Pictures to supplement Lies’ earlier pictures from last Friday’s Working Dog Club of Michigan training with training director Warren Miller and Helper Nick Dillman. My shutter speed was fast enough for the show ring pictures, but as you will see, not fast enough for schutzhund training! Good enough to show how well the dogs were doing. I also took Funny (Faye v Kirschental) out to work only a month after her c-section. She is so awesome! But no one took any pictures of her. (:
Nikon
Does Nikon ever keep his feet on the ground? 🙂
Kira looks great Julie! Now shame on you & Lies for not taking pix of Funny! I don’t think I’ve ever seen photos of Funny working and would love to see some.
Great pictures, Julie! We aren’t doing shutzhund but I am feeling the urge to take pictures of Pieka tugging!
Watching both Funny and Kira was amazing! I’m so glad that Joe and I are coming now, and I had a great time last Friday, even though I didn’t get McDonald’s on the way home. 🙂 I’m recording Schumi’s victory lap next time!
Carole, no Nikon never does! At home I used to wave his flirt pole in the air and then he would have to bark and bounce to bring it down for a bite but now he has figured out how to LEAP and get it! He can jump so high now the only solution left is Phil holding the lead. You’ve seen him drag the elliptical. I also tried closing his lead in the sliding door but he pulled on it so hard the door jumped on the track and slid open.
It is lovely to watch the puppy – children growing up and having fun. I have always been conservative when raising a pup as far as protecting their joints. Leaping in the air, jumping over obstacles, or pulling heavy objects are not activities I would recommend in pups so young. OK, there’s my 2 cents – hope I haven’t offended anyone.
Margot you are absolutely correct! The rule of thumb is not to “jump” your puppy higher then his/her pastern. If you are walking through the woods and your dog jumps over fallen branches, etc that is acceptable. You want to avoid regular jumping at heights higher then a few inches, no weave poles until after 14 months, and no weight pulling until the dog is fully grown. Many agility people will not allow their dog to do any jumping until they xray the growth plates and know they are closed. excessive jumping and pulling on unformed-soft joints can create issues were their would have been none.
Agreed, Margot. Nikon is not supposed to be jumping and twisting around but sometimes he does try to pounce higher than I like (and would probably try a lot higher if not for being harnessed). This week we have been working on getting him to be more proactive rather than reactive, so he is barking and bouncing for the prey toy and then it comes down to his level, rather than him getting so stimulated by it that he tries to leap all over. I didn’t dare start agility with Coke until he turned two and Chopper was already 3 when I got her plus her hips are clear. Even in training we jump our dogs 1-2 height classes lower than their normal jump height (I think we train at 16″, Chopper is 20″ and Coke would be 24″). I want to try weight pull with Nikon but not until he is big and strong. I’m assuming even when a dog is mature as far as height and bone he would still need to develop muscle mass for pulling.
What an active, exciting set of training photos! So jealous we don’t live closer to all of you. “My Butt’s on Fire”, aka Rudi, would love it, and Peter and I are so happy to see Schumi. 🙂 We’ll work on getting a few of Rudi posted in the next couple of weks. Bring on the Funny photos!
I can’t wait to meet Nikon, Bailey, Hayden and of course Schumi, and their humans one day. And, Brittany…YOU ROCK! Kira and Hayden’s photos really catch the action, great photo work Julie, so wish I was there. BUT WAIT, we don’t have snow. You all need to come to Florida! Rudi is loving the cold weather, just so you know.
All the dogs look right on task, the Kira and Hayden photos show great action in still form.
Rudi is scheduled for beginners agility next month. The posts made my heart skip a beat about jumping. Don’t worry, I won’t allow Rudi to jump too high (if I can help it) and the group we are training with are very skilled and on task when it comes to agility and puppies. Must admit, not only does Rudi’s butt catch fire regularly, he can jump so high at times it has concerned me. Here’s to having a grand time with your GSD’s. Great job Warren and Nick. Julie H