Thursday, February 6, 2014

berger belge groenendael



All three of my Belgians handled as this dog does with this woman. The woman has the knack for their frenetic timing. They are fast and so is she. Mine were trained in basic obedience, the first level, but did not show. There would little point to that, so no cups or ribbons for my dogs. I was not interested in confirmation either. The whole thing was for fun and to have something she (they) can do reliably well and be praised up for and filled with k-9 happiness.They all crowded as this dog does. It's a trait. "Points off for you!" Fun to watch, but "Points off for crowding!" Judges are looking for points to knock off, not how much fun you are having with your dog. They miss the whole point us playing together. 

The video is showing a couple of dogs in their line, field work, tracking, rescue, agility, goofing around, seeking, goofing around, companion, basic obedience, tight heeling, goofing around, cups and ribbon, goofing around, herding and protection and goofing around and babysitting, least favorite because they cause separation - stays both sitting and down, and my favorite of all, perfect recall like an achingly long anticipated reunion. Followed by joy and glee.

They train on grass because their "down" commands are so fierce and fast they tend to damage their little elbows.

Poetry in motion.

5 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

They miss the whole point us playing together.

All the best eugenicists have a sense of humor.

We have a purebred dog and purebred cats. The dog breeder was a very nice older lady -- kind of angelic and earthy at the same time. Her husband was a veterinarian but he passed away. Her big house on the edge of the woods was full of dogs but there were still plenty more running about and playing outside.

The cat breeder's smallish house was full of cats and it stank like piss. He and his wife were genuine recluse weirdos. I think he might have been dying of some horrible disease, judging from his appearance and his avarice, but that was none of my business.

Aridog said...

Of course I love this post...Dogs! Along with my German Shepherds, I adore Dobermans and all of the Belgian herding & protection breeds: Laekenois, Malinois, Tervuren, and Groenendael. All Belgians are high energy dogs who exemplify "fun"...and contrary to what some folks think, in Schutzhund protection work, German Shepherds and Belgians "think" the bite work is "fun"...not an angry exercise, although those advanced trained for police work appear angry...it is high adrenalin excitement you are seeing...only if threatened does it become "anger" per se.

AKC doesn't recognize all the Belgian breeds...because AKC is stupid and all about money and trinkets, and very little about fun.

The video of the German Shepherd chasing and playing with the Groenendael reminds me of the hours and hours Ari & Dera would chase and play in our yard in precisely the same way. And it is play...see the tails, they're below the top line and no hackles are raised. They are having a ball...and the Belgian knows he/she can outrun the GSD.

Amartel said...

I'm partial to the German Shepherds because I grew up with them but his Belgian cousin is lovely, too. (The Belgian had a head start. JUST SAYIN.)

deborah said...

Yet another facet to the mysterious Chip :) I had no idea you trained your dogs.

Cute story I read by a man who did sheepdog trials, border collies, I think.

They were in the middle of a trial and the dog was making a maneuver that the man didn't agree with, so he motioned the dog to go the other way, or something. Well, they didn't win the trial because the dog was right and he was wrong, and on the drive home the dog refused to look at him.

MamaM said...

JUST SAYIN?? The German Shepherd was cutting corners and still couldn't catch up! Delightful to see this pair in motion.