Puppy training video rec - Page 1

I am interested in puppy training video or book recommendations. I have had many dogs and we know the basics. Our new pup will be the first for schutzund type training. A guide of some sort would be helpful. There is a working dog club about an hour away that I will join but the trainer said wait till she's 6 months.
Any experience with Michael Ellis? Leerburg? German shepherd man? Tarheel canine?
Suggestions? Thanks

You don't need to wait until she's 6 months to do the basics at the club. Is this a sport club or a trainer's club? Because a lot of clubs have members get pups used to stuff at the club before 6 months. You can also learn a lot by watching other members train - that is one of the biggest advantages to being with a club - to watch and learn from others.

You can't really go wrong with Michael Ellis vids though.

It is a USCA training club. they had a trial last week and i went to watch. He did recommend that i come up on Saturdays. It is an hour to hr and 1/2 drive, so i probably will go every other Saturday. We have a 3 yo male (neutered) dog that i can take and practice on as well(obedience).
My breeder told me to be very positive and happy with treats and no negative training with her for the first 6 months. He said the most important thing is to get her socialized and environmentally stable. I have seen socialization checklists online, but not sure which one would be appropriate for this type of dog.
I guess what i would like is a formula or a step by step progression to training her. I know that i don't know much and dont want to mess her up. Also, my daughter and wife are super excited to get her and i would like to be able to teach them what to do and not to do with her. For example, how to get a puppy to stop biting you without doing it the wrong way. Or, how to teach her not to chase the cats. Would the Michael Ellis videos provide me a pathway to follow?

I am not sure about videos to raise a puppy, as I have been raising pups for sport since before youtube days (before internet even, lol) and I just do things by instinct a lot of the time.   I'm sure there are lots out there, some better than others - I would check out M.E., Ivan Balbanov, David Kroyer to name a few.   

There are certain things you can do that are common techniques for puppy rearing. So far as the biting, I use 'redirection' to provide a pup with a safe outlet for their instincts, without 'squashing' their drives and desire to bite as we want them to not have those inhibitions when it comes to sport. For the first while, until the pup learns when and when not to bite, I carry a rag or tug with me as well as kibble for reward. When the pup wants to bite my legs, hands, whatever, I bring out the tug and 'redirect' the biting behaviour to that instead of me. I play tug and let the puppy win, then when I want to get the tug back, I use a piece of kibble to 'trade' for the tug, and when the puppy lets go of the tug to get the kibble, I say 'out' to label that behaviour.

If you go to the club, the members there can help you learn other things to help you raise your pup to participate in sport. Good luck, and have fun with your girl.

Welcome to the world of Schutzhund and Training...I think any and all training type videos would help you and give you things you can do and how to handle them...However the best way is to have a mentor...a club or training group is very beneficial...
Right now if you just go once in awhile it will be very helpful...Maybe you will connect with some folks that might be closer to you and you can get together more often...
Every video or book you view you will get info. however you will probably have more questions...Usually different views on how and what to do can tax you...
Although I'm not a fan of Leerburg then do have some videos that might be helpful to you...Also I know Dave Kroyer has some on-line help also...Check them out they might help you...
I just got a 4 month old GSD and I have already started her of working for Food and playing with her with toys...like Balls on Rope and Kongs on Rope...Socializing her and in general introducing her to as many new things as possible...
At this young age you also want to do "Drive Promotion"...

~Bob~

I would think twice about the drive promotion. What is the pup's breeding? Pups that genetically have good prey drive don't need drive promotion and IMO, it causes more problems than it prevents. You can end up setting the dog up to being dependent on stimulation with prey drive to get the dog to work and you also can get the dog in such a high state of drive that the pup doesn't learn how to attend and learn. Socialization is just about taking the dog out to as many different places and exposing him to different environments and potential environmental stressors like metals stairs, metal grates, near an airport where planes are taking off and landing, loud noises, slick floors, other animals and people, etc. With other animals and people, the dog doesn't have to directly interact and should not interact with dogs you don't know who might be dog aggressive. Go to events where there are lots of people such as sporting events where crowds are cheering. Anything that is new, different and potentially stressful.

Some good books are "Purely Positive Training" and "Schutzhund Obedience-Training in Drive" which both focus on the use of food for training behaviors based on operant learning principles. Also consider the use of a place box or pad and indirect learning/self discovery, where you have a place box or pad in the yard and every time the pups looks at or moves toward the place object, you mark with a clicker or "good" and immediately reinforce with food. The pup should get increasingly closer to the box and eventually learn via reinforcement of food to get in the box. You can use any command such as "place." Also learn to manage the pup's food drive by not over feeding and training with food before meals and always when the pup is hungry. Use high value food that is soft. I like cooked, boneless chicken thighs cut into very small pieces about the size of a pencil eraser. Get a nail pouch from Home Depot for $1 to tie around your waist and put the food in. Start shaping a sit, down and static heel position. The problem is that if you are not experienced with doing this or don't get help from someone who really knows what they are doing, you will create more problems than you will solve. The books I mentioned will tell you how to position the food to get fast and corrects sits and downs. A service/flip finish for a static heel requires the knowledge and correct use of opposition reflex with a collar and leash. Another reason drive building with a prey object is not a good idea for a novice is because you are likely to create problems with grips and strikes. Everyone says to find a club, but my experience is that most clubs are not that knowledgeable and skilled enough to bring your dog to his genetic potential, but it is probably the lesser of two evils.

I agree with most of what Koots and Apple have said above...

The only thing I don't agree with is what has been said about "Drive Promotion"...You do need to bring out or accentuate a dog's innate abilities...You don't need to over do it but it's always good to teach a dog to use his God given abilities...
How much you do is up to you and what you're trying to accomplish...With a young dog you're forming their training to what your goal is...

~Bob~

I have changed my position on drive building unless you have a dog with mediocre prey drive. It is a common training approach, but I have found it unnecessary and counter productive depending on the dog.I think if prey drive is good genetically, you are likely to create hectic drive and interfere with learning. Plus, the dog never sees the drive work in obedience or bite work in a trial or real life, so why train that way and set the dog up for failure? You tend to see this in sport dogs where they have a foundation of a lot of tug/ball work and misses to build frustration and drive and then when they go to trial, a few minutes into the obedience, they come down in drive because the prey stimulation is not there. And with a novice like the OP, he is likely to create other problems due to lack of technique.

Robert Cabral has some great puppy videos to start out with and it's free :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDSFaLJsLt2yHEKp3JM4_g