Thought I would share some video of a training session from this morning. This is my APBT Rumble. He is 3 years old and 43 lbs. The decoy is Mike Conors from the Maine Association of Dogsports. M.A.D.

http://www.k9sts.com/rumblevid/

I'm open to opinions good or bad. Just thought I would share.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

Type of dogs owned: Mals, GSD, Dutchie and APBT.

Depending on how slick those floors are, I would have like to have seen a better effort on the initial entry. Other than that I thought it was good stuff. Looked like a very happy dog.

Type of dogs owned: Mal, GSD\\\\'s

New stall matts. Pretty slick at this point. Just put them down. He has a Very fast entry on grass.

However,I can see your point.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

Type of dogs owned: Mals, GSD, Dutchie and APBT.

$%&*$#@ NetNanny crap at work!!! Won't be able to $%&*$#@ see the $%&*$#@ clip until I $%&*$#@ get home!!!

I love it. I like seeing good pits in action. I wish those dogs the best. They're awesome dogs that find themselves mostly in the wrong hands. I love seeing one out there working and happy.

Type of dogs owned: Malinuts

Nice looking dog, Chris. Lotta heart in that one.

I'm curious though, why your decoy would esquive him on a difficult entry like that...slick floor, obstacles (and quite easily...nice move!). Training pivot leg?

I guess I'm just trying to understand the point of the exercise.

I definitely like the dog though....hard to find a good pit with tenacity AND brains as this one obviously has.

Happy and SAFE Training,
Scott

Hi Scott,

There is no room behind the decoy (wall). The decoy is fairly new at catching the dog on legs. He was trying to absorb the dog and got an early start.

Rumble is very hard to esquieve outside. He (Rumble)knows piviot leg and and loves to crotch bite! I think the decoy just got premature on the dog.

The point of the exercise was decoy training. Using props while catching a leg dog. We very rarely train patterns. I guess this is why I am known as the laughing stock of the dog world! ;)

Here is another environmental exercise. http://www.k9sts.com/slippery/

Love the observations! They are always welcome!

Thanks Scott.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

Type of dogs owned: Mal, GSD, Dutchie, APBT

Gotcha, Chris....that makes sense when I look at it in that light.

Laughing stock? I agree totally about not training patterns. We rarely, if ever, do the same exercise the same way twice in a row, even when preparing for a trial.

Just from that short clip, your decoy has talent, and seems very comfortable in a suit. It's difficult to learn to let the dog 'drive' the catch, especially with a quick little bugger like your dog. Depending on how you train the pivot leg, pulling early can be very dangerous.

I'll see if Jay still has the pic of what happened to his dog in her Brevet trial...Our dogs are VERY well schooled in the pivot leg. In her trial, the decoy was complacent, and pulled a scoche early, as your decoy did here, anticipating an easy catch (It's Brevet, right?) The dog IMMEDIATELY re-targeted to the other leg (which now is bearing the full 270lb weight of the decoy), and the pic looks like Wile E. Coyote with all four legs wrapped around a phone pole. It's funny now, just looking at the pic, but she could have been seriously injured.

I'm no expert by any stretch, but it looks like you've found yourself a talented guy to work with!

Happy and SAFE Training,
Scott

Hi Scott,

You are soooo right! I have seen many a dog stuffed, stonewalled, or what ever it's called it your reigon. I have no problem with mistakes, they happen to everyone! Decoys have to learn and mistakes will be made and forgiven. But carelessness just sucks for the dog, decoy and handler.

Mike does a good job but is still learning.

I would really LOVE to see the pic you posted about. I'm glad the dog was o.k.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

Type of dogs owned: Mal, GSD, Dutchie, APBT

Hey Chris,

You want it, you got it!!!! Here's the picture:

http://www.gatekeeperfarm.com/Tora/Tora e coyote.jpg

keep in mind this is a still captured from video, it was a full speed face attack and the decoy figured she was going for the right leg, and he pulled it early to absorb her. She changed legs as she was trained to do, and bam, she actually put on the brakes just before impact, as she saw what was coming, that's why her back legs were sliding and she ended up with her chest against his leg.

BTW, the decoy did apologize to me afterward and admitted his mistake. It happens to the best of us.

The dog is my Tora von Bonum bono. She was just fine, and to her credit, still comes in fast.

Jay Murphy

Type of dogs owned: Belchin Mongoloids

Thanks Jay!

Yep thats a tough catch! The decoy has all his weight on that left leg just as Scott said. Great picture. Looks like a really dark mal.

Thanks for sharing! Was that an ASR event?

I will see if I can find some of our Mals working if you would like to see some more video.


Safe training,
Chris Fraize

Type of dogs owned: Mal, GSD, Dutchie, APBT

Yeah, Tora's pretty dark, but the shadows in the video make her look darker. Here's a good photo of her:

http://www.gatekeeperfarm.com/Torasittingfront112004.JPG

That was a French Ring Trial, not an ASR event. But decoy mistakes can happen anywhere, that's for sure.

Feel free to post more videos, I like 'em.

Jay

Type of dogs owned: Belchin Mongoloids

I like patterns, I think they are very good at making the dog understand what the exersize is all about. I used it on my oh so not bright shepherd for the defense, and lo and behold! when we started to change the scenario he was like "whatever man, who is going to hit dad." He has picked right everytime. I like changing it, but not until the basic pattern is beaten to death.

Type of dogs owned: Mal, GSD\\\\'s

Thanx for posting that pic, Jay. That is such a great pic of how NOT to catch a dog. A dog lesser than she may not have come back from something like that...the pic does not really do it justice...it was a BAAAAAADDDDDD hit.

As Jay said, Tora is very quick, and changes direction on a dime. A lesson to us all.

If this link works, this is a short vid of HOW to catch a lightning fast dog on the legs:

http://www.rivercityringers.com/videos/Raikajayflee1.mpeg

Folks always ask Jay if that vid is sped up, or enhanced. I guarantee that it is not.

Decoy is Jay, said ill-tempered-shark-faced-missile-mutt is my 45lb mal, Raika. She made the decoy in Tora's trial pay for his mistakes (looking out for her cousin, y'know). Tora titled...Raika did not.

Happy and SAFE Missile-Mutt Catching,
Scott