The Marysville Schutzhund Club, located in the beautiful town of Marysville, CA is predominately made up of individuals new to the sport of Schutzhund. Our September trial was host to SV Judge Wolfgang Böttger and for all but our club President, Thomas Sauerhöfer, it was our first time trialing a dog in a Schutzhund event. This was the largest event in the history of the club, with a showing of 11 dogs for the BH, 1 Schutzhund 2, 1 Schutzhund 3 and 7 Ads.
A combination of nerves and intermittent rain made for un-ideal conditions, but all of the dogs and handlers gave it their best. The positive side about the overcast and rainy weather was that it finally cooled off from the 100+ degree temperatures that affected us all summer.
Everyone from the club as well as family members and friends showed up to cheer on those of us showing dogs on both Saturday and Sunday. It was a great atmosphere with everyone watching performances, waiting for critiques, and cheering each other on as we passed. Knowing that we had the support of the entire club was comforting to each of us as we made our way onto the field.
Saturday morning started out with the SchH2 and SchH3 track. We were lucky enough to have clear weather the night before, so the freshly plowed dirt fields made for excellent tracking conditions. Both Schutzhund dogs belonged to Thomas and both dogs tracked well. Pike earned a 98 on his SchH2 track and Pasco earned a 94 on his SchH3 track. Right after Thomas finished the SchH 3 track with Pasco, a light rain began to fall. We were extremely happy that the rain held off until the tracking was completed.
We returned to the training field and waited for about an hour for the rain to subside before we began the BHs. Everyone in the club was nervous as Marje and her Rottweiler “Kiss” and Angela and her American Pit Bull Terrier “Dottie” walked onto the field. There was excruciating silence as they performed the BH and a painful wait as judge Böttger reviewed his notes before he gave his critique. All the club members huddled around the fence as Judge Böttger began his critique. Our club member Tina Hopper acted as translator for the judge, since he did not speak English. When she passed on the news that both Marje and Angela had passed, we all cheered and a since of relief passed over us. In succession, Lynn and her GSD “Hans” performed with Jennifer and her GSD “Phoebe”; Laurie and her GSD “Tango” with Tasha and her Belgian Malinois “Biko”; Angela and her American Pit Bull Terrier “Tank” with Thomas and “Dante”; and to finish up the BHs for the day, Laurie and her GSD “Pedro” with Tina and her GSD “Jesse”. After the obedience portion was completed we moved onto the traffic portion of the test. The training field sits right on Hwy 20, so we have plenty of traffic and distraction for the dogs during testing. The dogs all remained calm and relaxed and made it through the traffic test with no problems. That was 10 dogs for the BH on Saturday and all of them passed.
After the BHs were finished for the day, we took a break for lunch. All of the club members brought dishes to share and we had a huge lunch. We extended the lunch break for a couple of hours as the rain had started up again and we were hoping it would let up so that we could do the ADs. It remained overcast, but the rain let up enough that we headed out to one of the country roads that wind through the rice fields for the AD. With 7 dogs for the AD, we had a pretty big group of cars and people traveling down the road. The 12 miles was long and hard, for the riders, the dogs were all ready to go another 12. The cool weather definitely made the trek easier. We didn’t have any incidences and all of the dogs and riders completed the exercise. It was a great way to complete the day.
On Saturday night, the club took Judge Böttger to the Tack Room, a local restaurant known for their great steak dinners. We had a fantastic time, but headed home relatively early so that we could all get enough rest for Sunday. We still had a BH to finish up and the obedience and Protection for the SchH2 and SchH3.
Sunday morning started off with the last BH. Lana and her GSD “Amitty”. Jennifer and Phoebe headed back onto the field to act as the dummy dog and handler. After she completed the obedience, Judge Bötter had Lana and “Amitty” complete the traffic test. They passed as well. Everyone in the club was excited that each of had passed the BH. Hugs and congratulations were flying around all over the place.
We had to get refocused though, as Thomas still had to finish the Obedience and Protection for his SchH2 and SchH3. It was obvious that the dogs felt good in the cooler weather and they were pumped up and ready to go. Thomas and both dogs performed well in each of their obedience routines. With the completion of the obedience, the field was prepped for the Protection work. Our newest helper, Josh, who was certified during the previous Friday’s Helper Seminar and Certification, was a little nervous as he got ready to perform as a trial helper for the first time. Josh did his job as a helper well and Thomas handled both dogs with expertise. With Thomas completing the SchH2 and the SchH3 and earning both titles, we completed a very successful trial in which all of the dogs passed and earned titles. The success that we had with this trial, has each of excited for the future and we look forward to the next few years as we continue to work with our dogs and continue to trial.
Congratulations to each of the club members that showed a dog for the first time; Marje Yerkes, Lynn Ezzell, Angela Kovacs, Tina Hopper, Laurie Richardson, Lana Getz, Tasha Pluim, and Jennifer Kiehn.
Congratulations also go out to Thomas Sauerhöfer who successfully earned a BH, a SchH2, and a SchH3. He also deserves a huge Thank you from all of us in the club for all of his help and guidance in helping us to achieve our first in a long line of titles.
