Caden Fuss! Sitz! Platz! Hier!

This is a photo of Caden as 4 month old puppy running to me when I called HERE! I've been formalizing his Schutzhund obedience commands, but have had a little help from the pack to train Caden too! (oh yeah, and from the members of the GSD Club of Calgary of course).

"Fuss" is a German command and is pronounced Foos, like 'food.' Fuss basically means "heel" but it is more than that. It means, pay attention, heads' up, watch me, walk at my side smartly, and sit when I stop. Caden's breeder Sandy Wilson taught Caden to look into her eyes for a treat before he even came to me as a wee pup. That was a great head start for this exercise. He is a very handsome boy, but every time I see the picture below, I burst out laughing! He is SO serious about looking into my eyes.
To be in basic position, he has to sit at my left side, with his shoulder even with my leg. I have to watch my own body position too, and not twist or hunch. Shoulders straight! It has been a long time since I have trained obedience. I *did* train a couple of dogs to CDX and one to Utility in another lifetime. But this is different. Caden has so much drive and eagerness to please. And in the SchH methods, you spend a LOT of time on foundation. Caden is learning his basic position and I am making it a positive place to be, so that once his training progresses, every time I say Fuss! Caden jumps into the correct spot and looks up at me. It is the foundation of every level of Schutzhund. I am working on a few steps in a straight line now, and quarter turns.
Sitz! Caden is also learning a good sit. Here he is doing a sit stay on a long line (just in case!).
Platz! Meaning down. What is hilarious, is that Jet and Ted have figured this one out. They do it really well. In fact, I wonder if I should use it instead of Lie Down in trials? PLATZ has such a firm sound to it. There is no debate - PLATZ might be that one command I keep tucked up my sleeve for the Border Collies! Below, at Three Mile Bend dog park, I always throw in lie down commands for Jet and Ted. If I didn't, they would be running for every piece of water they see, they love to swim.
Hier! Obviously meaning Here! Below, he is running back to me with his tug, his favourite toy. I have had some help from the other dogs. "Here" is a command Caden learned from Jet and Ted! When he was a puppy, I still lived at home, I mean, in Thunder Bay, where I had a big field to work in. When I called Jet and Ted "HERE!" baby Caden would run with them as fast as he could run! River would get in on it too.
Caden has been raised to be joyful and confident, and he really believes in himself. He was quite a handful as a puppy but I am really enjoying how that energy can be channelled now that he is an 18 month old.
He loves the other dogs - his pack - below he is kissing old Shaman (who died a year later, this past April from Cancer)......but now that we are working on obedience and tracking, he realizes that all of the best things come from me.
Especially the tug, and the ball!