With more than twenty-five seasons behind us, The Schutzhund Club of Buffalo is one of the oldest Schutzhund clubs in the USA. Last year, we suffered a terrible blow that rocked us hard and almost meant the end of our club. That blow was the unexpected and sudden death of our founder, training director, and longtime friend, Mr. Owen Tober.
Many of you knew Owen. He was a force of nature, a man of great passion for the sport. Owen cut a wide swath through the Schutzhund and K-9 dog worlds. Owen and his wife Kathy founded the club and hosted it at the training field they built behind their home. They graciously put up with us all as the club has held at least two—and sometimes three or even four—Schutzhund trials and events every year since its founding.
This year will be no exception. We held our first trial on June 7 and 8 and are in the process of planning our fall trial. On the strength of what Owen, Kathy, and other longtime members such as Billy McGlynn built, we continue.
It has not been smooth sailing. We had some serious fits and starts along the way—sometimes training in parks or at other venues that didn’t work out. Some members lost patience and went their own way; we wish them well. Others could not get past the death of Owen Tober and have left the sport altogether. At times, it did look like we would not recover.
It was down to a few die-hard members determined to train our dogs and keep the club alive. Then, we had a stroke of good luck.
One snowy day in Buffalo, I made arrangements to meet with Carolyn Nervo at the Amherst Boarding Kennels. I don’t think anyone would describe Carolyn as warm and fuzzy, but she did wholeheartedly welcome us to come and train with them. So we did—and what we found was a band of dedicated Schutzhund trainers headed by training director Richard Smehlik.
Richard is a native of the Czech Republic and co-owns Amherst Boarding Kennels with Dave Starke. Richard, Carolyn Nervo, and the other members took us in, and what started as an arranged marriage has turned into a solid union as we slowly get used to each other’s quirks, personalities, various training techniques, and annoying traits.
Richard has formed a good working relationship with our own training director, Lance Zee (AKA Zu). For our first trial, we were able to secure the services of SV Judge Fred Findeisen. Fred does not speak much English, so club members trotted out their high school German. I was impressed with the number of members who spoke at least some German—most notably Tom Marsteller, who also did a great job as trial secretary. Lance (who hosted Fred in his home) and Richard also dredged up enough remnants of the language to make Fred feel quite at home.
Fred turned out to be a great guy whose remarkable sense of humor caught us off guard and got us all laughing in spite of the language barrier. For the trial, we were able to secure the services of translator Heike Jones. Heike is a native of Germany but is now a longtime U.S. citizen. She found herself a long way from her world of miniature Schnauzers, but she took to Schutzhund in a big way—studying the rulebook at home and coming out to the practice field to try and get a feel for the sport.
Not to mention, she provided great relief for our judge, who now had someone to give full voice to his sometimes mischievous sense of humor. At times, Heike would only blush and refuse to translate what he had said.
As is usual at a spring trial for the Schutzhund Club of Buffalo, the long string of warm days, cool nights, and gentle rains that had provided perfect Schutzhund weather for training and tracking were replaced with an unseasonably hot spell of 90-degree weather that lasted exactly the length of the trial weekend.
It was not a big trial, but spirits were high. Many of the entrants were first-time competitors just beginning their Schutzhund careers by successfully putting BHs on their dogs. The Schutzhund degrees were run on Saturday, with Carolyn showing her coolness under pressure by scoring high in protection with her dog Ex Altojan. Meanwhile, veteran Schutzhund handler Lance Zee scored high in tracking with a 94. Lance also scored high in obedience with a 96 and took the overall title of High in Trial.
Our decoy, Marcus Hampton, turned in a solid performance and was rated excellent by the judge as he put the dogs through their paces under a blazing afternoon sun. It was also great to see many former club members come out to watch the event and give support to the first trial at our new home.
On Sunday, we got a small break in the weather for the competitors running their dogs in the AD. We had met early with a 6 A.M. start, trying to beat the heat. The sky was threatening rain, but the clouds and wind kept the heat at bay for almost the entire time. Some of the spectators were kept busy shooing a flock of ducks and ducklings back into a nearby pond so as not to tempt the dogs with an early meal as they coursed their way around the one-third-mile track.
We finished the competition part of the day with a TR-1 degree and then returned to the club, where—I believe—some folks drank some beer as the judge and Tom finished the trial paperwork. Although not an officially sanctioned event, the beer-drinking part of the day is an important Schutzhund ritual. We honored the tradition as we toasted the judge and our very successful born-again trial.
We are hoping for an even bigger and better turnout as we plan for a late fall trial. Thanks to our new home and new members, the Schutzhund Club of Buffalo will be around for at least another 25 years. But don’t wait that long—come and join us at our next event.
After the Regionals, after the Nationals, etc., come end your Schutzhund season with us at our club with a nice, relaxing, low-pressure Schutzhund event. Check the webpage for information and updated photos.