Protection work! - Page 1

Charger vom padilla is 16 months old and I have been working on his drive. I just bought the bite sleeve and he is doing really well. My only issue is that Charger gets tired really quick and when I through obedience training he acts really stubborn. He whines a lot. Is he just being lazy or is he not meant for protection work?

Thanks,

Alex

 he whines to go back to play or whines like he is in pain ?  .Becareful it could be avidence it is hard from here to advise without seeing him . post his video ,

Whines like he is tired

Might be time for a heartworm test. Has he had a physical exam lately?

How hard are you working him?  He should only get like 3 bites and that is it.  With o/b you have to keep it short and fun or you will get problems.  Several short productive sessions ending always in success are far better tha 20 min of frustration for you and the dog.

Also, if you get frustrated or impatient, especially with the young dog, you are going to creat problems and make it unpleasant for everyone.  IT HAS TO BE FUN.  16 months is still a baby really.

Also if he does not know what you want, not sure and you have made him afraid of correction he might freeze or avoid when he is conflicted.

Try looking a Balabanov's video, "Obedience Without Conflict"....this might give you and your dog a whole new perspective on making obedience fun and you cannot argue with Balabanov's results.

My question is you said you have been working on his drive and you just bought a sleeve, have you learned how to be a helper? There is more to it than putting on a sleeve and you can do SERIOUS damage to your dog if you don't know exactly what you are doing, and you should never have a green helper work a green dog. We had a PD in our state not too long ago that thought you could just put on a sleeve, and help the handler work his dog, he jerked the sleeve wrenching the dogs neck as he was "trying to make him work for it" and paralyzed the dog from the waist down. Aren't you the OP that asked about teaching a dog to bark on command? If you aren't experienced enough to teach your dog to bark on command you are NO WHERE NEAR EXPERIENCED enough to put on a sleeve.  You have to be able to read the dog, change your behavior and approach accordingly.  It takes more than a gsd, and a sleeve to make a protection dog.  You will end up ruining your dog, hurting him or yourself, or ending up with an uncontrollable that you have told is ok to bite.  I know that is not your intention, so please go to somebody that has experience and is knowledgable in this.  We can't tell you how to train your dog over the internet, we can give hypothetical suggestions, but we don't know the dog and we don't know you, we can't see how the dog is reacting etc training is a very hands on thing.   

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After posting I thought maybe it would help you realize my point of view if I told you how I got into bitework and personal protection, and why I am soooo passionate on this type of situation.  14 yrs ago a very good friend of mine was in charge of the local animal shelter, she had bred wl gsds for yrs.  At the time I was training but I was doing obedience, and SAR dogs.  My friend called me one day asked me to come in so I did.  When I got there she took me to the back there was a beautiful GSD, who was not very happy.  There was a gentleman who wanted to work for a PD as a k9 handler.  He thought if he got and trained his own dog even though he was inexperienced that would make it easier to get hired.  Unfortunately that isn't how the story unfolded.  He ended up with a VERY VERY aggressive dog he could not control, so he brought her into the shelter.  My friend had called me because she had 2 options either immediately put the dog down, or find somebody that she KNEW would do what needed to be done to see if the dog could be retrained or would put it down.  I took "Lady" home that day, it cost me thousands of dollars and countless hours and months of going to trainers that knew what they were doing and working her everyday, The trainer I found was great what we had to do was COMPLETELY retrain this dog, there were times he told me it wouldn't happen but at that time I loved her and REFUSED to give up, she couldn't be left unsupervised in her crate she would bust out, she took out 3 screen doors in my house trying to get to somebody walking to close to her yard, she spent the majority of the first yr I had her with her leash connected to my belt loop and with me 24/7.  4 yrs later Lady got her FEMA certification, She saved my life twice when I went into anaphylactic shock and she went and got somebody and brought them to me both times the ambulance and dr said if it had been another 10 minutes I would have died.  Getting very hard to type now as I'm crying I had to put lady down last yr.  I still have her ashes and her collar, I still talk to her and I still cry some nights because I miss her.  It breaks my heart to think what would have happened to her if I had not taken her, she was the best friend I've ever had, the best partner I've ever had, and it all could have ended for her at not quite 2 yrs old instead of 15yrs.  Or worse yet she could have hurt somebody and then been remembered as a viscous dog, when she was anything but.  The man wasn't mean he was just inexperienced and thought just a dog and a bite sleeve......

Good Evening Donner ; Condolences on the pasing your K9. I'd like a lil advice if you will ? I have a 10 month old F,Gsd, who is nuts over the tug and leather gloves. It's like that's all she wants to do at times. :) She is so,so on her basic ob. I'd like to see what kind ability she might have. Down the road, I'd like to train her for maybe , PPD or tracking/article serach. 
Any advice or thoughts on this matter ??? Rick