Non traditional breeds for protection work

[Paige]

Have you met any? Heard of any? Do they excell? What breeds? What were their strengths? What were their weaknesses? And above all else how do they compared to the more common breeds used in the sport?

I am curious to see if any non typical breesd excel at these types of sport or actual are working as I usually only see your typical breeds (Mal, GSD etc)

[stardogs]

My Kestrel is showing promise in schutzhund. He's an Australian Cattle Dog cross, though possibly with Malinois, no idea really tho.

ACDs do appear in protection here and there from what I've heard. Their smaller size does make the sports more physically demanding (all dogs jump a 1 meter jump, all retrieve the same large dumbbells, same distance for a long bite, etc.).

Kes works mainly in prey drive right now, but I've heard that ACDs do tend to go into defense pretty quickly - that can def be a good thing when it comes to getting points as it means they aren't just working for the sleeve/bite, but instead for the challenge with the human which means they may appear more tenacious/serious.

[corgipower]

For protection sport?

I know of two corgis with Sch2 titles. One was at a time when they did lower the jump for small dogs. The other went around the jump and a-frame, which lost a lot of points so the rest of his obedience had to be flawless in order to pass.

I also heard of a toller that was doing schutzhund training, but I have no idea if it ever trialed or how it did in training.

[Paige]

Yeah any of the sports really. Schutzhund, French Ring etc.

[Toller_08]

I read a really interesting article in a dog magazine a few years ago about a Toller in Schutzhund. I can't remember exact details anymore, and I've tried looking for the article, but can't find it. I know I recycled the magazine, but I thought I might be able to find something online... no such luck, though. The article had nothing but praise for the dog though! I'm not sure if he ever recieved any titles or how much he trialed, but he'd shown a lot of promise.

[Aleron]

I knew someone who "played" in Schutzhund with a Standard Poodle - the dog definitely enjoyed it And of course there is Mr. Murphy:
YouTube - Claudia Romard & Mr. Murphy

If it is interesting to you, give it a try! IME most SchH clubs are pretty welcoming and will let all dogs give it a try I think it's very cool that Kestrel is doing it. ACDs are tough little dogs though, so it doesn't surprise me!

That said, one should understand that really doing protection work (working in defense as opposed to prey drive) is not characteristic of many breeds and you should have realistic expectations for your dog. SchH was originally created as a breeding suitability test for GSDs and as such it is designed to test the character of that breed. Even at that, the majority of non-working bred GSDs don't tend to have the proper temperament to excel at protection work/sports. A Lab who could do as well in SchH as a good working bred GSD would be probably not have a typical or desirable temperament for a Lab. I don't know how many non-traditional breeds have or would be capable of excelling at SchH or FR or protection work in general but definitely some of them have enjoyed it and some have gotten titles in it.

[Zoom]

There have been Aussies doing PP here and there for years. Some are magnificent at it; these guys are all out of the sharper working lines, which may or may not be correct temperament for the breed, depending on who you talk to.

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by Zoom

There have been Aussies doing PP here and there for years. Some are magnificent at it; these guys are all out of the sharper working lines, which may or may not be correct temperament for the breed, depending on who you talk to.

I've been told that a good cattle line Aussie can put some of the best GSDs to shame.

[release the hounds]

ACD's can do well, they have the temperment and drive for it. I've seen lots of dogs try it, even a golden. Well, I didn't see it, but one of my mentors trained one to SchH III before I started.

But most have been some guardian breeds, which are a bit different and not for me. Mostly GSD's and Mal's and dutchies, with some rotties and bouv's thrown in. Pitbulls, boxers, a hovawart.

I don't know about the ACD's putting the best GSD's to shame, haven't seen on near that good, but the few I have seen were pretty good. Compared to a lot of just pet, club level dogs, they were good, but not that good.

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by release the hounds

I don't know about the ACD's putting the best GSD's to shame, haven't seen on near that good, but the few I have seen were pretty good. Compared to a lot of just pet, club level dogs, they were good, but not that good.

An Aussie is not an ACD.