Professional Trainers... I need your opinion please. (video playlist) - Page 2

Sheri,
We can’t know everything and we want to trust professionals. You then followed your instinct that something was not “right”, you then posted here....so you did good.
Yes, some will say it doesn’t matter if you use a flat collar or a harness. Everyone will have an opinion...but it depends on the age of pup and the stage of pups developement...and the type of exercise (and the goal of the exercise) being done.

You can show a url link for all your videos if you want.

Sheri, everyone who replied to you so far has some experience in teaching various sorts of bitework to dogs - and they are all saying things which confirm my gut reaction (not being someone with that experience but someone who has been around GSDs [ including watching & talking about bitework with others, though not training it myself] for a long, long time ) - that while its still possible these guys may be telling the truth about doing some sort of LE training, they do not have much of a clue about training properly and safely.

You would get SO much more out of finding a Training Club and doing it yourself, under members' guidance, IMO.

Valk~ Thank you for the information! I have played with my pup, and built a relationship with him. And am aware that IPO and PP are two different things... I just wanted to convey that I had no experience with either type training.

Jessejones ~ Thank you. I just joined here in order to find opinions. I have read some stuff here and found many who know more that I...which is why I posted. I am very grateful for any, and all input.

Western Rider ~ Yep....I'd like to share that link...I thought I did...but failed. It seems only the one video plays and it was supposed to be a play list of 6 short videos.

Hundmutter~I agree with you... Just from reading I know about everyone who answered me, knows more than I. It is what I was looking for. I thought about a club, but chose a private trainer because I thought it would be better, one on one. I wanted to participate with my dog. I would never ever leave my dog with anyone. Me, standing off watching them, made no sense to me either. Another thing I didnt like.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. The forum wouldn't let me.... but again...Thank you so much for the input !

Sheri

There should be several IPO /schutzhund clubs in your area to attend. I would suggest visiting each one (maybe make appointment or whatever else that club wishes for visitors), talk to the training director at each and explain what your experience and what you want to do with your dog. Then pick one that aligns with your goals and makes you feel comfortable. Attend training, listen, watch, ask questions. Teach your dog and build a team with him. Learn each phase (tracking, obed., bitework) with your dog. Don't be in a rush to get into serious man-work as that requires a maturity beyond puppy stage but do set a good foundation under guidance for yourself/pup to have success. It can be/may be both more economical and fun to do the training with a club than private trainers and you will have more opinions/help to draw on. I am glad you stopped going to that 'trainer' and posted here - for your pup's sake.

Guess, you already got your answer...
With whom ever you are going to train in the future - always believe in your gut feeling - your dog, your decisions, your hand at the end of the leash....
As soon as you don't like what any trainer is doing - just stop - your dog - your money -your responsibility.

Have a lot of fun!

Susie~ Good advise !
My problem is that I doubted my gut... I just thought my ignorance was the problem. Then it got to the point I didn't care if I was and idiot....and they were "right". I couldn't let anyone treat my dog that way. I care less about the money...than the well being of my dogs. When I brought them home the very first time....I made them promises. They will be with me through thick and thin...and I will always watch out for them. I am extremely upset that I didnt trust myself sooner, and I let my dog down.

Thank you so very much...Sheri

Sheri ..... I didn't know who was or was not working the dog. I made no assumptions that is why I wrote plainly to ' stop '. For the record many officers are very good at handling a canine.. but they don't understand /know how to teach canines. They attend the canine Academy , train THEIR dogs, and because of that they think they are knowledgable trainers . Many officers are not good at Teaching*** dogs . I leave that alone for now.

I never ever train a dog with a bite agitation collar. Helpers in IPO , most have a preference in using that type of collar. Their reasoning is that they feel they can better develop bite and grip. However I always use a harness [ properly of course too ] and if one knows what they are doing they can develop the bite and other skills just as , or even better. So , one thought , why would one want to strengthen thegrip and fullness of the bite and at the same time the dog bites it gets choked out ? BTW , very good comment"" about the trachea and throat damage by incorrect collar usage.

As previous posters have brought up : Teaching for Personal protection is very different than for teaching a dog for sport. I have no problem having a dog for either endeavors. BUT..... my advice is : decide what you want to accomplish with your dog first .. then teach according to your goal. However I want to stress this without giving detail : Once you start a dog , when it is ready of course, down the path of the dark side .. down the path of true aggression to a person for personal defense, there is no turning back ! dogs do not unlearn behaviors , once you teach the dog to bite for real , you can never ever take that learning back . Channel the bite behavior , yes . but the dog has learned to bite a person ! And Sport , the bent now a day from when I started Sch/IPO , is to have the dog now key on the man .. realize that is different as Val as alluded to , the dog keying on biting the equipment. So Understand this if you do go to a club as some posters have suggested.

Again , you did the right thing asking for input. Several years ago someone contacted me because this happened at a club in the USA . She was not knowledgable and put her faith in someone !! The woman nearly had her really nice dog ruined . After she interacted with me and received help , the Regional IPO Director was called in and they ousted that helper and that club was nearly closed down. Moral : if at any time you do not understand why you or anyone else is doing what they do , the purpose and goal of that session or if you feel that something is not right . Immediately STOP. There used to be an expression when things didn't turn out a s planned, which was said : " always end on a good note ' . No , if something isn't working out . JUST STOP [ immediately , take the dog out of the situation/context] . Time out re-group and start again later ...

First of all let me say that when you don't know what's right or wrong we trust others who are supposed to know what they're doing to do the right thing...But if you feel something isn't right and your dog is being trained incorrectly then PLEASE say STOP and talk about it and/or go home and try something else...
I am not a person that likes Harnesses BUT there are times and places you should use one...I have probably 5 harnesses that I use on young dogs or dogs that need it...Usually you want to use a Harness on a young dog to help support them as they learn how to accept the pressure from hitting against it learning bitework...
In a nutshell you SHOULD NOT put that much pressure on a young dog or any dog to begin with...You build a little each time you work them you don't slam them with everything and expect them to be able to handle it...
Also the Handler (You) should have be in beside your dog to offer support and to get the dog to release the sleeve to give back to the "Helper"...
Please feel free to ask whatever you'd like on this site...There are a lot of people on here that can offer you information on what should be and what should not be done with your dog...

~Bob~

Sheri,
 This is your play list with 6 videos, hope this helps.