Vesta German Shepherds

PD1, P1, FO, SG Umsa, BH, FH, AD, TR2, TD, RN, CGC, HIC, SAR instinct certified, hips "a normal", ZW 85 (RA 1 out of 3)

Registered with AKC, UKC, and USA.

Born 3/5/03, Umsa was purchased as a pup from vom Drachenberg Kennels near Madison, WI. She is the daughter of World Sieger VA Lasso vom Neuen Berg, SchH3. Her dam, V Ussa vom Hadeckerland, SchH3, IPO3, is a VA Pitt von Tronje daughter. Umsa's pedigree can be viewed at www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/401545.html. Always friendly and confident, Umsa is an excellent housedog and an enthusiastic worker. She is a large showline female with strong prey drive and unbelievable food drive! She is a strong tracking dog, and works well on the bitesuit.

Umsa has shown in the German conformation ring, and has an SG rating from the Youth Class in 2 Sieger Shows, the highest rating that can be given at that age. Her critique by SV Herr Heinz Grottendieck at the 2004 North American Sieger Show was "Large, medium powerful, stretched, good wither and good back, short croup, good front and very good rear angulation, correct front, very good movement." She has also shown in the AKC conformation ring and placed several times.

In 2007 Umsa will be entered in Schutzhund trials, UKC Dogsport events, AKC Rally, Obedience and Tracking trials, in addition to the German advanced tracking title of FH. In conformation she will enter the UKC conformation events.

Umsa's titles:

BH - 2004 - Bur Oak Hundesport - SV judge Jurgen Hess

CGC - 2004

AD - 2005 - Greater Chicago Schutzhund Club - SV judge Friederich Reichert

TR1 - 2005 - Machtig Strom Schutzhund Verein - FCI judge Penti Rapila

TR2 - 2005 - Chicago Schutzhund Verein - SV judge Klaus Ambrosius

HIC - 2006

FH - 2007 - OG Indianapolis - USA judge Mike Hamilton

FO - 2007 - Family Obedience - SDA trial, judge Allen Brooks

O-1 - 2007 - Obedience 1 - SDA trial judge Allen Brooks

RN - 2007 - Rally Novice - Blackhawk Kennel Club and Greater DeKalb Kennel Club, July 7-9

RA - 2007 - Rally Advanced - German Shepherd Dog Training Club of Chicago, August 26, 1st leg

DSO - 2007 - Level 1 - Capital City Dog Sports Association, St. Johns, MI, August 18-19, judges Carole Field and Deb Hebeler

P-1 - 2007 - Protection Dog 1 - SDA trial, Capital City Dog Sports Association, St. Johns MI, Judge Matt Akenhead

P-SAR Instinct - 2007 - SDA trial, Springfield IL, Judge Bill Russell

PDOB1 - 2007 -  Police Dog Obedience 1  - SDA Athens, Judge Allen Brooks

PD1 - 2007 - Police Dog 1 - SDA Athens - Judge Jack Rayl

A few words about Umsa's titles and certificates:

BH - "Begleithund" - The German title for a Companion Dog, which is the prerequisite for full Schutzhund titles. It involves heeling on and off lead  in a set pattern, halts, heeling through a group, a sit out of motion, down with recall, and an honor long down. After passing the obedience portion, each dog must then go through a temperment and traffic safety test, which involves distractions of other dogs, cars, joggers and bike riders. Furthermore, the dog must be tied out with the handler out of sight for several minutes and show no reaction to distractions which are presented. The final test is the dog being crowded by strangers, both in a sit, and later in a down. The handler stands outside the group and then recalls the dog through the crowd.

CGC - "Canine Good Citizen" - An award certificate given by the AKC, demonstrating that a dog is a well mannered member of society. The test is comprised of 10 practical sections, all where the dog must remain under control and demonstrate excellent temperament. These include walking through a crowd on a loose leash, meeting and greeting another handler with a dog, being petted and examined by a stranger, stays and recalls, and neutrality to distractions and loud noises.

AD - German Endurance Test - The dog must trot 12.5 miles next to a bicycle, testing not only physical conditioning and stamina, but correct conformation and mental endurance.

TR1 and TR2 - German style tracking titles, referred to as "footstep tracking". For a TR1, the handler lays the track, which includes 2 corners and 2 small articles which must be indicated. The track is aged for approximately 30 minutes. For the TR2 test, the track is much longer, laid by a stranger, and is aged for approximately 45 minutes. The tracking style must be methodical and precise, with the nose deep into the ground cover the entire time. It is disciplined tracking.

FH - Advanced tracking title in the German titling system. An FH is laid by a stranger and is over 1200 paces long. It has 7 legs, multiple crosstracks, several changes of cover, 4 small articles (1.5" x 3.5") that must be indicated by the dog, and must cross as road. It is aged for at least 3 hours. The dog must footstep track the entire time, and the handler must remain at the end of a 33' tracking line.

HIC - Herding Instinct Certified - There is no training involved for this test. The dog is placed in a pen with sheep (or on occasion other livestock) and the evaluator observes the dog's reaction to the sheep.

"a normal" - The highest hip rating available in the German system. The ZW number is a German system which factors in the hip ratings of many of the dog's relatives. 100 is considered "normal" for the breed. Lower numbers are desireable.

FO - Family Obedience - The prerequisite to all SDA-UKC protection titles, it involves heeling, sits, downs, an honor long down, and several practical exercises, including food refusal.

O-1 - Obedience 1. Off lead obedience, with the same exercises as in the Family Obedience.

RN - Rally Novice - Rally is one of the newest title venues offered by the AKC. It is obedience "with a twist". Novice level has 31 skills that are combined into courses marked with cones. The handler (minus dog) is allowed to walk through the course before the class runs, similar to the walk thrus offered in agility trials. Rally is fun and you are expected to show how you and your dog work as a happy team, having fun doing obedience. Runs are timed, but only as a tie breaker.  

RA - Rally Advanced - Off lead rally, with more skills (including jumps) added!

DSO - Dog Sports Open - An annual Personal Protection tournament hosted by Capital City Dog Sports Association near Lansing, MI. Each year has a different theme, and participants do not know the routines until arriving - only the list of tested skills. Level one in on-lead. The 2007 theme was "Jailbreak", and handlers had to dress in black and white stripes and "escape" from prison. This involved digging under fences, hiding, both dog and handler scaling very difficult obstacles, racing through corridors while avoiding paintballs, crawling under "razor wires" and of course, some civil and suit work!

P-1 -  Protection Dog -1 - This title requires off lead obedience, which requires a passing score on the same day in order to proceed to protection work. The protection excercises include defenses against attacks, threats, and stick hits by the decoy, alternating with obedience and friendly greetings with the decoy. The dog MUST be able to discern the difference between a hostile and friendly approach, must be able to alert on command to a passive helper, must not react to the presence of the protection equipment during a friendly greeting, and must appropriately react to suprise attacks.

P-SAR Instinct - The first level of Search and Rescue titles offered by Service Dogs of America, this instinct certification requires first passing the Family Obedience title. The SAR titles offered by SDA involve the dog and handler being certified as a team, and with the first test, there is a 3 attempt limit before being excluded from further SAR titles. The dog must show a willingness to search at a distance from the handler, and confident temperament when finding the "victim", who is hiding at an unknown location from the handler. There is a time limit to the test, and the handler is allowed limited encouragement for the dog.

PD1 - Police Dog 1 - This title was designed to mirror obedience required for K9 certifications, and includes on lead and off lead obedience mixed with agility. The protection routine includes various scearios to test the dog's nerve and courage under stress.

 

Sadly we lost Umsa to bloat in the spring of 2009. Always part of our family, she is missed, but never forgotten.