On September 11 2007, brooksybrooks1 wrote:oops- i missed that part in the beginning. i'm worried that tre will react too soon, like when they are just dressed up shady, not when they are agitating. not at all worried about how he handles the agitation, but i hope the decoy runs off afterwards because tre won't let it be until he can either check it out or the threat is out of sight. he'll stop barking once it leaves, but he'll keep his eyes peeled. i'm nervous. i'm gonna have to take some peppermints for sure.
you really don't need to worry about that because when you fill out your application for the test they ask you if your dog is trained in schutzhund or other sports, and they take that into account when evaluating. so if the dog lights up at the stranger more than a "regular" dog might, that will be considered.
the stranger part happens fast, too. he comes out from his hiding spot, walks toward you, then rushes you, and then he goes back to hiding behind his blind or whatever they use. it's over so quickly you barely even have a chance to worry about what kind of response your dog will have.
another pit bull mix dog that was with us that day, paige, barked and lunged and kicked up the dust till the guy was gone, and she's not protection trained at all. she passed just fine, though. they actually want the dog to identify threatening behavior--your dog gets lower marks if it fails to respond at all, like doc.
