Your ideal breed test

[Betty]

I think we have all heard the complaints about IPO as a breed test and the statement that with it's faults it's the only thing we have.


So what would your ideal breed test be? Use your imagination!

I'll start...

I've "read" about the following one and heard that is was part of the old Czech testing. I have no idea if that is true or not but it appeals to me.

Handler and dog are walking down unfamiliar road when someone runs out of the woods and attacks or aggresses towards the handler, and then escapes back in the woods. Dog is released to track the bad guy down and hold him.

I'm shaky on the details but to me a test like this would test the dogs protective instinct, nerve, and tracking ability.

What's everyone else think?

[martemchik]

I don't mind the IPO test, as little as I know about it (I've seen a little work but mostly just reading about it). I just wish the training was more available and more popular. To me the problem isn't the test, but the fact that its not accepted by more people. The more we get people to accept that a GSD should be tested (titled) the more likely Schutzhund will grow into more populated and reachable areas. Right now I'd have to drive a minimum of an hour to reach a training place.

[Betty]

That is one of the problems that a lot of people have with IPO, so many would consider an hour an easy drive.....

I am not disrespecting schutzhund at all, I've enjoyed training in it. Some people feel that it has evolved more into a sport then a true breeding test.

Just thought it would be nice to get some discussion going!

[Liesje]

I don't mind the IPO stuff when trained and done right, but I also like a lot of the SDA exercises. In obedience I'd like more agility type stuff (not the sport agility, but exercises that test the dog's physical abilities), stuff you have to actually train for not things that are just a given for any reasonably healthy dog. In SDA protection I like that there are exercises that DO NOT include any bites and yet the dog MUST engage until the handler recalls and I like the greeting and re-greeting for control. In general I like how the SDA exercises showcase the dog turning on and turning off.

[Betty]

I like a lot of the Protection exercises in SDA also. We have some very strong SDA decoys in the area that really do test the dogs.

I had never thought about some of the agility exercises for testing health and endurance. Anything come into mind?

[Lauri & The Gang]

There should also be some way to test the dogs stability.

For example, have the bad guy jump out of the woods and rush the dog and handler, then run away. Right after that have a group of young children come around a corner and the dog & handler must walk through the group.

I want to see that the dogs knows when to turn on and off and CAN turn off after being turned 'on'.

[Betty]

Hmmmm, that's a thought.

[Fast]

All of the things mentioned above are already part of the SV breed test. They are just poorly executed and useless in the majority of cases. An attack out of the woods and attack out of the blind are pretty much the same thing and both can be trained for and judged at such a low level that the test becomes useless.

The problem with the test that is used now is the execution and interpretation, not the rules.

[Liesje]

The things I mentioned are part of SchH/IPO? What am I missing? I've never seen the greeting and re-greeting outside of SDA, though I'm not that familiar with PSA or ring. Also as I said I like to see the dog tested *without* the security of biting. There are multiple bites in every level of SchH/IPO.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by Betty

I had never thought about some of the agility exercises for testing health and endurance. Anything come into mind?

I'd like to see climbing and jumping higher and jumping farther. While as someone who does SchH, SDA (which has a jump sequence) and the sport of agility I definitely appreciate a clean jumping dog, at the same time I don't really get the practical or breed test application of a dog clearing 1meter. I'd be more impressed to see a dog go over 2meters but won't sit there and say he can't brush his rear foot or tail. Clearing a 1meter jump is purely training, if the dog is physically fit enough to do Schutzhund in general I do not see how this jump height actually challenges the physical abilities of the dog. Jumping that height is technique/training.