The young Lacobrigense Gonçalo Guerreiro and his German shepherd dog, Scar, will represent Portugal in the World Championship of German Shepherds, which will take place in Modena, Italy, from the 2nd to the 6th of October.
The Algarve duo will travel the nearly 2500 kilometers that separate Lagos from Modena by car, a means of transport “less stressful for the Scar than the plane”. And the objective is already set: «Obviously, I go there with the intention of winning. But I also want to learn new things, because if we don't get out of our comfort zone, we'll never be able to evolve», summed up Gonçalo Guerreiro, speaking to Sul Informação.
The dog trainer from Lacobrigense, only 19 years old, decided to enter this adventure as soon as he knew that, this year, the world championship would have, for the first time, the discipline of obedience, the one he practices. «So, I thought: why not go outside? If we are always here, we do not evolve».
In this way, he took a test, held in Portugal, in which he obtained a classification above 80%, which allowed him to qualify for the World Cup.
It was also following this test that Gonçalo learned the degree to which he could participate. «There are three degrees, from one, the easiest, to three, the most difficult. I will compete in grade two».
To be able to go to Italy and participate in the competition, Gonçalo will have to bear all expenses. And it is to raise funds that the draw for a parachute jump that the dog trainer is promoting is used.
«The draw will take place on the 15th of September, at the Aerodrome of Portimão. To participate in the draw, people just have to call me (968 517 370). The value of each raffle is five euros or whatever they want to give and qualify to win the voucher for a parachute jump, which I was offered SkyDive7», explained Gonçalo.
The evolution of training and other news about the participation of Gonçalo Guerreiro in the World Championship may be followed on the professional dog trainer page on Facebook.
Once the necessary conditions are met, Gonçalo and Scar will only have to concentrate on making the trip as less stressful as possible, so that the also young Scar – «he's three years old, he's still a young dog» – can be at his best level when he enters in competition.
«Scar is a good dog! And I'm not saying this for the sake of saying, if I thought I didn't have the capacity, it wasn't even worth going to the World Cup,” said Gonçalo.
The dog trainer from Lagos anticipated what the championship will be for the Algarve duo. “I already know what exercises I'm going to take. But this is a world cup, the demand is very high,” he said.
In one of the exercises, he exemplifies, there is a square measuring three meters by three, marked with four pins and with ribbons. "I'm 25 meters away and I have to get Scar to enter the square and get him to lie there in the middle."
«This is a difficult exercise, why? For now, three by three is not that big. All it takes is for the dog to have one leg sticking out, it immediately has zero points», explained Gonçalo Guerreiro.
Then there are other factors “that make a difference”, such as “technique, speed or the fact that the dog is happy or sad”.
“All the modalities and disciplines are difficult, each one has its specificities. But, for me, the most difficult one is obedience, which is decided in the smallest detail. It's the detail that differentiates a nine from a ten. It's not enough for the dog to do it, it has to have a high score. It's no use doing all the exercises, but having only five points in each», summed up Gonçalo Guerreiro.
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