Today I’m going to offer a short but important basic obedience tip. When heeling with your German shepherd Dog or puppy start off with your left foot. This may be awkward especially for right handed people because most of us will start walking with our dominant side, but with a little practice it will become natural.Starting off with your left foot provides a visual clue to your German Shepherd Dog to start heeling with you. Also, if you have proper leash placement by starting with your left foot the leash should be engaged by your left knee or thigh coming forwards, thus giving a physical cue to your shepherd to begin heeling when the engaged leash pulls them slightly forwards.The other advantage of starting to with your left foot is while your dog or puppy is in the heeling position and in a sit-stay you can move out of the heeling position by starting with your right foot and not trigger your German to move out of the sit-stay position.This is useful for moving in front of your dog to begin a different training exercise such as ‘stay’ followed by the come command.
German Shepherd Dogs in Heeling Position While on a Sit-Stay Command
German Shepherd Dogs Heeling at Keystone German Shepherd Training Class
Remember even if you only have 5 minutes a day to practice obedience training with your German Shepherd Dog or puppy, go ahead and utilize those 5 minutes because overtime it will pay off with great benefits for you and your German shepherd.
We are close to starting our show season for 2014. We are very excited about the judges and shows through April 2014. We will be choosing shows past April as the judge panels are posted on Onofrio.com. We have several shows planned and everything has lined up well for us in regard to quality judges and show locations. Our training has started and we should finish three dogs to their Championship and complete the Grand Championship on two dogs this year, and if we do really well four or five dogs will finish.Our first show for 2014 is Saturday only in Wichita Falls, Texas on March 1, 2014.The following week will be going to Columbia, MO showing both Saturday and Sunday on March 8 and 9, 2014.
I learned a lesson last year about posting the show that we are going to be competing before the shows close. Apparently, we had some professional handler(s) that will go unnamed track my postings to enter shows where we had built majors and then showing up with one or two extremely competitive dogs.While we do not shy away from competition under some of the judges that we showed under last year strongly leaned towards professional handlers rather than owner handlers such as myself especially when the dogs are close.This proved to cost us some major wins in 2013, which was frustrating when we had gone to the expense and work to build the majors.Therefore, I will now only discuss shows publicly after the entries have closed.If you are showing a Heidelberg German Shepherd with us please call me to find out what shows we are planning on going to this year.
We have three dogs that are close to finishing and will likely complete their Championship this year.The First with nine points and one major is Heidelberg’s Kaito v Carlief (Toby), with seven points and one major is Heidelberg’s Brandi Chariman (Kailey), and with eleven with and one major Heidelberg’s Diesel v Oklahoman.Champion Heidelberg’s Kelsey Queirdad has 33 points and four majors and only needs to defeat two champions to win her Grand Championship.Also, Champion Zeke v Gennnyh (Kolby) needs only seven more points to complete his Grand Championship.
Heidelberg’s Kaito v Calief (Toby)
Heidelberg’s Ekko Quinnd
Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman
Heidelberg’s Patriot v Atlantan
Heidelberg’s Jude v Renac
Heidelberg’s Brandi Chariman
Champion Heidelberg’s Kelsey Queridad
Champion Heidelberg’s Zeke v Gennyh
Also in contention for this year is Heidelberg’s Patriot v Atlantan, Heidelberg’s Ekko Quinnd with one point, Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman with three points, and Heidelberg’s Jude v Renac with one point.
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
We have a started a new series of Basic Obedience Classes at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels taught primarily by Dean Heckathorn.Our Class takes place on Saturday morning at 10:30 am and runs about an hour. The class location is at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels located in Mannford, Oklahoma by Keystone Lake.The only requirements and cost for the class is a dog of any age and breed and a good attitude.
Obedience and Canine Good Citizen Class at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels
I am a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the American Kennel Club and; therefore, my obedience classes focus on socialization of our students to strange dogs and people.After attending my classes for 4 to 5 times with a lot of work at home most of our students should be able to pass the Canine Good Citizen test and earn their Canine Good Citizen Certificates, which is the first step towards becoming a Therapy or Service Dog.
Obedience and Canine Good Citizen Class at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels
Please come out attend one of classes. If you plan on coming for the first time please call me at (918) 261-4729 to get you signed up.
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
We at Keystone German Shepherds love to go on hikes in the woods and after 15 years of living in Northeastern Oklahoma, we actually purchased a book on ‘Hiking Places in Oklahoma’ and discovered a wooded 6 mile hiking loop within 5 miles of us on Keystone Lake.Patty and I took GCH. CH. Kodi on the hike yesterday.We all had a blast; although, we were not sure where on the trail we were all the time because there are many loops and intersections that were not well marked and I left the map at home.
A picture of the Hiking Trail That We Walked With Our German Shepherd Dogs
What a resource for us to exercise and enjoy our German Shepherd Dogs and to lose weight and get in shape.This trail is rugged and requires coordination and strength to avoid the rugged rocks that splatter the trail.We were sore and exhausted after hiking for two hours, but we are going back today. Today we will probably take Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman and Heidelberg’s Patriot v Atlantan.
Another Picture of the Rugged Trail We Hiked With Our German Shepherd Dogs
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
What We Did After Our Hike With Our German Shepherd Dogs
It is the end of November in Northeastern Oklahoma, and it is time again to pull our dog houses out of storage and place them in the kennels.After the 15th of November, we often get cold snaps in Oklahoma, which can include several days of freezing rain or even snow.Our Heidelberg shepherds are well equipped to deal with the cold with their correct plush double-coats.Likewise if your shepherd has a correct coat and no health problems, you will probably notice that when you crank up the heater they well probably ask to go outside more often than normal. This is because they have their winter coats on and cannot remove them as we remove our jackets upon entering the house.Fortunately for our shepherds that are inside, my wife and I run a little hot and we keep our thermostat down during winter months.
Heidelberg German Shepherds Enjoying a March Blizzard
We place straw in our dog houses in our kennels to provide warm insulation for our shepherds. In addition, their runs are covered to protect against rain and snow.We have found unless our shepherds are wet that they will not use their dog houses even in subzero temperatures.We often have observed that our shepherds prefer to sleep on the snow rather than their well-insulated dog houses.
Heidelberg German Shepherds Playing in a Winter Storm
Therefore, if they can stay dry and out of the wind and your German shepherd is healthy and correctly coated, they comfortably can withstand subfreezing temperatures .Actually you may find that they prefer and are much more comfortable outside during the winter months than they areinside your cozy warm house.Remember to always provide fresh unfrozen water for your shepherd during the winter months because they will get dehydrated almost as quickly as they would in the summer.
Heidelberg Puppies Are Well Equipped to Be Comfortable in the Winter
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
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