# The Supply List



## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

Since there might be a change in my plan for next spring, what would you guys suggest getting for a dog that would hopefully be competing in Schutzhund later in its life? I have the basic puppy stuff (crate/bowls/collars/etc) down but wanted to know what you guys would suggest since this will be my first "working" pup (schutzhund wise anyway).


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## Dave Colborn (Mar 25, 2009)

kelsey cooke said:


> Since there might be a change in my plan for next spring, what would you guys suggest getting for a dog that would hopefully be competing in Schutzhund later in its life? I have the basic puppy stuff (crate/bowls/collars/etc) down but wanted to know what you guys would suggest since this will be my first "working" pup (schutzhund wise anyway).



A mentor.

You can avoid a lot of mistakes with an accomplished one. 

Once you pick a mentor, ask them what to get.

Good luck to you!!!


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

Thank you! Still unsure what to do, got quite a bit of time to think about it too! I'll have to talk to the Schutzhund person I take my Brittany too (we just train for the fun of it, haha. i like schutz obedience a heck lot better then akc!) and I'll have to talk to him or his wife!


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## Skip Morgart (Dec 19, 2008)

A good club with a good training director and a couple good helpers.


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## Brian Anderson (Dec 2, 2010)

Kelsey I agree with Dave. Dont get fixated on equipment and gear and pretty scratch pants etc. All that isnt worth a crap if you cant train and work the dog. JMO


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

Thanks guys!
I'm really hoping it works out, my trainer is great with Replay (we have to "train" in all 3 sections of it, and she actually looves the protection! silly field dog )


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## Edward Egan (Mar 4, 2009)

Sounds like you are allready going down the right road. Have fun with your dog and learn, that's what it's all about.


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

That's what I'm in it for! Love to learn. 
Plus I have a few friends also involved in Schutzhund (one whose dad is a trainer) and they've been helping me a lot too already!


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## Brian Anderson (Dec 2, 2010)

kelsey cooke said:


> That's what I'm in it for! Love to learn.
> Plus I have a few friends also involved in Schutzhund (one whose dad is a trainer) and they've been helping me a lot too already!


Thats awesome ... best of luck to you and keep us up with what ya got going on.


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## James Downey (Oct 27, 2008)

kelsey cooke said:


> Since there might be a change in my plan for next spring, what would you guys suggest getting for a dog that would hopefully be competing in Schutzhund later in its life? I have the basic puppy stuff (crate/bowls/collars/etc) down but wanted to know what you guys would suggest since this will be my first "working" pup (schutzhund wise anyway).


 
2 car washing chamis, 2 leather rags...Some line, 10 ft. leashes with buckles cut off work great. Tie these to the lines for the rag game to put some distance between you and the dog for grip work. Treat pouches...Home depot has these cheap cloth pouches for nails that tie around your waste...there like 2 dollars. An agitation collar...I like the ones with a handle. An agitation harness. I like the leather rolled tugs. Some patience. and self-discpline to not worry about the puppy if they are not doing this or that.


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

Thank you! 
This is going to be a fun trip, my cousin is getting a GSD pup next spring, Dutchie and a GSD within 10 minutes of each other!


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

learn how to make biting fun and rewarding for the dog and still maintain control as a handler

learn about drives and how to train in drive

learn a training SYSTEM and apply it 24/7 with the pup ... don't just copy other trainers techniques and style ... i they can't explain "why", move on

learn how to properly control the environment around your pup b4 u expose them and avoid the "Murphies"


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Dave Colborn said:


> A mentor.
> 
> You can avoid a lot of mistakes with an accomplished one.
> 
> ...


 
I agree. 

Good luck, have fun!!


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Gotta say +1 to Dave, a mentor is one of the most important "pieces of equipment" you can get. 

As for the rest, about the only thing above and beyond the normal equipment (leashes, collars, toys, etc) you'll need is a harness for tracking and protection, although many people track on a collar.


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

I'll have a harness anyway, for hiking and stuff until they learn to properly walk on a leash, Replay taught me that. She sounds like she's dieing! 
And considering my 27 pound Brittany can pull me, I'm sure a Dutch Shepherd would have no problem.


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## Jackie Lockard (Oct 20, 2009)

Beer is also a handy thing to have around for mentors, helpers, track layers, ect.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

the mentor concept is great
and having a mentor is great; if you can spend a lot of time with em

but you still need to lean how to raise a dog properly for the other 90% of the time you are with it without the mentor present 

a mentor can see things happening with a dog that a beginner can't and can make it look easy ... but usually a different story when the owner goes home and tries to "copy" what they saw and comes back a few days later frustrated
- that's also why i try to have minimal interaction with the dog when i'm working with the owner
- i think any decent trainer can take any dog an have them sit/down and stay in a few minutes but that should not be the role of what i would consider a good mentor
- and a decent trainer can see conflicts preventing a successful session that the owner can't see, because an owner usually is focussed on the lack of a result rather than why they aren't getting it from the dog

with a strong working dog breed, control becomes a more critical issue much faster; that's why i listed four items i feel are well worth dealing with by any new owner of a working breed
the four areas i suggested were based entirely on raising a working dog, not a pet :
1. learn how to make biting fun and rewarding for the pup/dog and still maintain control as a handler
2. learn about drives and how to train in drive
3. learn a training SYSTEM and apply it 24/7 with the pup ... don't just copy other trainers techniques and style ... i they can't explain "why", move on
4. learn how to properly control the environment around your pup b4 u expose them and avoid the "Murphies"

would you all think this is too much for a beginner to shoot for, or would you add more ?
if you were the mentor, would you focus on these areas ?

imo, equipment selection would be secondary and come much later


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

For me, a good mentor is someone who has the skills you want, someone you respect, someone you trust and someone you can relate to. 

Not everyone is going to explain every little step along the way. Sometimes you have to trust they know what they are telling you to do, and just do it, the outcome will explain the whys. 

Dog training is less cerebral and more feeling your way along. Nothing is set in stone, there is no formula, because each dog and each handler and each mentor and the relationship developed between them is different. So, I don't see any formal "system", I think dog trainers and dog training must be fluid, many different tools in the toolbox.

I think the biggest thing is to remember to relax and have fun.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

maybe "system" was a bad choice of a word to use and gives the wrong image

what i mean is a consistent way of working/training and having fun with your dog....all the time; no matter what you're doing and even when you are just letting em "be a dog"

Inconsistency is what i see a lot more of ... owners who are all over the map trying one way one day and another way the next day and getting nowhere except confusing the heck out of their dog
** in particular, starting a session with markers but applying compulsion as soon as there is a bump in the road
- they have NO plan in mind when they start any session, and finish with the dog even more confused than they are
- and a plan can be as simple as how you want to run around and play with your pup; with or without a rag in hand 

of course for me it' markers and OC, and that can be applied consistently in all three areas no matter what i'm doing with the dog

being flexible and using imagination is of course essential, but i don't think that means you shouldn't be consistent at the same time

- doubt this makes it any clearer, but that's what i mean by a "system" 

and easy to see with an experienced breeder or trainer who has raised a few dogs successfully......just look at the latest "Martine pup vid" recently posted


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Oh okay I get what you're saying, and I agree 100%. Thanks for 'splainin it more gooder for me!! :grin:


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Susan
i've read a lot of your posts and learned a lot from them ...not really speaking to you .. you know what you're doing 
it's Kelsey that it was aimed at 

just trying to point out why getting a supply of equipment ready for your dog may not be as important right now as she might have thought 

last weekend i spent 24 hrs with a friend who raises kai kens for hunting boar .... he is about as antiOC as they come but he has great dogs and we are good buds
- not the kind of dogs you would take to a pre-school to meet children, but not aggressive or dangerous and VERY much under control at all times 
- he's never bought anything from a store for em and even makes his own bamboo "flak jackets" for some of them
- his only training equipment "supplies" are ropes and a wide assortment of bamboo sticks, and that includes collars and leads

but i learned what my two biggest mistakes as a trainer are from that short little trip
- i talk to my dogs too much and i use a lead too much


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## kelsey cooke (Jan 2, 2011)

Jackie Lockard said:


> Beer is also a handy thing to have around for mentors, helpers, track layers, ect.



i would, if i wasn't underage.
darn united states. ](*,)


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## Jackie Lockard (Oct 20, 2009)

kelsey cooke said:


> i would, if i wasn't underage.
> darn united states. ](*,)


As long as your pup doesn't deuce on the field you shouldn't need it for a couple years.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

rick smith said:


> Susan
> i've read a lot of your posts and learned a lot from them ...not really speaking to you .. you know what you're doing


I may have been around since the dinasours but I will be the first to admit I rarely know what I'm doing!!!!
:lol:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> I may have been around since the dinasours but I will be the first to admit I rarely know what I'm doing!!!!
> :lol:



 :-# :-# :-\" :-\" O


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