So today of course it decided to hold off raining until 1/2 hour before class! I sat in the car thinking oh boy here we go no one shows up in the rain.

 (to which I work my dogs in the rain and we do alot of hiking in the rain this helps with having them use to storms and taking care of business when it is wet)  

I told one student to show up early as what she had described to me over the phone about her Rat terror's behavior and her coon hound mix behavior I thought I was going to have snapping snarling mess on my hand. Nope totally the opposit. Yes they were very untrusting but no problem. They do not need to be on anything more at the moment then flat nylon collars( the small coon hound mix  might move up to a small prong.

Then I had an 18 month old rottie in class she is super friendly but she knows how strong she is............... Prong collar, but the owner is going to be the hard one to break on some bad pulling habits! as it really is a tug of war habit between them. To which the wife will not walk the dog because of her pulling.

I had a young Cocker spaniel that is not aggressive just knows he can get away with too much expecially trying to display seperation anxeity and a general wheiner about it. Also he has the owner trained so she  gives him people food mixed in with his dog food to eat if not she claims the dog will not eat anything and if she leaves the room he absolutly will not eat. (She claims he went almost 1 week with out eating)  I will give her that when I went to groom him he was too under weight that just looking at him my blood sugar dropped!

then I had Conan the  golden retriever! A monster of a dog! I say over weight by at least easy 5 pounds. "But I thought that was all hair!" she exclaims.  

She kind of grimmissed when I was talking about prong collars. Ah she said "those are the things with the stakes?" "No that would be what you kill vampires with, not stop a dog from pulling and dragging you all over"

So I fitted one of Uly's prongs on him and what a champ he is such a soft dog that his protest is trying to grab the leash while walking. All I had to do was stop tell him now then get walking once more. 

 No sorry both the rottie and the golden are the  width of pulling coffee tables!

Further on is a yorkie young female that the owner carries everywhere! Put her down she is a scardey mess all she needs is to not be picked up and she should really start to gain her own confidence. Part of it is when the dog gets scared she runs to the owner the owner picks her up thus reinforcing the idea of lack of confidence. So I instructed the owner to push the dog off firmly and tell her no! By doing this the owner is reclaiming her space to the dog just a part of taking the leadership position. This worked very well and she also is just a flat buckle collar.

Well that is all for today. I thanked everyone for all showing up in the pouring rain as it was and telling everyone that the classes will get more interresting.

I went up an evening early as I hate to have to drive a long distance then to have to part take in something. I showed up first at the dog club and I of course was very friendly. "Hi Im am the American out of the klub berg strasse" the short older gentleman smirked at me and smiled when I said this. So good no work I ask for directions to the motel. The motel was actually a very old house with a restaurant in the first floor. The owners were a wife and her jager (not meister) hunter. He did have the daily catch dressed and getting inspected by the hunting master (this would be the jager meister). So I get settled in and go walk the dogs after then get lost trying to find my way back to the dog place. found it after 20 minuets of getting lost on the 4 different ways out of our side of town. Having just arrived was another member from our club setting up the caravan she was going to be staying in for the weekend, I helped a little set up then back to the hotel. Saturday was 9:00 A.M start and this day the master trainer and the breed warden were to arrive.

The instructor was of course stuck in a traffic jam and late to arrive so we could begin, no matter, good excuse to exercise the dogs a bit before the festivities went underway. The instructor showed up Supposed he is one of the "purely positive crowds" that does  not  believe in prong collars and consequence. yeah what ever, as I had the prong collar on Uly. But actually better wording would be a trainer that does not advocate "force" training.

Less corrections and more motivation Do not forget we want our boxers to stay crazy and over zealous! We did 1/2 a day theory and discussing conditioning to achieve the desired behavior, applied positive and negitive stimuls to recieve the desired training effect. In other word when to apply force for a corrections as a negitive and when to train with out force and by use of more positve methids like reward and praise.

He started with young dogs first about 6 to 10 months old. The list to get onto the field got all screwed up and jumbled I had no clue who these people were so it was difficult to know when I was supposed to get onto the field. So the Master trainer was there to help as Hella's problem was very puzzling to him! While hella has made the most progress the quickest under his direction of training WE had still hit a road block with her and she did not want to consistantly hold her head up to look at me while holding the barbell (or to sit close enough to me for that matter). We entered the field he asked me what we wanted to try what the problem was, we told him but then I added that what others have tried and we could not fix! That hella get's stressed out  and a force method was not a method that was working for her to get her to hold quietly. 

The instructor watched me work with hella then he took the leash and worked with her he rewarded her with a bit of the tug and when he said out she did not! Of course he wanted to know did she know the command? Of course she does but you are a man and she does not 100% respect men and only listenes to the female gender.

O.k so good so far! it did take a good part of 20 minuets for hella to copy the idea of just hold the barbell quiet! weather you use food or play reward as a positive it has to be a high dollar value to the dog in other words the rewards has to be something that gets the dog excited. With Hella this would be her bite toy! Instructor man prefers balls (don;t ask why I did not question becuse tomy dogs high dollar worth is bite toys with a game of tug,

So hold the barbell look stright or down no reward comes, look up at me and I drop your favorite rewards... Easy? However this method takes much longer then most others. In the begining timing has to be spot on Look up drop the toy which by rights she was supposed to release the barbell to grab her favorite. Nope my GSD is a greedy cow ( Can I say that?) ! Of course not releasing the barbell but jumping up and grabbing the bite toy also,so having 2 toys stuffed in her mouth (which was not the idea)

She is now learning the quicker I look up the quicker I get rewarded with my favorite (the same goes for focus exercises). Start with the dog in the heel position do not give a command or do not make a noise but when the dog looks up at you because they are wondering what comes next give them a reward, then make a new begining point such as start over so it is fresh, Also let's say your dog drops the barbell pick it up walk the dog a few paces in a circle then restart you ground point (or sit) Then repete the exercise once more. So what we are working on is her learning with the bring command and me holding the barbell about belly button hight when she hears the command jump up grab the barbell sit close look up, then I drop the bite toy to you. This is seeming to get her excited and it is not as stressfull on her. Also in the same respect chew or mouth the barbell you get a negitive weather it is a command (to which she does understand) or a tap on the snout (not hard but a simple tap with my finger). O.k so with everything gooding good and us on our way to having to practice practice practice for the next test in November, I will now kind of switch the subject......

After 1 year almost of being a member of this Klub, and after a few months of really realizing I have found a good fit for me personality wise in the board members and most of the other members at the klub. Now I really know I have found a good match for my personality in order for me to learn and grow as a trainer to become a better trainer. My point to this is as soon as we stepped onto the field to start working with our dogs and the seminar instructor hands on Master Trainer is sitting on the fence he hears something the instructor says and pipes up to add a but this can happend in which case you need to train this way (as an example) The instructor shoots him a glaire OOPS! to say this is my seminar! I had to laugh because during the whole day the Master trainer was jumping in and "helping" out the instructor!

Not to say that the instructor did not or was not good, but t was more of a fact that we are a pushy loud opinionated group of people and if we do not agree then we speak up!

Just as I do not agree with the Master trainer that you should really not start formally working a puppy until they become a young dog at the age of 8 to9 months old, This I have proven in Ulysses my boxer and Bella my friends boxer. I started Uly and bella learning how to walk properly at their competition heel through the use of food conditioning methods at which point by the age of 8 to 9 months old then you can add play methods instead of food rewards. I can take hold of bella's leash and she now automatically will start to walk in her competition heel by my side. Should be very interresting to see from my videos dated from April's competition to the competition in November how much improvment hella has made,

Of course I was also asked why I did not get uly out onto the field to work him with the instructor I boldly stated that I was very happy with the way he was comming about in his training through Master Trainer and that why mess with anything! The master Trainer heard this turned to look at me and gave me a big smile. All in all for my first experience being not able to under stand the German language 100% perfectly so what I should say is being handicapped I was very happy with how well the seminar went.

I know it has been a long time and I also know that our last encounter was for me anyway a "brain fart moment" (As my husband likes to call them). I realize now that I did not finish my last blog, Wow big brian fart!  

Well As many that read this might or might not know is I have just recnetly ( 9 weeks ago) have been very sick with breathing problems and have  just quite smoking!

 I decided as this is a hot summer to take a  vacation or long weekend to Garmisch or more percisely Oberau Germany. I stay in a lovely gast haus( motel) that offers breakfast every morning and for those adventurous enough to Ascend or desend the "Bergs" a Hot tub and Physico Therm, this is a  Sauna type device, a wooden closet with heaters you are supposed to lean your sore back against. The heaters get warm and are targeted red heat against the 2 back musles (I am just now thinking they need a  re-design and giving a heater to lean on for the whole body not just the back area! Sadly the Hot Tub was broken and this was of great disapointment!

I have returned home to now, decideing I have QUITE SMOKING  and should fill every spare moment with hiking the area in the oldenwald where I live. This should also be classifyed as a dog training and weightloss  program.

Yes, I said it weightloss program! I was thin enough the last time I was here! Germany really does give every opertunity to walk ,walk, walk for her folks or bike to which I am a little frighten of. The fact that I am frighten to ride bikes in it'self is a story worth listening  to but for the moment we are going to discuss my new found desire to loose weight and workout.

My ultimate desire truth be told is to hike the Garmisch-Partenkirschen part of the alps, this would inculde the Zugspitzs.  Follow the ridge line and stay at the Gast Hauses along the way top that off with 2 dogs! That is a long way off and I am thinking next summer if my husband is in shape also after 1 year and 3 month deployment to Iraq.

I will try to post a story and pictures when I can, but as there is just one of me and trying to be dog trainer/ Competetor/groomer/"Berg Wanderer" can be difficult but worth my try.  

Look for the pictures of my transformation!

The past week current week and comming week are very relaxed in the way of training  for us at the club. I finially asked what type of work the Master trainer does for a living as the European Meistershaft of football is going on and he has had to work very much. The Master Trainer Mischel is a policeman in charge of keeping the rules inforced in his town. I think he was very suprised that it has taken me 1 year to get courious about what exactly he does for work.

Anyway, He is busy at the towns local stadium keeping the peace during the public viewings for the football games he has been putting his son or another member incharge of motivating the "green" members to get out and work their dogs. Yester we were working on keeping Hella from walking so far infront

 First I want to apolguise to everyone for not blogging in quite some time. Preping the house for my husbands vacation visit, then his vacation coupled with having an upper respatory virus has found 8 weeks  gone by very quickly.

I find that I am getting busy with more and more grooming and training customers comming my way for business, now that is, that I decided to just start handing out my business cards and not wait for the army to finish up the red tape.

Yesterdays groom was one that would build the EGO of any person in the profession. Here is the story.

I met the owner in one of the army run stores on base handed her a business card and said give me a try (this was over 2 months ago),on another visit the owner came to me and said I think my dog has ear mites what do I do? I explained that also ear infections would cause problems and perahps a visit to the vet was inorder. Each time I ran into this lady she inquired about schduleing an appointment each time  I told her to call and set up an  appointment, but no E mail or call came.  She did at this time tell me that her dog is very nervous and excitable on the table and quite the handfull.

 To be continued..........

06/07/08

This past week I was at a business metting as I am getting ready to teach a pet first aid class and I ran into this lady once more. Oh I lost your card (I gave her one on each run in)  and I have a groomer comming tomorrow to shave her down. But maybe I will cancel with her and book with you if you have time this week?

I almost said no but I did not stop myself in enough time and said yes I have a slot available Thursday. as I am thinking what did I get myself into with physco dog and did I have the mentality after being sick for 1 month to deal with such a dog.  Oh good She say see you Thursday at 3P.M. This past month while I have been sick I have been forgetting my grooming arm ( a valuable asset to any groomer)  but knowing I have a physco dog I quickly ran up 3 flights of stairs back to my appartment before driving off to retrieve the once more forgotten grooming arm.

I arrive at her house get everything set up, pop the arm into the hole attach a noose slip it over said dogs head and begin to groom. a few seconds go by and the customer says "Oh she is choking herself on that leash thing!"  the dog was leaning into the noose and if she were to back up and stand normal the noose would not look as it were choking her, and thus I moved the backwards and she saw it was the dog leaning causing the "look" of the noose being too tight.  I then explained to the customer that I am a groomer but also a dog trainer,and I am and firm but fair in handling of pets and I was not about to let her dog walk all over me and get it's way during this grooming.  Saying this put the owner at ease a little and she let me get on with my work.

A few more minuets and the owner says to me "the other groomers have all been dripping sweat by this point into the groom and your super relaxed and much further into the process then they have ever been."  I quickly said back "And look your dog is being behaved, not panting and stressing".  She was so pleased with seeing her dog when handled properly is not the physco monster she thought the dog was!

This day was an Ego booster! and I have 2 new customers out of the deal (as her friend wanted to also sign up with me)         

"You must come watch tracking on Sunday" was the Master Trainer and breed warden's decission and answer to me on Friday. Wow O.k I dread getting up at 5 A.M to get out the door by 6 to be on the place by 6:30 if I am not doing any type of practice. But O.k I was there to watch! Actually I was the first person there. 

The Master Trainer's son Jonas was the first person to track. His dog already has titles and has all her competitions behind her so for me he almost does not count, as he is basically just keeping up with what she has already learned. His dog was the best and took high points in tracking (96). The breed warden was the second person to track and her dog was doing good until the second corner. She took that corner clean but then for some reason got distracted by all the mouse holes and started to just sniff around for the mice, she headed back to the handler 1 time was commanded to search again then off she went.

The third person was a member with an 8 year old very lazy boxer. He started poorly, SEARCH the handler commanded he dropped his head took 2 steps picked his head back up then just stood there looking around for 2 minuets. Search.... still no reaction. The judge told the handler go to your dog and the handler did, SEARCH this time pointing to the ground.. She let the 10 meter line go very slack and off went Rene. Very slow very unmotivated. But his tracking was very good.

Afterwards, the Master trainer says to me, "Hella would have passed this"( I guess because the judge was being very generous with points) "You should try a track with Hella and see how she does", The judge also said the same thing to me. "Let's try". We have plenty of time before the obedience starts! I thankfully declined, as I would rather get her at least a little slower and thinking again. and not trotting along the track not paying attention to what she is doing.

So because we had 4 handler dogs teams drop out of the tracking (and the competition in general) we are holding another competiton in July or August.    

Back to the dog club, time for coffee and a bagette sandwich (breakfast to Germans) to eat.  a little time to potty the dogs and  then we started. Uly again of course passed his BH, I asked for points was was told once more pass or fail....But at least he passed and I know he did better then the first 2. And I know we still have lots of work to do.

So with all the BH dogs out of the way it was time for the VPG obedience to start. Hella lost points on the recall as she decided not to sit squarely infront of me, she lost points on the flat toss of the barbell for not comming to me and sitting right away (Until I gave her a "handler helper" 1 point lost also) my hands in the area of my belly button for some reason this brings her in closer and makes her sit. We lost points because she also holds the barbell too loosley in her mouth ( at least she held it quietly) But still 88 (high) points for the obedience.

Then came the protection part. We were the last team to go. I step onto the field, get into position and send  Hella revier, She takes off like a rocket goes around the blind, I call Hier she heads back to me (she loves this exercise) hand pointed in the direction of the next blind REVIER, She runs into the blind bark, bark, bark, she did great! she did not try to jump up and nip the arm until I  arrived! 5 points lost. While all the other handlers went to their dogs while barking and holding to command sit then heel, I at the last minuet decided to recall hella instead, HIER FOOSE! This went off with out a hitch ( Also looks more impressive when the other teams all go to the dog to command foose).

We then walked out of the blind, commanded the helper to please walk out Hella in the down. The helper took  off running **bang** hella was off like a shot to bite the helper once more. We now have her outting down pat, seems that she did not want to out during practice as I would try to command out while the helper was still moving I wuold not want to let go of the pray either when it is still moving. But now that I know this was my mistake and my failure and it is now corrected, she lets go at the drop of a dime.   

 We then did a small pause to eat, celerbrate with the drinking of German schanpps then it was time for the temprament testing of all the BH dogs. This was the best I have gone through yet.

Bikes going by ringing bells, Kids running around waiving arms screaming, off to the shopping center to walk the dogs with a shopping cart and cars going by honking. I can tell the Master Trainer does no shopping as his dog at first was a little freaked out by the shopping cart experience. Uly the little ASS that he is, trys not to walk next to it but HE WANTS TO JUMP IN IT AND GO FOR A RIDE!  I make my dogs learn to jump in all sorts of things like wheele barrows,golf carts ect.

With the microchip reading I say to the judge proudly Uly is chipped in the left on the neck, the judge holds the scanner up to me to read MY CHIP "You are a casper" (in english clown) I tell him!  Tie the dogs up the handler must hide and other dogs and people walk by to see what type of reaction the dog shows the judge drops a book next to the dog to try to scare them.

Friggen judge!!! After the whole day of us picking on each other he goes to Uly unties him and walks off with my dog!  I come out "Hey UNFAIR,  Uly you ass walk off with a stranger!" But just to aggrivate the judge I loudly exclaim so the judge can hear "I teach my dogs to have respect and LOVE  for all Grandma's and grandpa's and childern"!  He comes to me when all is finihsed "I am putting that comment on your score sheet" (which get's handed over to the main club) And Oh yes he did write that comment down (as I was told later by the president).

After watching that video from 1936 Schutzhund competition and as I can say first hand the only thing NOT to change in the testing of the dogs...... is all the drinking afterwards by the handlers. 2 shots of plum schanpps, 3 glasses of apple wein, 3 shots of homemade  garlic schnapps ( You want to take about something to keep fleas,ticks and the VAMPIRES away)! But if you love garlic (which I do not) This is the $&!%. I more then likey should not have driven home last night and I know I partyed more then my husand would have liked me too. BUT FOR ME THIS WAS WELL DESERVED!

The next event we have is just a Grill and party day ( rather a whole weekend) at the boxer club. Oh boy look out!  

Last ngiht at the Boxer club I was watching the Master trainer work with another member and their male dog. They were working at the protection work and when the dog got the arm the owner was instructed to command down when the dog had the arm in the mouth then ask for a release. This was totally a new exercsie that they were doing.

Courious as to why they were now teaching this I asked the Master trainer what his thinking was and why he was teaching this. (In advertantly Hella and myself were, is and are the basis for this new approach he is working on with the more dominant dogs at our club).

Down is the worst command for any dog as this places them in a submissive position. By teaching a strong down and a willing down this will not only cements you in the position as leader but also buillds the respect to you as true leader.

Recall should always be a priase command and the best thing is to come back to you.

So the master trainer is now teaching down as a calming command and recalling directly after as a safety or praise reward command. 

So  in a situation such as  vaughn69 is going through, with one dog growling and snapping at the others in a posission guarding responce over the person, I would have each dog set up with a bed or crate in the common area, and upon the dominant growling not remove that dog outside away from the others but make each dog learn the strong down stay command on their bed/place.

Do not just place her down on her bed, but when she growls and or snaps take her to her place command down, then the next dog down on their place and so on down the line, remove all attention to each dog and make each dog stay on their place for at least 5 to 10 minuets (to be increased as the down command becomes proofed). After this time period go to her, praise her for the down stay by petting and release her first. Then go to your next dog, praise for down and stay by petting and release, then the next dog or the least dominant dog last praise and release. If they come to you after for attention and the incident occures once more, repete the above.

You can also try a twist to this by when the more dominant dog growls to start with the more submissive dog first in their place to stay and work the way down the line to the more dominant. This could also work to help the more dominant dog to feel secure that you see them above the others. But always release the more dominant dog first as this is their right.  

Today in Germany as it may be in the states is Holey communion day the first sunday after Easter Sunday, when the kids make first communion at church. I am not by any means a religious person (I never had my communion even though I can say I was raised Catholic I do not practice any relgion). Anyway this is not the basis for my Blog today.

Being a "sort of" German Holiday we had no practice hour ( Ubens stunde) At the boxer club. Normally Sundays for me are up at 5 A.m out the door by 6 A.M, tracking by 7 A.M (with the group both humans and dogs)  to the dog club by 9 A.M, obedience practice then of course bite work practice we are usually finished around 3 P.M or 4 P.M in the afternoon on sunday. So today being a day off was more then welcome.   

 After a super busy month of March with a boxer show and then a endurence test (ZTP) then of course Easter, we have been in the last week working our butts off in preperation for the up comming April 12 and 13 training competition which is only a short distance away.

 We had tried a few new things with hella to better her barking and hold, we hung her favorite ball in the blind this worked great to bring her in closer to the helper and to get her not to focus so much on bitting the arm but on just barking. This worked so well in fact that when the master trainer would go to let the ball down to remove it, she would turn her focus  from the helper and bitting to her ball (so now the ball is not used).

We have also been working at what the actually test is going to be like. The greeting (anmeldung) to the judge "Dog handler Suzi jones, presents Hella vom hirsch morgen to VPG 1", then, tracking along with how the dog identifys the articlas  ( by laying down in our case), part 2 obedience, part 3 protection work. Of course at the end of each part a anschlusse or "closing" must also be said to the judge at the end of each part, now mind you this is me saying all this in German.   The hardest part has been learning the end saying after the protection work, For weeks all I could remember to say was "taters and waffles". This was O.k (NOT) BUT close to what it sounded like however not what was supposed to be said in German. "Ta te ge stelled (the helper secured) und ent waff net" and here is the hitting stick (which is handed to the judge) before leaving the field.  You can see how taters and waffles comes to mind?

Last night at practice hour Hella had a few suprises in store for us, nothing bad just that she is starting to get all the patterns down. When I had commented this to the Master trainer he agreed but then added I did not think Hella would be ready for the test! "What? you have been fibbing to me all this time?" "You said, YOU thought  she would be ready and now the truth comes out? "Ah Ja well". Nothing like a little white lie to motivate your dog handler? Thank goodness Hella is always full of suprises for me. If she holds true to form as she has in the past, she should be almost perfect the day of the test in giving her performence.

Uly has been making progress also. Both on the training field and today out for our walk. On our walk today I was able to have dogs and people pass by with only 1 incident of him reacting to nothing. He quickly got a prong colllar correction and the reaction was ended.  I started to think have I been dong a dis-service to them by going to dog club to practice on sundays? In the begining I had said I would attend tracking sunday morning but head home afterward to have a clear the head day for us.  However the Master trainer and another member quickly pointed out that Sundays is as close to a test day for practice as you could get as we practice all three phases tracking obedience and bite work. So I have been for months attending Sundays. But as I think about it Sunday's is the day when we encounter many people and other dogs on walks. This is the day I could use a setting Uly up to finially teach him not to react when something approaches? Well we will have to see as the summer comes if I go back to having Sundays to us and not practice.

I will report on Uly and the training field progress later this week.

After a very busy weekend which started last Thrusday, cleaning the club house and judges room and Friday as well as Saturday with helping to set up tents tables and get everything in place for the Boxer show our club hosted, Sunday finially came and I had a little time along with my Customer/ friend to relax and look around at all the different boxers (108) that were partisipating in the show.  I thought what a perfect time to get Uly out and work with him during all the goings on.  This was sugguested by a lovely member of our dog club that said "Go get your boy so everyone can see what a REAL boxer looks like" ( as Uly is a perfect boxer speciman except for his missing (ah hum) EGG, ball/ testical.

My friend had her boxer pup on leash waiting for me to bring Uly into the practice field where 2 show rings were set up. We just wanted to walk around to let the dogs be exercised a little (Of course Uly had his prong collar on for a little extra control and I will get to that later).

I enter the field to stand next to my friend and another member stopped me to chat. As we were chatting this little Blue ( as was the color of her overly large jacket) person appears before me, out of no where she appeared! I think she must have been hiding underneth in the ground where I was standing with my friend as she popped out from nowhere like weeds appearing for the first signs of spring (at least it seemed).

At first I did not understand what she was saying to me, was it because no other dogs except for the ones in the show could be on the field? No this was not it as there were quite a few different breeds walking around the practice field also, a border collie, Bosten terrier, Shih Tzu ect...

then other dog club member dumbed it down into German that I could understand  when I did not answer the little blue person back, by whispering at me, "How old is your dog?"  the part about I am the "on site vet control" I understood. Then this little blue person starts to just let the questions fly at rappid fire at me, to which I could only replay "Bitte auf Englisch, "Please speak in english"? Wow did this throw the little blue aggressive person off, She just stopped cold   with the rappid fire aggressive questions and looked at me like I had 3 heads!  Once more I aksed when she did not speak Please in english!!! Then she pops off aggressivly again with (in German of course to which I did understand) "What vet docked your boxers tail?"

You cannot partake in the show with a boxer with cut tail unless it the dog comes with a letter of medical reasons why the tail had to be docked to which you must carry with you at all shows and competitions this letter. If a vet does dock a tail for no reason they can get into also a lot of trouble and have their practice licence taken away from them.   

I just looked at her like the little blue idiot she was for Yelling at me and said quite aggressivly back "Ah hello stupid I am an american member here ,and my boxer is american bred boxer!!! They cut all boxers tails in america and I AM NOT PART TAKING IN THE SHOW!!!

She turned bright red and promptly disapeared back into the hole of which she climbed out of. I did not see her any more that day she must of have left the grounds pretty quickly.  Of course to find out later that I was not the only one to take a little flack from her as the breed warden of our club also got into a small bit of trouble. You are supposed to have someone on the gate with a microchip reader to double check all registration papaers and chip numbers match for the dogs part taking at shows and competitions at your club ( Ooops their bad) Couple that with the breed warden tried to make an excuse for this little blue person by saying she was new this was her first show to "control" and she got over zelous to catch someone doing something wrong and illegal. 

No matter I told everyone at the club  that night as we all were celabrating drinking beer and wein (I am quickly finding out at we I think are the trouble makeing club, loud and boistrous  and opinoinated out of them all).

Now to the prong collar, I am the "BAD AMERICAN", perhaps the leader of Iran is correct and no one likes us anymore? (until of course they need our husbands and brothers and sisters in the armed forces to defend them in time of crisis).

I had 1 old guy (Oh He has been at our club a few times to practice and I can not wait to see him again) start to attack me because Uly had a prong collar on him Sunday of course this was after he commented what a FINE  looking boxer he was to be followed by, "Oh you are so crewl, that collar gives the dog PAIN!" "Go take it off of him right now!"  I said "No it does not give the dog pain it is just a little extra control,   if he had pain or mental anxeity from the prong collar, every time I corrected him by poping the leash he would have cowered down ears back whiened cryed ect"... "Oh you americans have no knowledge" he finishes off with as he could see I gave 2 rats asses about his opinion!

  Yes I am the bad american with the E collar and prong collar!!! As another by stander old man (the father of one of our club members actually I had no idea at the time) Started to also comment about take the rpong collar off of him you do not need it! Of course he also followed that up with "Deine hund felt mir an"  Which would loosley translate into "the looks of your dog I really like!"

Of course I know for the obedience tests I cannot compete with prong on but lucky for me the master trainer thinks the same as I do train every day with the prong collar on and only take it off for the tests as the dog must think the collar is always on him. As for the other trouble... At least I had a for warning that in April we are possibly to expect that a vet will show up to be making sure about chip numbers matching registration papaers and I should carry with me that day a copy of Ulys' American AKC PAPERS to defend his docked tail.

All in all I did find out that when my next pup comes there is a way to register him as being out of country to beable to partake in normal dog shows with him haivng a cropped tail. Now this makes me want my next pup even more and I cannnot wait!