I’m very proud of my two puppies. Today both of them passed the first phase of their evaluation test as SAR dogs. The test took the form of a courage test where the dogs had to walk on unusual and uneven surfaces that moved under their feet, then had to crawl on their bellies in small spaces, had to seek out treats hidden in boxes under newspapers and bits of cardboard. They even had a sound sensitivity test, too.
Both puppies were tested individually. Gretchen went first and did well, with a bit of coaxing. Tuvok, however, was the real star. He showed absolutely no fear, especially while walking on the uneven/movable surface and the tester threw a plastic jug against a metal cabinet. He went over to sniff the jug! I was relieved that he didn’t pick it up and run off with it. He loves carrying things in his mouth.
I’m planning on using Tuvok as a SAR dog, while Gretchen will be my agility puppy.
I don’t know how common it is to have two puppies from the same litter pass their evaluations as working dogs, but right now I’m an extremely proud dog breeder, and I feel satisfied that the work I did with this litter, from they were three days old, is paying off.
Comments on: "Evaluating Potential SAR German Shepherd Dogs" (3)
That’s great! Sounds like they both did really well.
Mary
You should give me some hints / links to info on dog training. I have my current dog doing fairly well with a few of the basics, (Sit, stay, shake, etc.) but would like more info on techniques, etc.
Hi Mad Bull, if you go to the Links page on this site (scroll to top of the page), you’ll see a few training sites. I highly recommend clicker training, or some method that uses positive reinforcement.
What kind of dog do you have? How old?