Algarve trainer João Paulino, from the Iron Dog Algarve association, based in Loulé, was crowned the national IFH3 tracking champion last weekend.
In a sport where the overwhelming majority of breeds used are German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, the Algarve dog trainer achieved the feat of becoming Portuguese champion with a Kelpie dog, an unlikely breed, a herding dog.
The IGP-IFH is managed by the Portuguese Kennel Club under the International Cynological Federation and the tracking test at its highest level consists of a trail test, where the dog must follow 1800 footprints, left three hours earlier, with long straight lines and various types of angles, and even false trails, and find objects left along the way and point them out, while its guide leads it on a leash 10 metres away.
As in search and rescue circumstances, in tracking competitions dogs must have an extraordinary sense of smell, concentration and endurance to be able to find the entire almost 1.5km route previously taken, generally around 2 hectares of open field.
In November, João made history again by winning the world boxer championship, ATIBOX - Association Technique Internationale du Boxer, in 1950 in Strasbourg, in the North of Spain, winning the title of IGP1 Winner, with the dog Babilónia of Iron Kingdom, bred, trained and led in competition by him. The IGP - International Gebrauchshund Prufung (International Working Dog Test) modality tests dogs in three areas: not only tracking, but also obedience and protection, making it a very complete sport.
Regarding competing with dogs of unusual breeds, such as Kelpies and Boxers, João says that “it is more challenging” but recalls that in the past he started in the sport with German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, of which he is a fervent fan. However, he stresses that “all dogs are interesting and have their own particularities, the important thing is to understand how we can maximize their innate abilities, stimulating them correctly, regardless of whether they are used for sport, or as companions”.
João Paulino has been the president of Iron Dog Algarve since its foundation in 2016, and is the school’s longest-serving trainer. He is also one of the first officially certified trainers of potentially dangerous dog breeds in Portugal. His team is multidisciplinary and comprises members from different areas, including biologists, zootechnicians, veterinarians, and people with training in Animal Welfare.
Congratulations João! A true professional in his field.
