A first for Seeuferhause….Luciano now BH, & IPOI

****STOP PRESS****

Seeuferhause LUCIANO is now BH, IPOI

Congratulations and well done to Shane Asanuma for achieving his IPOI with Seeuferhause Luciano.

Luciano is the first rottweiler in this IPO organisation to achieve his IPOI in 10 yrs. A testament to Shane’s hard work and dedication and of course Luciano’s genetic ability to obtain this level of proficiency.

Their qualifying score was A86, B70, C84 Total 240. Luciano was also HIT (High in Trial)

A group of dedicated Seeuferhause people travelled form Melbourne and Sydney to support Shane along with his club members from Metro Dogsport Club.

For those that are interested, you can see Shane & Luc routine in the videos listed below. Now, onwards and upwards for Shane and Luc; we look forward to seeing them achieve their IPOII & IPOIII in the near future.

TRACKING

OBEDIENCE

PROTECTION – FRONT HALF

PROTECTION – BACK HALF

11th July 2014

Tullamarine airport, 7am…..boarding a flight to Brisbane at 8am……on my way to an IPO trial held by Metro Dogsport Club.

Reason being that Seeufeerhause Luciano, owned and trained by Shane Asanuma was entered for his BH Test (Begleithunde or Traffic SureCompanion Dog test) which involves entry level obedience and environment type testing. To my knowledge this is the first Seeuferhause dog to earn a title of any type in an organised competitive scenario.

The trial was taking place in the evening as is traditional in Brisbane to cater for the warmer weather….little did we know we were abou tto experience the coldest night on record for Brisbane…..down to 2 deg….almost freezing!!!! Shane was good enough to pick me up at the airport and we also met our good friend Chi Nguyen, who flew up from Sydney….its not everyday one of the Seeuferhause crew competes at an IPO trial….special mention to Johnny Lipa who would have been there if it wasnt for his first litter of puppies that he is looking after at the moment.

We spent the day crusing around Brisbane, brunch and just hanging out…but one thing was for sure…Shane was uptight and not his usual, casual demeanour…he had a BH on his mind. He was distant, not really engaging in the conversations and always gazing into the distance…..although he seem to come to the present when his phone rang and it was his mentor; Reg Worth….Reg called to discuss something which sounded like it didn’t really have any bearing on the day…but one could think it was a predetermined strategic ploy to ensure his protoge was ready to go!!! Well, thats how we say it happened…and if we say it….it happened!!

About 5pm we headed out to the car to prepare for the trip across town to the trial field. Shane retreated to the back yard to fetch Luciano….Chi and I watched from the garage window as Shane tried to put the collar on Luciano…Luc was fired up…Shane made a rookie mistake of not doing anything with his dog for a few days prior to the trial to ensure his dog was “full of drive”….he got what he wanted….the dog was full of drive and excitement and a real handful…..we decided to lend a hand in ensuring the dog was ready to fire by teasing him through the window mcuh to Shane’s disgust; well, if Shane was uptight prior to…..he was undeniably ropable now!!!

The ride across town was memorable to say the least….traffic; despite our jibes about Brisbane being a big country town, the traffic was pretty full on ans Shane was in panic about making the hour long trip on time and he had to put up with Chi telling him to call Reg and put off the start time for the trial!! If that was the worse he had to put up with it would’ve been ok; copious amounts of Eye of the Tiger, Robert Teppers No easy way Out, and the Rocky theme song were enough to send Shano to breaking point!!! And Shane thought the BH was about testing the dog in traffic…ha! he had another thing coming!!! Parts of the trip were recorded as proof of Shane’s ability to endure……

So we finally get there….Shane brings Luciano out for a walk and the dog is jumping out of his skin….Shane will have his hands full when its go time….

The judge is Peter Crocker from NZ and he summons the competitors to give them their pre-trial briefing..now Shane is really pumped and anxious….the time is near…Shane is in the second pair and his partner a seasoned competitor has kindly agreed to allow Shane to complete the heeling exercises first prior to the long down. The BH consists of a heeling pattern, straight lines, right, left & about turns, within a group, sit, drop and recall exercises, both on and off leash. From a time perspective its probably the longest of the IPO obedience routines when yo include the long down. Given its the first test for any competitor it is very trying, and nerve racking!

Shane completed the entire routine without fault except for the recall…after 100’s of repetitions of finishing in the front position (the correct position) at training Luc decided to short cut the exercise and finish to the heel position!!! Dogs!!! Other than that an excellent routine from Shane and Luc and they proceeded to the long down…again after months or doing so successfully Luc decided tonight was not a night for laying down on the job so to speak and refused to do as he was asked!!!!

Shane’s frustrations were reaching boiling point!!

As much a test of handler as of dog…. but….that’s the test…..another hiccup checking in and out with the judge and Shane thought it was back to the drawing board….fortunately for Shane his routine was that good that he had already racked up enough points to pass without the down and final component of the recall…..despite a tense few moments listening to the judges critique…..

RELIEF!!!! and a PASS!!!! and a BH title!!! Shane and Luc were successful!!

A super effort on Shane’s part, well supported by Shane’s fiance Jacqui, Chi and myself….after all…what are friends for!!! Huge congratulations Shane from me and the entire Seeuferhause family!!! we are looking forward to watching you achieve many more titles in the sport…IPOI in the next 6 months and onwards and upwards from there….who knows….maybe a rottweiler National IPO champion in Australia?? Whichever way it falls I look forward ot he journey!

Congratulations again Shane and Luciano!!

apologies for the photos…the dark of night made it quite difficult….