Interviews with VIT

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:42:00.001-04:00

Just a quick message to say Merry Christmas. I hope that you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones. If you are fortunate to be in their company celebrate, if not then hold the memories of wonderful times past, dearly in your heart.

This year was a good one for El Dorado Kennel, Akira and myself. Out A litter is doing very well, with some updates I will soon share. Also, Akira and I were fortunate to make the grade for Next year's bigger competitions - the Universal Sieger Show in Slovenia in June , and of course the WUSV in October in Austria. We hope to better our scores in a trial early in 2012.

Also, I am about to announce some more cool additions to our journey, and I am sure it will be as exciting for you as we continue on our journey in the Sport Dog World.

The German Shepherd Dog Reflections Book and DVD, will be published in 2012, and more exciting opportunities are opening up with possible televising in the US of some of the Interviews :

Merry Christmas to All

Glædelig Jul

Gajan Kristnaskon
Hyvää Joulua

Joyeux Noël

Froehliche Weihnachten

Kala Christouyenna

Mele Kalikimaka

Bada Din Mubarak Ho

Gledileg Jol

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Buon Natale

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Natale hilare

Linksmu Kaledu

Meri Kirihimete

God Jul

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Feliz Natal

Srozhdestovm Kristovim

Feliz Navidad

Maligayang Pasko

Suksun Wan Christmas

Nadolig Llawen

Veselé Vánoce a šťastný Nový rok!

Счастливого Рождества и Нового Года!

Vrolijk kerstfeest en een Gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Wesołych Świąt i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!

Καλά Χριστούγεννα και Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος!

Kellemes Karácsonyi Ünnepeket és Boldog Új Évet!

חג שמח ו שנה טובה

الزواج في عيد الميلاد ورأس السنة الميلادية

結婚聖誕節和新年快樂

Coaching from Ivan Balabanov

2011-09-16T14:22:00.001-04:00

Check out a little video I put together of me and Akira getting some coaching from Ivan Balabanov. For more on Ivan check out his training videos.

We had a great time and learned alot as always. Looking forward to great results in the upcoming trial.

Getting Closer to completion

2011-09-09T18:16:00.000-04:00

A little glimpse into some of the subjects of the Interviews. Getting closer to completion as I make my way to Europe on my last research trip before publishing the book and DVD entitled:
'German Shepherd Dog Refelctions' a compilation of Interviews with some of the most Legendary breeders in the Show Lines, Working Lines and Sport, Police and Herding as well. Looking forward to your feedback as this project is getting closer to completion.

Edelweiss-Universal Sieger Show in Austria

2011-06-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

Edelweiss is no longer reserved for the Sound of Music for those who remember, nor the Salzburg Festival
This year sees the inaugural event of a Universal Sieger Show in Austria. It will be a combination of the Conformation or anatomical assessments together with a score emanating from the Schutzhund 3 competition. Therefore it is a step to demonstrating the breed with as many facets of beauty as well as functionality, as seen thus far. Although we tried very hard to make it, Akira and I did not qualify. However this year Trinidad and Tobago will be represented by my close friend Christopher Seeyave of the German Shepherd Breed Club in Trinidad. He will be competing with 2 time WUSV competitor Glen vom Hexenkeller. Glen is a Tyson von der Schiffslache son and you can see his latest performance in international competition here:

Eric Wight (GB) with Glen vom Hexenkeller from IPO.nu on Vimeo.

We wish Christopher best of luck, and although I could not join him, I hope all his hard work pays off and that he gets a great score in the competition.

Remembering Joseph Donald Tackett

2011-05-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

Joseph Donald Tackett, 73, of Dayton passed away on Fri., May13, 2011 at Odyssey Hospice in Houston. Joe was preceded in death by his wife, Victoria Tackett in 2009. Joe was best known for his great training of German Shepherd's for over 60 years and a Master Judge for that breed. He was one of the early founders of the United States Schutzhund Club. He was the founder of the Good Shepherd German Shepherd Club of Dayton. Joe leaves behind his most trusted friends, Axel, Mercy, Ivan, Ariel, and Snowball; as well as many human friends. Please view, sign and share memories of Joe in his guestbook at www.sterlingfuneralhome.com Last Year Joe judged the Trial in Trinidad under the German Shepherd Breed Club and Akira was awarded her Schutzhund 2 title. Joe was knowledgeable and very gracious when imparting his experience. He will be missed.
		Joe Tacket with Allan Mitchell at my home as we marked the first time a Schutzhund Trial was conducted in Trinidad using 2 Local Helpers!!

Zwinger vom Patiala- long before the movie!!

2011-04-16T12:50:00.000-04:00

Ajay Singh with Fanto Lobdeburg

Long before the Hindi movie Patiala House, my friend and mentor in the German Shepherd World - Ajay Singh, had named his kennel- Zwinger vom Patiala.

The Kennel named for his home town in Punjab, India, before moving to the United States in 1985 has produced some notable dogs. But far more interesting to me than the individual dogs produced is the conceptual framework behind each litter.

As I mentioned, Ajay Singh is one of my mentors and you would be hard pressed to find a more lucid and in-depth analyst of the Working German Shepherd in the US. It was Ajay that recommended to me Fanto von der Lobdeburg as a stud dog after having used him as the sire of his O litter.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A Brief History of the kennel started with V Arek vom Bodenthal, SchH3, FH1, KKL1, OFA good hips, elbows clear.

He was a Troll von der Bosen Nachbarschaft son, and his mother, Ondra vom Haus Semm, was a daughter of V Jimmy vom Dalwigerholz. Arek was bred by Mr. Hilmar Schmidt, and Ajay imported Arek when he was about 10 weeks old. He raised and trained Arek from a puppy and was lucky to compete with him at the 1998 WUSV in Boston, MA, in addition to competing with him at a few other Schutzhund 3 National Championships. Arek was the Regional Schutzhund 1 champion, high in trail in Schutzhund 2, and competed at the German Shepherd Championship at 3 years of age. Arek was the sire of the A Litter vom Patiala!!

What a start! In all the interviews I have done, it is my finding that this is the way to truly know your breeding stock. You get the puppy and raise it and train it and title it. Then breed it and see what happens next. After careful consideration looking to what is available and sometimes in Ajay's case, what is not so available. For instance in the case of the latest N,O, P & Q litters, it meant Ajay having to travel with his female to Germany or importing the Sire to the US. But more on his latest stuff below!

Talka Marda Connection
Ajay's present Breeding and competition female is non other than Jilnanah vom Talka Marda, sister to Bundessieger and Universal Sieger Javir vom Talka Marda. She has produced the M through Q litters. She has competed with Ajay at USA Nationals and had tied for the highest scoring Protection.
Zwinger vom Patiala just recently had two success progeny stories (from Jilnanah vom Talka Marda)as Oona vom Patiala and Gregor Kaschinski got her Schutzhund 1 with 273 (91,91,91) in Germany, and Ronny Burmer and Nick vom Patiala got IPO3, with 85-82-94 at the AWDF championship. This was the second highest score with 95 being the highest ! You can see Nick's video here.

To be continued...............

Nela vom Patiala and Mac von der Kine

Nick's sister Nela was retained by Ajay and recently bred to his new stud dog Mac von der Kine. The N litter was sired by Elmar Mannes' dog Sid vom Haus Pixner ! What a combination! Of course we have to wait and see what the next success story will be from Zwinger vom Patiala.

I thought I would share a glimpse of my own friend's Patiala House as a shining example of the kennels outside of Germany that in my opinion are 'doing it right.' Careful attention to bloodlines, raising the pups to adulthood and competing with them. Making sure you place the pups in good hands. And really maintaining a standard of quality dogs right here in the US. Ajay remains a great source of information and advice for those in the GSD World and am happy to have friends like this in the sport.

3 Months later A litter El Dorado

2011-04-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

Anais, Arora, Anuschka, Aniela & Anastasia El Dorado, 3 months later. The girls got together today for a basic lesson in some training and it turned into a blast. We had all the owners and their pups there, except Anuschka, whom I trained earlier last week, and she is doing great. So far I can say they all have nice heads, bone and substance, and really nice temperaments. I kept Anais, and only time will tell if she will carry on her mother's good fortune in the sport of Schutzhund. Akira is currently in training to get qualified for the Universal Sieger Show in Austria in June this year ! So we are very busy and focused on some exciting stuff.

I know I have not been writing much, that's because I was busy with the launch of my new program for Police and Military K9 Handlers, with Bernhard Flinks which you can see more of here.

But you can see some of the action that happened today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Christmas Puppies

2010-12-16T20:48:00.001-04:00

After a long awaited repeat breeding with Fanto von der Lobdeburg I am happy to say an X-ray shows six healthy puppies!! And we expect them on Christmas day!

Akira in Miami Beach!

This was a busy year for Akira and I. But most recently Akira, was in Heide Germany and did the Schutzhund 3 Trial after being pregnant for one week. She scored 99 points in tracking there and then returned with me to Miami where she will have her puppies. Between the trials and the mating and finishing my Interviews project we were on the go for 8 weeks out of Trinidad and tried to achieve quite a bit. Here you can see Akira's outstanding tracking performance

The Male I chose for the breeding is non other than Fanto von der Lobdeburg. A really nicely conformed dog with a large head and good pigmentation. He displays good aggression and balance in his drives and I have seen some of his progeny that look quite promising.
Here you can see a video of him working in the LG-FCI Qualification.

I will keep you posted with pics and videos as soon as I can, but I want to take this opportunity to wish my followers, readers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ich wünsche allen Freunden, Bekannten und Hundesportkollegen ein frohes und besinnliches Weihnachtsfest und einen guten Start ins Neue Jahr.

Veselé Vánoce a šťastný Nový rok!

Joyeux Noël et une Bonne Nouvelle Année!

Счастливого Рождества и Нового Года!

Vrolijk kerstfeest en een Gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Buon Natale e un Felice Anno Nuovo!

Wesołych Świąt i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!

Καλά Χριστούγεννα και Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος!

Kellemes Karácsonyi Ünnepeket és Boldog Új Évet!

Linksmų Kalėdų ir Laimingų Naujųjų Metų!

חג שמח ו שנה טובה

الزواج في عيد الميلاد ورأس السنة الميلادية

結婚聖誕節和新年快樂

December kicks off with the T&T annual Sieger Show

2010-12-08T11:05:00.000-04:00

'Driving...........'

We were pleased to host Judge Norbert Wettlaufer from Germany for our annual Sieger Show under the German Shepherd Breed Club of Trinidad and Tobago. The show was sponsored by Royal Canin and was well attended by some of the country's premier breeders and their dogs. Mr. Wettlaufer was very pleased with the two local Decoys for their work in the Gebrauchshunde (Working Dog) class, speaking from a Judge's perspective as well as a competitor's.

Decoy Nicholas Elliot

He has been very successful in the German Sieger Show with several dogs that he bred including the latest Shirkan vom Schloß Rügland. He is also the youngest judge at this time in Germany and to my recollection, ever appointed. And even before the newly appointed SV executive, Mr. Wettlaufer was speaking in Trinidad about the expected wave of change and progress that we all can look forward to in 2011.

For the first time we saw the bitework portion of a Sieger Show being conducted in Trinidad and Tobago and so the Sieger and Siegerin were a more typical representation of Good anatomical conformation as well as sound temperament. This was a very progressive step for the local dog community. Also we saw in the Open female working class, only working line dogs, the most participation thus far in a conformation show.

The Sieger crowned was Ramiro vom Godinghofer weg and Siegerin Joy de Lupus Saevus

Proud Handler Prem Dulan, with the Siegerin Joy
Judge Norbert Wettlaufer &
Royal Canin local Rep- Christopher Seeyave

As the year draws to an end we certainly rounded it off with a memorable experience for handlers and spectators as well. Mr. Wettlaufer even conducted and show handling seminar the next day, to help educate members of the public as to the finer points of handling and presenting the most desirable picture of your dog in the Conformation ring. We look forward to a very exciting 2011 for the German Shepherd Dog in Trinidad and Tobago.

Bernhard Flinks' retired Police K9

2010-11-14T23:34:00.000-04:00

It was a serious compliment to have Bernhard Flinks ask me to do Protection with his retired Police Dog Fels von der Schiffslache ! So while I was in Heide, Germany, I had a chance to do it and I put this little video together. Fels is also part of our Instructional DVD for K9 Handlers and it was great to see a retired Police K9 that has not been trained in just over 1 year, demonstrate some of the actual training Bernhard included in our DVD. As they say the proof is in the pudding and Fels has numerous street arrests to his credit and the training and level of Instruction, has stood up to the real life street situations that he encountered.

Besides his street career, Fels did Schutzhund sport and also has a very interesting geneology. A grandson of Yoschy von der Doellenwiese with linebreeding on Fado von Karthargo. I thank Bernhard for the opportunity to work Fels and include him in my projects. Fels embodies the total German Shepherd Dog, able to be a family protector, aid to Law Enforcement as well as Sport companion.

Stuttgart, Fanto and Akira !

2010-10-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

A visit to Stuttgart just on the heels of the Stuttgart 21 demonstrations. Then off to neighbouring Kursterdingen to sit with Olliver and Claudi Menzel at their kennel to set up the mating with their wonderful stud dog Fanto von der Lobdeburg. Fanto offers a real alternative to the Fero and Mink bloodlines, so it is very intersting gentically. Also he was SG ( very good ) twice at the LGA. Check out the video here!

He is a nice large and strong male with really nice full, hard grips. Excellent hips and elbow ratings and very promising progeny.He also has a very nice temperament with a good amount of aggression.

So I will keep my fingers crossed that Akira has nice puppies from this pairing.

Claudia and Olliver are very focused on their breeding program to make sure they use some of the alternative bloodlines, and produce healthy dogs with the ability and drive for work and sport. It has been a great experience so far seeing first hand how they train and interact with their dogs.

I will be here in this city for a couple days and then back to Heide, via Frankfurt and Hamburg. Then back to training and preparations for next week !

Czech out the latest addition to the Project- Pohranicni Straze Kennel insight

2010-10-19T09:48:00.000-04:00

Firstly, I would like to say that to get to this particular Interview was an adventure in and of itself. It took almost 24 hours by train from Heide, where I am staying in Germany to the town of Mělník, in the Czech Republic. I got to visit Berlin first and then Prague on my way back to Germany.

At first, when I decided to do this project, I thought that to understand the German Shepherd and its breeding over the years you must first understand the people and the cultures that created and influenced the breed. I must thank Zdenek "Hans" Blabla from Alpine K-9 for helping me to set up this interview. Hans himself is very knowledgeable about the dogs from the Czech origin, as he was the original importer into America of them since 1965.

There in Mělník I was fortunate to sit with Jiri Novotny from Z Jirkova Dvora kennels. Jiri was for 21 years a Director at the Czech Border Patrol Kennels known as z Pohranicni Straze. His current breeding program is severely influenced by the system he practiced in those times as the kennel director. He also works closely with other breeders like Jiri from Jipo Me Kennels and together they preserve the style of dog that was used for Border Patrol, personal protection and Police and Military services.

Here you can see a little taste of my experience in the city and with Jiri, Czech it out!!

Combat Strategies for the K9 Handler- in post production

2010-09-24T13:47:00.001-04:00

The second Promo is out for the "Combat Strategies for the K9 Handler" DVD. Already we have received rave reviews and will be finishing post production elements in time to launch the DVD by mid November 2010.
The Program was designed for Law Enforcement, Military and Private Security K9 Handlers to better educate them on working with their dogs in a hostile environment. For Patrol, SWAT and Security dog handlers to have a better grasp on integrating their work with a support team and also being able to apply safe and reliable Control and Restraint techniques in a chaotic situation.

We made a good team-Bernhard Flinks and I

The Program was designed as a collaborated effort between myself and fellow Combatives Instructor Rondell Benjamin, and long time K9 Instructor Bernhard Flinks. It represents a merge of Combat Science as espoused by the critically acclaimed S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ and cutting edge Police K9 Instruction.

The S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ is a 'behaviorally' researched, close quarter personal defense method that utilizes the body's natural flinches and reactions to fear or violence and then converts these reactions into efficient tactical choices.

We are happy to have the support from our long time coach and Inventor of the S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ - Tony Blauer.

Already we have received interest for DVD's and seminars in Trinidad, Venezuela, Texas, and Hamburg. In fact I should have some promo copies when I meet my colleague Tobias Brodala later in October as he hosts me in Kiel, Germany for a Combatives seminar there.....

We'll keep you posted on this DVD when it becomes available.

Check out the latest Promo Here:

Germany - Here we come

2010-09-24T13:09:00.000-04:00

I will be in Germany with Akira in the month of October. We have decided to train some more with Bernhard Flinks and compete at one the trials in the city of Hamburg. Whilst there we will get a chance to do a mating with Fanto von der Lobdeburg. Fanto's owners Claudia and Olliver Menzel have been very gracious to invite us there again. We hope Akira produces nice puppies with Fanto.

Fanto v.d. Lobdeburg

After the trial in Trinidad with GSDCA-WDA judge Wendell Nope we realised that we need to work more on tracking as this was the major short fall in her otherwise great performance, scoring 91 in Obedience and 94 in Protection. So we are going back to the drawing board and calling on our coaches to get us ready for competition early next year.

Thanks to all our friends for the support and encouragement in our competition career so far! We hope to represent Trinidad soon at the FCI-IPO for the Americas, early next year.

A September to remember- For Schutzhund Sport!

2010-09-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

We will have our final Qualification trial before the WUSV2010 on September 18-19, 2010 in Trinidad under GSDCA-WDA Judge Wendell Nope. Mr. Nope is highly recognised in both the Dog Sport and Law Enforcement K9 World and we look forward to having him judge our last trial to see which dogs are eligible to go to the WUSV 2010 to represent Trinidad and Tobago.
Already you can see the Trial Helpers for the WUSV 2010 in Spain HERE. So there is alot of excitement and preparation going on. We are working tirelessly to make sure we can be in Spain in October for the competition.
The possible competitors for Sch 3 include last year's WUSV participant Xito von Conneforde and I will be trying with Akira vom Försterhaus. The Trial will again be a collaborated effort between the local WUSV affiliate club - The German Shepherd Breed Club of T&T and The United Schutzhund Clubs of T&T and mark the third trial for the year that has occurred in Trinidad and Tobago which in itself is quite an achievement. In addition this trial is the first such one where dogs that wish to be considered for the WUSV Team, can participate and be judged locally. We hope this trend continues to grow so in a couple years we will have a combined total, of scores from multiple trials throughout the year so the sport of Schutzhund becomes alot more active and competitive locally.

AKIRA featured on Trini Dog Stars website!!

2010-08-26T21:56:00.000-04:00

What makes a Trini Dog Star? It's Beauty, its Strength, its Uniqueness, its Wins, its Offsprings. Each one of our dogs has the potential to be a Trini Dog Star!!

Akira Vom Foesterhaus, oh what a beautiful dog, owned, trained and handled by Vithala Singh. She is the first locally trained and titled Schutzhund 2 dog in Trinidad and Tobago.

To achieve a title of Schutzhund 2 is a large undertaking but what Vit, as he is commonly called, is trying to do is get her titled as a Schutzhund 3 dog with a score to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the WUSV (the World Union of German Shepherd Clubs) in Spain October 2010.

We, the dog community is giving Akira and by extension Vithala our undying support in this huge venture, and we look foward to seeing the success of this fine specimen which is Akira Vom Foesterhaus.

Read the Full article here

World's within our reach!

2010-08-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

To have put a Schutzhund 1 title on a dog in Trinidad is hard enough. To make the Schutzhund 2 was large undertaking. Now we must do again what no one has and even duplicating our efforts seems to be an ellusive goal. We intend on doing the Schutzhund 3 in Trinidad and making in that trial, a score for qualification to represent Trinidad at the WUSV in Spain October 2010. We need to clean up a couple areas like smoother corners in the tracking, and faster retrieves with the dumbbell, and of course Akira could be a bit cleaner in the Hold and Bark. But that's just the training! We would need a coaching decoy to help us for the qualifications, a Judge to agree to our trial with short notice and then that's only the Quali trial! Then if we stretch our ambitions further, we need to get to Europe in time to prepare and acclimate in the weather and conditions in order to just make it as one of the 140+ competitors in the World Cup for German Shepherd Schutzhund Sport....

Alot must come together. I have asked my coaches' advice and we are working daily on the finer points... But at the end of it we may still need a little bit of luck. So send me your comments and feedback and keep logging in to see more updates.

Schutzhund Trial in Trinidad under US Judge

2010-08-09T22:30:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Judge Joe Tackett we were able to have a schutzhund Trial in Trinidad for the second time this year. And it was one that set the stage for a couple historic occurrences. It was the first time a Rottweiler got a BH Title locally. He is owned by Michael Walcott from the Universal Schutzhund Club of T&T.

Also, I was joined by Allan Mitchell as being the first Decoys from Trinidad to work in a local trial under an international judge.

And as if I did not wear enough hats on the day, I was able to title Akira to her Schutzhund 2 with 91-90-88 and a High in Obedience and Tracking. All the work with Bernhard Flinks on my tracking, and using techniques from Ivan Balabanov on my obedience really paid off! The Trial was held under the auspices of the German Shepherd Breed Club of T&T and now we are one step closer to the qualification trial in September for the WUSV Trinidad Team.
We will take a rest for a couple days and then back to training pretty soon so we can improve on those scores for the Schutzhund 3.

U.K. Pit Stop - surprise encounter with Manus van Tiekerhook

2010-07-25T10:28:00.000-04:00

When I had to visit the U.K. recently on business, I had the chance to visit a kennel that does a fair amount of work with Police Departments and Military. Little did I know that I would add to my research with an encounter with Max van Tiekerhook. I visited Pro-K9 and got a chance to see the work they do with detection and multi purpose and even sport dog training. But the highlight was the visit to see Manus, brother of Koos Hassing's Max van Tiekerhook.

I could go on an on about the Nick vom Heiligenbösch and Yoschy von der Döllenwiese line. As you may have seen in my previous accounts, I did the Helper work for Max at 8 yrs old, when I Interviewed Koos, and he told me, 'I can't describe to you a serious hold and bark, you feel it when you are in the blind!' Well this is exactly what I would say about the brother Manus. I can't even capture on video the intensity and aggression you can only feel when standing face to face with this dog. With body language more akin to a wolf or bear, Manus tends to use his paws alot to add to his arsenal and this seems to pass on to the many progeny I saw. Also, his size, masculinity and temperament passes to the offspring.

An incredibly strong and dominant dog, with alot of progeny in active service life for Law Enforcement and Private Security. I really felt that he should be part of my "Unsung Heroes" section, where we seldom hear of certain dogs, who are not in the popular shows and competitions, but make their mark on the breed and deserve legendary status.
Check out a little clip of him here:

Akira 2nd at the Dog Day Demo T&T 2010

2010-05-31T10:07:00.005-04:00

Akira placed 2nd at the Dog Day Demo in Trinidad yesterday as the only German Shepherd Dog to compete in the category for combined Obedience and Protection. It was a well attended event with many Dog Food Sponsors and spectators all coming together to see the events which included :
Fastest Dog, Beauty Contests, and even most spectacular hit on the decoy. More like a collection of Demos, we decided that the event would be a good practice session for Akira's upcoming Schutzhund 2 Trial in July. So we did a combined 8min routine of some free-heeling and then the hurdle, followed by a 1 blind Protection Routine. The Decoy Allan Mitchell is a local decoy and member of the Universal Schutzhund Club of T&T, having been trained by some of German and Belgian helpers and K9 Instructors.

All in all we had fun, but the display of the Schutzhund routine was not enough to steal the hearts of the audience as did the pitbull, who did a made up skit combining personal protection, ringsport and obedience as well. Congrats to him, we will be looking out for this kind of competition next time.

Tiekerhook- Solid as a Rock

2010-05-05T13:27:00.000-04:00

Interviews with GSD Legends continues with Koos Hassing - Breeder from Nederlands - Tiekerhook Kennel. Over the years Koos has been very vocal about saving certain working bloodlines and sometimes criticized for his breeding plans. I had the opportunity to sit with him at his home, then visit his training club and really get a glimpse into the laboratory of this so-called 'mad scientist.' Koos actually had Fero vom Zeuterner Himmelreich in his kennel for some time when his original owner was ill. He also had Nick vom Heiligenbösch for some time in his kennel. So it is safe to say he has seen and worked his fair share of working legends! With an extensive background in Law Enforcement his desire has been to produce a German Shepherd with the hardness and temperament for working alongside officers on the street. I have included a small clip of the hours of footage collected during our time together and I hope you enjoy it.

Dogmania Mania

2010-04-27T00:38:00.000-04:00

The combination of youth. experience and talent is embodied by this team whose members seem to have it all. With almost as many years in the dog game as they have been able to walk, these guys and gals, have achieved great heights. They are helpers : Sven Viebahn, Björn Reckmann and Handlers : Daniela and Carina Wagner. Just last year Carina was Deutsche Juniorenmeisterin for the second time, and also in the BSP with Isy Del Lupo Nero who was Vice-Universal Siegerin. Björn Reckmann just got selected as a helper for the WUSV qualification in Ungarn. The list of the teams achievements goes on and on with sister Daniela Wagner active in Dogsport since age 9 ! Check out this clip from the upcoming DVD, as Sven introduces the team.

Hasenborn History

2010-04-21T11:58:00.001-04:00

Panos Hasenborn

Werner and son Frank Maxein and I sat down with a briefcase full of pictures and papers as they explained to me the beginning of the Hasenborn Kennel. Back in the days of Sieger Shows with Martin Göbl of Wildsteiger Land Kennels and to this day Werner still goes to the shows and supports his breed. "I know my line" Frank says, as he and his father stood out in the kennel area behind their business place, assessing their new male- Panos Hasenborn son. Stacking him and looking at the side-gait and going over the points of temperament and structure. "This is what we do often. We bounce ideas back and forth and come up with our breeding plans forward, right out here." Frank and Werner were very generous with their time and expertise and I hope you enjoy this little clip of our time together.

New Clip - Birgit & Fax

2010-04-18T15:18:00.002-04:00

During my research into speaking with as many notable GSD Legends, I found of course those dogs and persons, that are not always in the spot-light. here is one of them, Fax Adelmannsfelder land. He is very good in anatomy, excellent working bloodlines, healthy, absolute medium size and was very successful in the Deutsch Meisterschaft competitions under the guidance of his handler Birgit Gottlieb!
He is a dog that did a lot of competitions in his life starting late at age 3! So I had alot of questions for Birgit as to how she did this- even placing 5th in the HSVRM Landesmeisterschaft with 100 points in protection. A great adversary to the many Malinois in that competition, he is a true credit to his race.
And at 11 years old, I got to do a little Decoy work for him and it was awesome. I hope you enjoy this little clip and preview of the Interviews to come.

Clips from the DVD

2010-04-13T10:21:00.002-04:00

Every week or so I will be sharing some clips from the DVD that will accompany my book. This will give you an idea on how I am putting things together. This first clip is of Nancy Denecke, as she leads the herd down a dirt road with her German Shepherd's help to control them. Nancy is the first woman to ever win the Bundesleistungshüten ( German National Herding Trial ) and was gracious enough to give me an Interview right there at the venue.

I should let you know a little secret at the event, but I will let Marion Fueller tell it in her own words as she did in her report " Ein junger Mann aus Trindad kam mit dem Zug bis nach Schweinfurt und lief dann zu Fuss

nach Werneck. Dort fuhr ihn dann die Wirtin eines Hotels in Werneck nach Stettbach zu unserer Veranstaltung." Basically it translates to the fact that I took the train to the wrong town and walked 7 miles to the correct town where the owner of a hotel helped me to call her and get me to Stetbach. At the time it was not as funny as it is now, when I look back on it.

So check out the clip of Nancy and I will be adding more soon, even some of the actual interviews I have.