
Anyway...
....here's another video of Shoushuu as a young pup up against my dog aggressive cat. Check out his reflexes. He's very good about dodging her attacks and while she may be a small feline...imagine if instead she were a dangerous boar?
Although I'm doing some obedience work, tracking and agility...I plan on taking tracking to the next level. That is, if I can find a trainer in the area and a place to legally do this. My newfound "sport" with my Shikoku is called "blood-trailing".
If a hunter shot his prey and his now injured prey runs off. I could use my Shikoku to follow the blood scent and lead the hunters to the prey. Blood trailing would be their "job", but (law pending - to do this legally) I could always teach them to "stand" prey (if it tries to escape again) until the hunter can get to it. It really sounds like a lot of fun!
So, give it some time...but I do plan on importing many more Shikoku and I have a few co-owners lined up so that I don't end up with more dogs then I can handle. I plan on breeding more "working line" Shikoku but still dogs that are conformationally sound. Structure is important for them to do their work properly. The more structurally sound they are, the less likely they will be prone to "skeletal" injury due to incorrect placement.
I'll also probably "graduate" and go more "in-depth" with the hunting (have dogs attack prey), but I plan on using future puppies for this, most likely ones from my own breedings but maybe a few imports as well. Again, I have to check out the laws on this but if I have to, I'll travel to a location where it's legal...even if it's something we only do for say...1 or 2 months out of the year.
And yes, I understand perfectly well the risks involved with attacking prey. However, this is what they were bred to do. I think I'd rather live a short life knowing I accomplished a lot and had fun...rather then live a long life of extreme caution and boredom.
It's okay to be cautious but don't allow this fear to consume you. Take a risk once in a while, you might be happy that you did. And even if you don't succeed...wouldn't you be glad that you had the courage to take that risk? It depends on what that risk is, but where concerning the dogs...I think the risk is more rewarding in itself.