RubyTuesday Question

[W.Oliver]

Originally Posted by RubyTuesday

Wayne, whether in this thread or another I'd be interested to read more about what you learned. I'd also be interested in getting further info on the dogs, exactly why they were amazing, why they're not your cuppa etc.

The experience was the SDA Decoy seminar near Ocala Florida. One day in a classroom setting, and two days of working our backsides off catching dogs...just jamming knowledge in your head like stuffing a 25lb sack with 50lbs of suit work.

The point from whence the learning came.....senior SDA Decoys are nothing short of amazing in their skills to perform suit work.

As for the learning itself, it was comprehensive, and the most significant thing was the combination of dogs availble to work the decoys over. There were SDA dogs that worked center mass, sleeve, and back....French Ring dogs that worked legs, KNPV dogs that work bicep/tricep...primarily Mals, Dutchies, MalxDutch, with a few GSDs. Land Sharks, just real dogs, not sport dogs.

So it was an excellent opportunity to leave Michigan and go to Florida, and get some awesome exposure to suit work.

Having said that, my cup of tea is a GSD of solid nerve. A dog that tracks with confidence, and excels in obedience, while fierce in protection on both sleeve and suit. A dog I can take from the training field and swing by the nursing home to visit my mother-in-law, where every silver hair in a wheel chair can pet and hug as we calmly walk through for a visit. When we do get home, this dog has to endure wearing a bonnet and scarf while sitting patiently at a small table in front of a tiny ceramic tea set with teddy in the chair to the left and my four year old daughter to the right. In between all that I've described, this GSD is at my side, sleeping in my bed, part of my family and the guardian of our home.



I respect the laser focus of what a KNPV type of dog is, but in my life, I need something less specialized and more rounded.



Somewhere there is a link to a video of me getting knocked flat on my a$$ during the leg bite training. I took seven leg bites, and the one where I get creamed is what makes the highlights of course!

[RubyTuesday]

Wayne, thanks. I'm indifferent to SchH & PP but I can tell that I'd love your dog. That image of your daughter's tea party is priceless. I hope you have pix. My daughter yrs ago had a Toy Poodle that she dressed in her doll clothes & whose toenails she painted. She'd proudly insist that although he was a Toy Poodle it shouldn't be held against him b/c he was a terrible example of the breed & didn't have a Poodle cut. (Poodles are actually great dogs forced to wear ghastly hairdos. Everyone judges 'em by those ridiculous cuts. Judge the OWNERS not the dogs for the frumpery they're sadddled with. Sheeesh)

I saw your 'battle wounds' in the other thread. I'm curious...When that happens are the dogs subjected to rabies quarantine. Supposedly in Iowa any dog that breaks skin for any reason is to be quarantined for 10 days or 2 wks (I can't remember which) b/c it's a 'public health issue'. This is true even if the dog is current on the rabies vax. (IF it's not current the quarantine can't be done at home). I think laws in many, perhaps most, locales are similar.

I originally wondered b/c of the many bites Cesar Milan takes. I can't see owners being happy if their dog suddenly has a bite history & is ordered quarantined.

In Iowa, by law, people are required to report any bite that break skin regardless of how/why it happened or how minor it is. This is true even if the dog nipped the owner taking a treat to vigorously or b/c the owner did something that caused the dog pain, ie moving an injured dog.

Compliance, as you can probably guess, is poor. An ACO actually told me that she rarely reported nips or minor bites, nor did the other ACO that she knew, b/c establishing a bite history is such a huge & ugly risk for dogs. She also said that in her 20+yrs with AC she'd never seen a case of rabies in a pet dog in the county.

[Vinnie]

Originally Posted by RubyTuesday

In Iowa, by law, people are required to report any bite that break skin regardless of how/why it happened or how minor it is. This is true even if the dog nipped the owner taking a treat to vigorously or b/c the owner did something that caused the dog pain, ie moving an injured dog.

Seems a tad bit extreme IMO. If people did this, every dog owner would be reporting their dogs.

Just in case we should probably keep an eye on Wayne here. Watch for a change in behavior, chewing at the site of the bite, is he becoming vicious, foaming at the mouth? (Forgive me, I couldn't help but toss this in.)

[RubyTuesday]

It's extreme & unnecessary. It's very bad & very stupid law. Even the ACO don't abide by it. But can those in public venues, such as a tv show or sporting event, ignore it? I *think* the quarantine law is similar in many locales. Ironically, the quarantine law is due to outdated public health concerns, but the accompanying 'bite history' is a bad thing for a dog to acquire regardless of how innocuous the bite was.

I'm just curious. It's a law I definitely don't want to see enforced more than it is.

[SandiR2]

Wayne,

Nice post, but... you know the picture we *really* need is one of the tea party and the bonnet!

[Doc]

Wayne, did that dog bite you when you tried to steal his bonnet???? Tell the truth now ... And what exactly did learn in FL? Some dogs are more focused? Some seem to bred to attack? Could you tell the difference between natural ability in a dog and one that has been trained? Any correlation between size and hits. Did gender make a difference?

You better be careful, after age 40, everything goes down hill. I should know ...

[Liesje]

I bet Wayne can *feel* the difference between training and natural ability (assuming you mean fight drive).

Very cool, Wayne. Now I know who to call when I need to work my dog on a suit.