Wondering here in the frozen wasteland: So- how many of y'all have been hit YOURSELF with that very stick used in dog sport, which is both padded and a flexible rod inside? I have quite a few times-- and Evan I must say it's not an effective weapon on anything but small insects for doing actual damage and maybe a cat or small dog would be pained with it. I would rather get hit with "the stick" 10x than snapped with a wet towel once if that says anything about the physical pain effects of it! Ask any children who grew up in a dog sporting home- we all sword fought with the batons! LOL The stick is about intimidation and pressure under both threat and contact, not that the dog will bite despite being placed in pain. Many dogs will grip with the stick waving but will let loose of the helper when the contact is made- plus the sticks make quite a whap! noise when they are struck which will make some dogs loose their nerve- just because contact is made. Doesn't always so much matter if the contact is a butterfly kiss or thrown off a cliff, just the pressure of contact makes them break. I surely see the anger & sadness & loss people in dog sports feel about this decision, which sadly is just another manifestation of political correctness spilling over into our dog community, never mind if it's a disservice to dogs as a whole or not, but that people think it's mean to hit someone else with a stick- maybe if it were another person and maybe if it were a real stick or even something that could hurt (let's say even a bruise-- which a baton won't do without EFFORT I know) someone then maybe I could agree with the decision. We as protectors of the GSD have worked so hard to improve upon temperaments and to keep those good ones strong throughout the generations. What does one think will happen, when most of the world's GSDs no longer have their time-honored and proven method of evaluating their dogs' temperament/work ethic/etc that they are all stuck with the "new PCer version" of IPO? To me it's like taking the gunshot or the umbrella or the scary guy at the end of our TC... While the rest of the test has it's uses, to take out the "scary" parts of the TC to make it easier to pass and easier to watch (which I'm sure is part of why this rule is coming to be- the spectators who know no better) would leave us not necessarily knowing if any dog would crack when pressured like that unless we had the people, equipment and environment where we were able to do those portions on our own... But then what would be the point of doing the TC then if we had to go off on our own to do the "hard parts"?? Jen P & the Pack who think it's a shame that decisions such as these are made despite the protests from those within the sport and who it really hurts over the long haul JayDee's Proud-Haus Shepherds/Proud K911 www.jaydeesphs.com Committed to the Total Dog you can be Proud of!!! AKC Breeder of Merit > On Feb 7, 2014, at 13:13, ELG440@xxxxxxx wrote: > > I do not do schutzhund work, not do I ever intend to. > > I can't believe making a dog used to getting hit by a stick is a good > thing. I know, we train them to find bombs and get blown up, but I don't like > > that either. I don't like having dolphins carry explosives either. > > To me, it is smart not to want to get hit by anything, and I never felt the > need to put my will on my dog, to get him to do something I want, and not > what is reasonable for any animal. > > I do understand that is my personal opinion, and I may be wrong. But, I > will never desensitize my dog from being hit. Tedi tried that for years with > me, and I never got used to it. > > I was going to say I tried that for years on Tedi, but decided the way I > said it above is going to cause me enough grief. > > Not that there is anything wrong with that. > > Evan > > > In a message dated 2/7/2014 10:39:24 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, > jokaysedona@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: > As > the puppy progresses, we make them immune to the pain of the "tick hits". > The pain becomes minimal to them (because they have become desensitized > since puppies) but the motion of the stick is still intimidating. > > > ===========================================================================> > POST is Copyrighted 2014. All material remains the property of the original > author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any > kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the > Showgsd-l Management. 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NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION: http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================