I figured I would post a funny picture and give you all an update:

I didn't want to spoil Artemis thunder but Kya also got her BH in October. Our first trial was at Nationals and I'm not sure what happened but she completely fell apart. Not sure if it was the stress of it all, being somewhere new or doing Juniors in the morning before the trial or all of the above but she didn't want to perform. I still made it as positive as possible. And she did get reserve with her Junior Handler (once again I thought they deserved first but first place went to and over-the-top flashy handler which is supposed to be a no-no in Juniors). 2 weeks later we trialed at our club trial and she was a Rockstar. We didn't get high BH in trial but many people came up to me and thought she should have.

Mav also trialed for his IGP I. As always he rocked tracking, did ok in Obedience and for the 2nd time in a year failed protection because he refuses to do the bark and hold(insert eyeroll). I've decided to retire Mav from IGP. He's an excellent tracker so we're still tracking but he doesn't like obedience at all and although he's extremely protective he hates the bark and hold. I've noticed through agility that he's not a fan of repeating things and well.... that pretty much is IGP in a nutshell. So I've decided to retire him from IGP and only pursue agility. Both dogs have an agility trial tomorrow and Sat.


Kya sitting on Mav by Karen Miller, on Flickr

How they grow and old habits die hard! Noble patient Mav.

Cute picture. Congratulations on Kya's (and your) accomplishments.

Oh Mav - I feel so sorry for yeah buddy - That pretty little girl is already the Queen of the hill -- lol

Now Sunshine - I have a few questions for yeah - BH ??? and IGP ?? I tried to look them up to not look to stupid But didn't find out what they meant .

Hope you have a great few days ahead .

Doc

Great dogs! Great job Mama!

Great accomplishments and goals that you have with your Dobes, GR!

That Kya on top picture would be a winner for the "Who's The Boss?" DT Calendar Theme ccontest!


Our Eva would love to do that to our Spock, but he's not calm enough to let it happen.
They both like to turn "belly up" to entice each other in for "Dober play" (known as wrestling in rest of dog world)....

That look in her eye is trademark red dobe bitch attitude. I know it all too well.

Congrats on all your accomplishments.

Hi Doc,

BH is an obedience and temperament test for the protection sport IGP (also known as IPO or Schutzhund). The IGP I is the first level after the BH that consists of tracking, obedience and protection. There are two more levels as well IGP II and IGP III.

Congrats!

I'm a huge advocate of dogs having "input" on doing the things that they enjoy, so good for you for letting Mav choose what he likes to do and not insisting on continuing a sport that isn't fun for him, but instead choosing a sport that you both enjoy instead. Too many people seem to want to make dogs into robots and don't give dogs any agency of their own.

I try very hard to say if it's not fun for both "sides" of the team, we're not doing it.

HAHAHAHA - Love the picture! Congrats on the BH! I'm glad you are going to work with Mav's strengths and not push him into something he does not like. Good luck with your future dog adventures!

Thank you all so much for the uplifting input. It was a hard decision to make. I kind of felt like a "failure" but I got into all of this with a pet and I said then, "If my dog didn't like what we were doing and it wasn't fun, we would stop." That's so easy to say and so hard to do. I guess I feel like people will judge Mav that he "couldn't do protection" but he can and he's very protective. After our last trial I wasn't mad, I was oddly proud of him because I know he was giving me what he could without wanting to really be there. It was confirmed two weeks later when I accidently left the van door open and him out of his crate and he didn't even TRY to get out of the van!!!! I feel bad for not realizing this sooner. I can't wait until we're actively competing in agility. He DOES love that and he's good at it too. Or at least I think he is lol. I guess we will see.

[BI guess I feel like people will judge Mav that he "couldn't do protection" but he can and he's very protective][/B]

Anybody that knows anything about Dobermans would NEVER say is can't OR is NOT protective - especially of his family G-Red . It would be fun to see how he did in your house on protection ! I would put a 20 on he would do very well + Mav would bark --- lol

Quick story - promise ! When Mr. Business was young - A guy was making a smart comment he was a pussy cat - Badazz Doberman right ! Well I came home for lunch , I leave the back door open , I did not see this guy pull in the drive - and he just walked in the back door and yelled my name and the it was game on ! Mr. Business backed that guy right out the back door Know the funny thing - Mr. B knows this guy very well , had been here many , many times - But he was with me and I would tell Mr.B it was OK - No OK - No come in his house

Your a good trainer ! You recognized this was just not his game and moved in the right direction - Sign of knowing your Dober - well in my book

And if anybody thinks you failed - just tell them to kiss your you know what

Doc

I love the pictures, Adele does that to Finnegan ALL THE TIME, even sitting on his head sometimes. I think Mav and Finn must be saints for what they put up with! Congrats on your accomplishments and listening to your dog, I think listening to them often leads us to greater adventures than we were aware were possible.

To kiss my Doberman???

Only the best for that discerning rump!