How Long did it take you to Title your Dog?

[Konotashi]

I was wondering how long it took you guys to title your dogs, particularly in SchH. I was reading the rules and it says you can enter your dog in for a SchH3 title at 20 months of age if they have SchH1 and 2 titles. Is it common for dogs under two to get a SchH 3? Or even a SchH 1 or 2?
Also, what line(s) is/are the dog(s) you titled? Working line, showline....

[onyx'girl]

I haven't yet titled my dog and he will be 3 in March. He is working line WG/Czech. We do have a BH.
To me it isn't about how quickly you title, but the foundation and proper training to get to those titles.
I know of a dog on this board that was barely 2 and already a ScH3! Sent off for titles so he could be studded. He is ooh'd and aah'd over because of his looks(SL)and has already sired litters and only 2 yrs old.
I heard thru the grapevine that his bitework lacks big time. Titles should take time and the dog needs to mature before pressure(mental) is applied if you are doing it right. Once you get a one, then a two and three following quickly is ok, but the dog should be ready for a 3 when they do the one. It will show in future trials whether the foundation was strong or rushed. I'd rather have my dog look confident and powerful every time out.
But I think the ones that rush thru to title are not really into trialing and training, just want to be done with it for breeding purposes.

[lhczth]

Nike had her 1 before she was 2. I used to train with a woman that had the 3 on her bitch just after she turned 2. For the most part I don't like pushing the dogs. Boys usually take longer. For the girls 2.5-3.5 is reasonable. The boys 3-4 is more probable. Show dogs are often pushed to get them titled earlier for the show ring and for breeding.

[Liesje]

Nikon (WGSL) got his BH when he was 22 months and his SchH1 just over 3 years old. He could have done that 6 months earlier or even a year earlier but we had other things that effected how much time I could train and prepare enough for a trial. He did do his SDA T1-FO-PA when he was 26 months (sort of the SDA equivalent to SchH1).

Pan (working lines) will do his BH in the spring, he was two weeks too young to enter our trial and I don't have vacation days left to travel to a Dec trial down south. He is ready for a BH but will not be ready for the SchH1 for a while since I haven't even started a retrieve and probably won't until summer or next fall.

I don't think "common" really matters. It is a combination of the maturity of the dog and handler, the ability to train and prepare for a trial, the lines of the dog, the goals for the dog. I know with females it's trickier because of heat cycles and breeding.

[GatorDog]

Aiden trialed for his BH as exactly 15 months (the youngest age to enter). He is now 29 months old and won't be trialing for his SchH1 until the spring or fall. He's actually half WGSL and half working lines, so its been a battle balancing out his drive with his urge to just look pretty Now that he's about 2 1/2 years old, he's strating to mature more (mentally) so its getting easier for us.

I agree with what Liesje said about each individual dog/handlers level of maturity. It all depends on that.

Forgot to say that he started training at around 6 months or so.

[Konotashi]

Okay. I was just curious. I knew it wasn't the quickest process, since it's a 3 part sport, but I wanted to know from some of you guys so that if it took me 3 years to get a SchH title on my future GSD, I wouldn't get discouraged.

[Castlemaid]

Originally Posted by Konotashi

Okay. I was just curious. I knew it wasn't the quickest process, since it's a 3 part sport, but I wanted to know from some of you guys so that if it took me 3 years to get a SchH title on my future GSD, I wouldn't get discouraged.

LOL no, that is a very reasonable time-frame. I've been training for five years and I have yet to get a SchH/IPO title.

Jane is right on the money, not something you want to rush. I got Gryff's BH when he was 15 months too, and looks like he will be trialing for his IPO I next September, he will be 3 1/2 years old. I'm eager to get some more letters by his name, but really I'm in no big rush.

[Emoore]

I always kind of worry about these breeders who brag on their website that their dogs "Achieved SchHIII by 20 months of age!" Especially when it's every dog.

[GatorDog]

My boy gets really insecure if I try and rush him into anything, so we just take our time I know he'll get there some day but I've got no reason to hurry.

[phgsd]

Kessy was a year and a half for her Schh1. We did a BH and OB1 after a year, but the other 2 phases weren't ready yet.
Her HGH took 2 years - we were ready before that, maybe after after a year and a half, but the only trials are in October so we had to wait.