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Genetics and sports

2K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  girardid 
#1 ·
What do you guys think about a dogs Genetics and the sports they may excel at or even enjoy . I ask because of Apollo. We went to an agility class tonight and he could have cared less about anything that was going on there. His current pedigree shows little activity until you get past the third generation then its full of SCH, IPO type titled dogs. So do genes like that usually relate to agility type sports or no. I know that he does like obedience and when doing obedience we'll stop to play after he holds his stay or does a long distance down. And I can see that he would be very easy to take to biting a sleeve. Since I have been wearing a coat while training outside he can't help but try and bite my sleeves while playing. So how deeply ingrained in a dog is his Genetics when it comes to actions and subliminal actions.
 
#5 ·
Not sure the age of you dog...but mine love to jump, climb and surfaces are never an issue. I think it is due to the breeders not just breeding for one sport in mind but a versatile dog that can do anything. The puppy raising is geared towards versatility. Though, the dogs have Schutzhund titles in the pedigrees on both sides. The GSD should be able to do anything asked, herding, IPO and other types of sport, Agility or competitive obedience including tracking. SAR included. Introducing scent when pups are just hours old can also help in scent discrimination.
If the dog is conformationally sound, doing agility should be a given with this breed.
 
#7 ·
Apollo is 6 1/2 months old. I'm sure if I push it he will do it and be decent at it. He just wasn't fired up about it at all. He just went through the motions. I'm just wondering if Genetics or just a dogs preference has more to do with it.
 
#6 ·
I saw a cool video of an American show line german shepherd doing personal protection work. And I'm not talking about IPO, I'm talking about actual scenario situations like having a perp attack the handler and see how the dog reacts. Was very interesting and eye-opening to say the least. I'm one of those people who thinks that genetics are 95% of it and 5% is training. Well after seeing the video I may think genetics is 85% of it and 15% is training. :)
 
#23 ·
I think you are right to a certain extent genetics is 90% of it when it come to the potential of the dog to do protection work. A dog must have all the component there to make a good ppd but will not be effective with out training. My pup and I trained in PSA if you want to look it up it is arguably much more "real" then IPO with out training every dog on the field would fail.

Training is what molds the dog to be able to handle the work and no what to do. Through training you build habits and good practices whether thats barking biting or just being able to remain under control in a high stress, extremely stimulating situation.
 
#8 ·
six months is young for agility...as far as the jumps go, walking over can be boring.
I do not train in it to know the foundation training protocol for pups, but maybe Apollo is bored in the venue? Does he like surfaces, place command or go to directionals? It can be fun if you are running back and forth calling him to do such exercises.
 
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#9 ·
My pup definitely seems to have inclinations. I did not really intend to compete him in obedience, sort of started teaching it to him as an afterthought since I was doing it with the girl. He just ate it up, practically taught himself to heel, and genuinely seems to enjoy going in the ring and showing off. The way he retains stuff and applies it amazes me. His dad was an OTCH.

The breeder's dogs have lots of titles in nosework and tracking, his parents both have titles in nosework and tracking. I noticed from when he was young he uses his nose differently than my other dog. I saw him naturally tracking footstep to footstep for fun. I started tracking with him without being able to use food and fairly quickly he caught on and seems to have a real joy and desire just to track. He recently certified to take the AKC tracking dog test and the judge called him an excellent tracker.

These are things I didn't get him for and wasn't planning on I just saw the potential so I ran with it. I do think he is predisposed to be good at certain things because of his breeding
 
#11 ·
No I felt fine. He stepped over the jump bars. He went through the tunnel, he just was never excited. I'm gonna take him back a few more times and since I'm gonna be building jumps out of pvc for Rosko I'll work with him at home also. Maybe he'll learn to get excited. Maybe it isn't his thing. I was just thinking about what makes dogs tick. Environment, or are they more genetically predisposed to certain events.
 
#13 ·
#14 · (Edited)
Good question. All of mine are good with obedience(they have all had 3-5 classes each and have CGCs) and when they were younger I took them places like the park to climb on the equipment or hiking to climb and jump over logs,etc. it was all fun stuff but got them use to all kinds of surfaces and stuff. All of them are strong swimmers too. They all have good noses. As far as energy, Apollo is super high energy, Midnite is high energy, Robyn is med-high energy. Prey drive? Midnite has the highest prey drive, with Apollo right behind him, and Robyn right behind both.

My observation...

Robyn loves agility and did well(hip dysplasia has slowed that down/havent find it in a while). Robyn loves the sleeve. She sees that come out and she gets super excited. She is very strong in obedience and woukd do well in rally also.

Midnite finds agility boring(he will do it, but not with lots of excitement))He does not want anything to do with the sleeve. He enjoys dock diving and working his nose. He would be great at nosework(still trying to find classes that fit my schedule), tracking, and herding. He likes to be moving.

Apollo likes pretty much everything. He will do everything and gets excited about it. Apollo has a super strong nose, he would also do well in nosework. He is strong on the sleeve, loves diving in the water, great at agility and woukd excel in herding.

I try to do all different things with all of them, that way I can see what they enjoy and do well in. Robyn is the only one that I've taken to get evaluated for bite work, but it's the only sport that I would most likely not do. We just work on the sleeve at home occasionally.

They all have different backgrounds, different energy and prey levels and in some cases stronger tendencies for some sports then others. They will do everything and try different things, I just watch and see what they seem to enjoy and go with it.
 
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#15 · (Edited)
I agree do agree with starting a foundation at home with the agility equipment. If you can build much of the agility equipment it will be less expensive and well made. The really good agilty equipment is incredibly expensive but well made. My husband made our cat walk I'm still needing to paint it still white-lol. We bought out teeter for a reasonable price and the base already broke and only had it for two years. Our 7 year old chihuahua also loves agilty we do it for fun. When max was a young pup the challenge was control as he had to be taught there was much more to running, climbing and jumping over , in and on things crazily and blindly one of his favorite things to do but following instruction while doing it. I use a ball as a reward. If your Appollo loves to jump and run and I have no doubt he does -he will get the agility fever pretty quickly- best to start at home.
 
#16 ·
You know I purchased all the agility equipment like 3 yrs ago and still haven't put it all up. I got a couple jumps outside, but the A-frame, teeter, dog walk are still in the boxes. I swear this is on my list for summer.
 
#18 ·
Maybe I just need to give Apollo time to mature a little. At 6 1/2 months he's still very much into his early puppy stage. Both Athena and Rosko were more mature at that age. Think I'll keep doing obedience with him since he really enjoys that. Focus on Rosko and flyball and Athena and her nosework. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they were all doing the same thing. But then I would have to switch over to SCH/ IPO. But I really want to give Athena a chance at search and rescue.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Take Apollo to the park and hiking. Let him climb on the equipment, lef him have fun. We got snow here, so parks are pretty empty, no kids. My Apollo loves going to the park climbing on stuff. Same thing with hiking. Climbing on trees, logs, etc. Thus is all fun for them. You can incorporate obedience and agility in there without it seeming boring.


Right before he jumped right on
 
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#19 ·
Interesting question. I'm not sure what titles other than conformation are on any of my dog's American show line ancestors. I know her parents don't have any performance titles. The German show line dogs in her pedigree have IPO titles (mostly SchH3, some SchH12, one SchH1, when I went back 5 generations). Some of them have "FH" in their names as well - tracking? Her maternal great grandmother has quite a few dogs with FH titles in her pedigree.

Actually, that would make some sense. My dog would live with her nose to the ground if allowed, and so far she's done very well with Nosework. We aren't trialing yet, but she passed her ORT in no time flat. I haven't tried her with AKC tracking but may in the future.
 
#21 ·
You say he just wasn't excited..... were YOU excited?? ;)

Both of my boys have fun on agility equipment but not because they innately enjoy jumping on and over things... it's because I make it seem like the coolest thing they've ever done and they're rewarded with toys, praise or food. Initially on / after each obstacle... then progress to at the end of a sequence.

Was it a group class? Were you able to observe the dogs that you felt were enjoying it...and identify any differences in your handling?

Just some things to think about! Maybe a mentor dog will help... to follow... if that fits into the class program.
 
#22 ·
Yeah I was kind of indifferent. I wanted him to like it but I also thought this was somewhat my wife could have been doing with the dog. But I feel I put on a pretty good front.
 
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