Does WDA still exist and putting on trials/shows? - Page 8

Mystere, I know this happens, and almost always the same clubs/people/judges are involved.
It´s a shame - some single people are able to destroy the reputation of 1000s...

But, honestly, what the heck do owners await from a dog "titled" after 11 days???

Why don´t they ask for video proof of the trial? Not that difficult...they pay for it...

My answer:

1. they don´t know better
2. they don´t want to learn even the basics of dog sport
3. they don´t care, only the "title" is important
4. they want to spend as little money as possible ( more time, more money )

We are able to IPO1 title a good dog within 3 months on club level niveau, the breed survey, if dated, soon after. These dogs are trained 5 times the week, tracking, obedience, bitework, mostly show trained and rated, too - that´s a lot of time spent with one dog... but after all that´s still club level niveau, not more, not less.

In summary we are dealing with uninformed, uninterested, unknowing owners on one side, and scrupelous, cheating trainers on the other side...

and as long as the owners don´t care, and don´t try to learn about their own dog, and the sport their dog is going to participate in, nothing will change.

Back to the beginning : Do it yourself or you´ll never understand...

Officials do corrupt things because there is demand for it.

Nothing will change until the end user starts taking an interest in dog sport and what IPO/Schutzhund is supposed to be. Or at least what a working dog should be. Until people decide they want to actually SEE the parents of their potential puppy work, and until they recognize the difference between a national level performance and a half-assed club performance it won’t make a difference or even just a dog biting their training helper in their own backyard. Breeders and anyone actually training a dog to be more than just a CGC can easily amaze 99% of buyers that come to their doors. My facebook news feed is filled with dogs that don’t actually accomplish anything but have dozens of posts after any picture of them biting a sleeve on a back tie at 5 years of age supporting the owner and telling them how great of a temperament the dog has and how beautiful it is. Unfortunately a few bite work sessions, with some good photography, and your dog is well on its way to being a PPD, being more real than any actual accomplished sport dog, and proving that it has a breedworthy temperament. Why? No one knows the difference between an IPO title and a dog just doing bitework. Then you have outspoken people on forums bashing IPO left and right in order to make sure it stays that way or so that random bitework becomes a greater accomplishment.

The SV itself has very little to do with what happens in the United States. No one in America has to follow SV rules. We can breed what we want, how we want, whenever we want. The only people “ruining” the breed in the United States are doing it on their own accord and by their own choice. I really don’t care if the dogs do IPO or not. If they don’t, I’m not buying from them, but they’ll find someone else to buy their puppies. The problem with not doing the sport and just going along with what the breeder says is that their dogs rarely if ever actually prove themselves. They do some biting, they probably never track, maybe do some obedience…but they’ll never actually bite a criminal. But the breeder/handler will tell you they will, and as long as the dog puts its teeth on a sleeve, the general public will be all over it.

Just an observation on the point in BW's last sentence - that
the general public are so keen to buy a dog that they think will
bite, they will accept any old BS they are told - I have NEVER
fully understood why that applies so often ? It sounds as though
you have this 'looking for PPD capability' syndrome more pro-
nounced in buyers than we do, although I often see it here too.
Surely can't be the Captain's instruction about keeping it a
working breed ?   I mean, you don't seem to get Joe
Public being convinced in advance that their Newfie pup is
going to grow up and save shipwreck victims, even without the
owner actively taking the dog water-training every week.

TBH if I was breeding, the prospective puppy purchaser who
said they wanted a dog that would definitely bite if they got attacked,
but showed zero interest in doing ANY sport with a bite element
in it, would be the LAST person I would want to sell to !

I agree, Hundmutter, and often wonder what these people have gotten themselves into that they require a protection dog? The reality is that a big, imposing looking dog should be a deterrent regardless of whether or not it has the genetics and training to actually bite someone. If the mere presence of such an animal isn't enough to make someone decide to pick an easier target, that is likely a very bad person and you probably need a gun.

The GSD breed has never and will never have a top down problem, it will always be a problem from the bottom to the top. The organizations themselves are powerless to do anything. They cannot mandate titling or health testing because registration is controlled by the AKC and they won’t do anything like that either. The GSDCA might have some pull there but it really doesn’t matter because the moment the AKC institutes something, people will just go to another registry or figure out how to get around the new rules a different way.

The national organizations have very little control of their member clubs. Now more than ever they have even less because the moment they reprimand or speak with a head of a club who has had a complaint issued against them, that information is aired over social media and you get the natural division of people either for or against the organization or the person being “warned.” Again…a people/member issue and not an organizational fault.

Most training clubs are affiliated with a national organization but stay very far out of the national or even regional politics that occur. The majority of people in the sport don’t know and don’t care to know about the historical issues between the powerful or vocal members of their respective organizations. 95% will never go anywhere but their own club and will never work with any other helper/training director unless their club hosts a seminar and even then many of those people won’t care enough to go. If you want to train your dog, you can find a club, find people you like to work with, and you can get through a title without even knowing who is on the executive board or what happens anywhere outside of your club field. Those that want to blame the national organization as the reason they left are just spreading lies and trying to find a reason for their own failure.

"Those that want to blame the national organization as the reason they left are just spreading lies and trying to find a reason for their own failure."

 

I absolutely disagree with this as it relates to the demise of the WDA.

How come? The demise of WDA shouldn't have affected training in any way shape or form.

It might've affected trialing as there has been confusion over the past few months about judges and events still being held, but if the title is all that matters, a trial within driving distance was probably available from one of the other organizations.

The national organization did not have an impact on training or trialing but did on placements at conformation shows. At NASS in 2012, the rules for entrants into the kennel group were suddenly reinterpreted at the last minute specifically to exclude one of the two largest kennels in the country. Not only had the organization accepted their entries months prior to the show, they were actually in the ring when the decision was made and were excused. I was there and it was at that moment that I (and many others) made the decision not to renew our memberships and the death spiral for the organization began. It was directly attributable to Dan Yee and his cronies.