Joseph Fleming

I got started in the sport of schutzhund under unusual circumstances just over 2 years ago. My dog had passed away and my home was burglarized. I needed a dog to guard the home so I called a breeder I knew and we adopted a retired (shutzhund) German Shepherd female at the age of six. Since she was already mature, we got a second dog - a male Shepherd pup. We started training with a local club.

A member of the club introduced me to John Soares and I decided to train my male with him. Watching John train (and doing bite work), I became interested in helper work. I then enrolled in one of John’s programs. Training my dog with John (along with doing helper work) has taught me a great deal about the sport in a short amount of time. John’s ability to teach and read your dog - he makes difficult tasks look so easy. His personality is such that it’s always fun and interesting to train with him. With his knowledge and his understanding of dogs, I realized that my GSD would need to mature more before additional training could be done. I wanted to do more (and with John's help) I took on the challenge of training a Belgian Malinois.

Currently, my GSD got an SG1 rating in the show ring and I received my Basic Helper certification. I dedicate my time to train both dogs and we are working towards getting their BHs in the spring. This takes a lot of time but I receive so much pleasure in working with them and seeing their improvements. The dogs also enjoy this as we are strengthening bonds and having fun at the same time.

The sport of schutzhund requires extreme dedication and time. I own my own business, I have a family and I still take time to train daily while keeping the sacrifices to a minimum. All of this is worthwhile when I see the results in the dogs.  I still train my dogs, Yasso and Chato, with John and I look forward to taking what I've learned (and have yet to learn) to further our progress in the sport.