I Need Information On Tracking & Trialing Comps Please

[Daggles]

I want to do something with my German Shepherd Dog but I am not sure which avenue to go down.

My considerations are: Obedience, agility, tracking, lure coursing maybe. I know what obedience is and what is involved in agility but can some please explain the other to me?

Are there particular things I should look out for in my dog to see if he is more suited to one sport or another?

[jinkispirit]

Hi, I have a border collie - she is now 2 1/2 years old but she has tried herding, obedience, showing, frisbee, tracking, agility and luring. Some people say you should only try one sport, but my feeling is try them all and she which one that are naturally good at and which ones they just do for fun.

Herding we have stopped, due to the cost and travel.

Luring - all dogs just love I have witnessed and we just do it for fun. It gets them to do some great exercise. Check out http://www.qldlurecoursing.com/

frisbee - the dog just has a ball with and is also good at. check out http://www.bark.asn.au/

Tracking - this is my dog's favourite sport and she is just a natural. We do train weekly but we have got to Level 5 in 4 months and it usually takes at least a year. There are tracking clubs all over the place. Where are you - in which state? You can start by going to a park, keep your dog in the car, then go about 10-20 metres, leaving a treat every few steps (if you have a training partner - they can leave the treats and then hide behind a tree, if it's you, you have to take a long way back to the car) - then take your dog out, put a harness and lead on, and she is they will keep their nose down. This is a start.

Obedience - a lot of dogs do obedience and tracking and they don't seem to have a problem. I've been training in obedience since she was very young, but haven't really competed, we only have CCD

Agility - due to time schedules, I haven't done a lot of training on this one, but my dog just loves it and doing the other sports hasn't affected her at all. I know other dogs who do tracking, obedience and agility and are doing very well.

Have fun, trying out the different sports, and see which one you and your dog enjoy more. Fun is the aim of the game!

[Arya]

German Shepherds will excel at Obedience, Tracking and some with the right temperament and character, Schutzhund. I do Obedience and have just started Tracking with my GSD girl. She loves them both. Agility good for some shepherds too. Hey, go and check all the dogsports out they are all great fun!