I recently did a demo at an elementary school with a couple of
my dogs. I've been thinking about getting more involved in
demos. Breed is something of a problem. My dogs are
Chesapeake Bay Retrievers--extremely smart and trainable,
but the wrong dog for many people. It would be a bad thing
for novice owners to see my trained dogs and conclude that
is the dog for them.

I got to thinking about choice of breed for a demo dog, and
what message one could convey by showing off a trained
example of that breed. A trained Pit Bull, for example, could
do a little to remedy the ill-informed fear and misunderstanding
of that breed. A good purebred, in general, could provide
an opportunity to mention the importance of selective
breeding for temperament and soundness.

Anybody have thoughts on choice of demo dog? For me
at this point this is mainly an interesting topic. I haven't got
a place for another dog, or the time to become versed in a
whole new breed, just now. But is there a breed that is
generally recommended as a pet, that shows off well? Are
there other breeds that could benefit public understanding by
being shown off as trained examples?

Amy Dahl

"montana wildhack" wrote in message
news:2006101208035516807-montana@wildhackcominvalid...
On 2006-10-12 07:55:36 -0400, Amy Dahl said:

But is there a breed that is
generally recommended as a pet, that shows off well? Are
there other breeds that could benefit public understanding by
being shown off as trained examples?

Amy Dahl

I would look to borrow somebody's extremely mixed shelter/rescue dog. Any
really recognizable breed is going to make people want that type of dog,
thinking that it's a "smart" breed.

This was my thought also.

In my area, one of the local dog clubs volunteers time at the shelter and
trains dogs there. And then takes them out into the community at various
events where they are able to discuss not only dog training but shelter
dogs.

Judy
Spenser - Carbor Talk of the Town, AX, OAJ, NAC. NJC, NGC, TN-N, TG-N
Sassy - Can CH Carbor Back Talk, OA, OAJ, NAC, NJC, TN-N

On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:55:36 GMT, Amy Dahl ,
clicked their heels and said:

I recently did a demo at an elementary school with a couple of
my dogs. I've been thinking about getting more involved in
demos. Breed is something of a problem.

A trained Pit Bull, for example, could
do a little to remedy the ill-informed fear and misunderstanding
of that breed. A good purebred, in general, could provide
an opportunity to mention the importance of selective
breeding for temperament and soundness.

Anybody have thoughts on choice of demo dog?

But is there a breed that is
generally recommended as a pet, that shows off well? Are
there other breeds that could benefit public understanding by
being shown off as trained examples?

I think the target audience is a key factor. For little kids, my dogs
have been great - Golden, Flat-coat, Lab mix. I have done programs
for adults in community centers and retirement homes and either large
and really gentle, or small and very playful seem to be hot tickets.
The hard audience is the HS crowd, particularly depending on what kind
of HS. I wished I had an APBT bitch for a "challenging" HS, where all
the girls wanted to know how many babies my [spayed] FCR bitch had and
the boys wanted dogs to be nasty. A sweet male APBT would have been
good for that particular location as well.

Portable would be nice for some of the places I've done presentations,
so the mid-60's#+ dogs are not ideal.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Amy Dahl" wrote in message
...

Are
there other breeds that could benefit public understanding by
being shown off as trained examples?

Actually, I would say a Mutt would be stellar for this.

Tara

TaraG wrote:

"Amy Dahl" wrote in message
...

Are
there other breeds that could benefit public understanding by
being shown off as trained examples?

Actually, I would say a Mutt would be stellar for this.

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. It is interesting
that so many people suggest a mutt, which would not be my
first choice. When I am working with a dog that is well-
bred for a particular kind of work, I know a lot at the outset
about its capabilities, and I know that I will be able to train
it to do things that will really wow people. With a dog of
unknown heritage, I could spend its whole life trying to find
something it is good at, not really knowing if there is anything.

A purebred could also support a couple of "messages" I'd be
interested in conveying, such as the advantage of getting a dog
from a breeder or rescue, who provide support and advice
throughout the dog's life. Also the desirability of letting
breeders produce talented dogs, and not shutting them down
with impossible regulations.

I can imagine a mutt could support the idea that "any dog can
benefit by training," but I am less confident that I could turn
one into a real, memorable, head-turner of a demo dog--or that
it would have the temperament and health to do the job for long.

Probably my original question could be better put. What
educational (or propaganda, if you prefer) message could
you convey with a particular kind of dog, and what kind of
dog would be effective in promoting that message?

For all you people who advocate mutts as demo dogs, what
messages would you promote with them?

Amy Dahl

"Amy Dahl" wrote in message:

When I am working with a dog that is well-
bred for a particular kind of work, I know a lot at the outset
about its capabilities, and I know that I will be able to train
it to do things that will really wow people.

You'd be really surprised by how little it takes to wow JQP. While my dogs
are reasonably well trained for pet dogs, they are by no means extensively
trick trained, and something as simple as a down-stay, in the right
circumstances (dog park, vet's office), extracts comments about how well
behaved they are, and how well they listen.

With a dog of
unknown heritage, I could spend its whole life trying to find
something it is good at, not really knowing if there is anything.

My personal inclinations lean towards enjoying challenges, and figuring out
what buttons to push is just part of the process for me. There are a few
breeds and mixes thereof that I could see as not being a good fit, but there
is a huge number that would work just fine.

A purebred could also support a couple of "messages" I'd be
interested in conveying, such as the advantage of getting a dog
from a breeder or rescue, who provide support and advice
throughout the dog's life. Also the desirability of letting
breeders produce talented dogs, and not shutting them down
with impossible regulations.

I don't see using a mutt as being incompatible with sending a message about
buying from a responsible breeder or rescue. There are usually stories
behind dogs that end up in shelters, and these could be used to bolster your
case.

I can imagine a mutt could support the idea that "any dog can
benefit by training," but I am less confident that I could turn
one into a real, memorable, head-turner of a demo dog--or that
it would have the temperament and health to do the job for long.

The health is a real gamble. Not much you can do about that with a mutt.
However, I remember some TV show about a couple that did shows at schools
and such with their motley crew of shelter dogs. They specifically
evaluated the dogs for desirable working traits, and placed the ones that
didn't pan out (but now with a ton of training under their belt) in
responsible homes.

For all you people who advocate mutts as demo dogs, what
messages would you promote with them?

For starters,

On responsible breeding, and how mutts, including the designer versions, are
not a result of that. And what price the dogs and their owners pay as a
result.

On the virtues of getting a shelter/rescue dog.

On how you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks.

On the desirability of choosing an older dog instead of a puppy (myths
abound about adult dogs in rescue).

Suja

Suja wrote:

For all you people who advocate mutts as demo dogs, what
messages would you promote with them?

For starters,

On responsible breeding, and how mutts, including the designer versions, are
not a result of that. And what price the dogs and their owners pay as a
result.

I wouldn't think a great-performing, gregarious mutt would make this point
really well. It's the same problem as a Chesapeake. People would
incorrectly conclude they can get one and it'll be automatically just
like mine.


On the virtues of getting a shelter/rescue dog.

Rescue, yes. But my understanding is that shelter placements
have an abysmally high failure rate, I remember hearing 61%.
Am I wrong? This was a few years ago.


On how you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks.

On the desirability of choosing an older dog instead of a puppy (myths
abound about adult dogs in rescue).


These are ideas I could happily promote.

If I really got into demos with mutts, I'd want to get several, and
show them doing really different stuff that I'd figured out they
were individually good at and liked to do. But that would be a
*real* project.

Amy Dahl

"Suja" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

You'd be really surprised by how little it takes to wow JQP.

That's a good segue into what I'm doing with Friday this coming
Sunday. It's another halftime show at the Calgary Stampeders vs
BC Lions CFL football game (heck of a rivalry and the last home
game of the season). We'll be doing an agility thingy,
basically a relay race between two teams, not really agility,
but fun to watch.

I've done a bunch of these things and we always make mistakes,
but the audience doesn't care because We're Running Dogs in a
Football Stadium!

35,000 people will get to see that dogs of all sorts can be
trained to do this kind of stuff.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Amy Dahl" wrote in message:

I wouldn't think a great-performing, gregarious mutt would make this point
really well.

It can, if it is a dog with a back story. As in, can you believe that
someone threw away this dog? Or this dog was discarded by someone who
couldn't meet its needs. Which would allow you to talk about what some dogs
need to remain sane. Or you could talk about how the dog would've never
been dumped had it come from a good breeder.

One of the best examples of what poor breeding can do to a dog is this
little Yorkie that comes to the dog park. She is a huge hit, adorable at
about 5 pounds, and loves, loves, loves her ball and would chase it all day
long if you let her. Unfortunately, she has luxating patellas, and her
activity has to be restricted because of it. Makes a good story for why you
shouldn't get dogs from crappy breeders.

It's the same problem as a Chesapeake. People would
incorrectly conclude they can get one and it'll be automatically just
like mine.

That would be a problem with using any purebred dog. People may assume that
theirs will be just like yours, even with no training.

Rescue, yes. But my understanding is that shelter placements
have an abysmally high failure rate, I remember hearing 61%.
Am I wrong? This was a few years ago.

Don't know, really. But fact remains that you can get perfectly good dogs
in shelters. The general point being that just because a dog wound up at
the shelter or in rescue does not mean that it is 'damaged goods'.

If I really got into demos with mutts, I'd want to get several, and
show them doing really different stuff that I'd figured out they
were individually good at and liked to do. But that would be a
*real* project.

I'm all for real projects.

Suja

"Suja" wrote in
news:jaRXg.2931$XX2.129@dukeread04:


"Amy Dahl" wrote in message:

It's the same problem as a Chesapeake. People would
incorrectly conclude they can get one and it'll be automatically just
like mine.

That would be a problem with using any purebred dog. People may
assume that theirs will be just like yours, even with no training.

That's the same problem with *any* trained dog. Sam-I-Am, who best
resembled a Kelpie on acid, often elicited the "I want a dog just like
yours" comment from strangers. People who knew us well were more likely to
comment on his neediness, his energy level, and that it's a good thing I'm
both dog-mad and childless because he was a very demanding dog in terms of
time and energy.