How young is too young? - Page 3

allabout -- there is so much to write -- i could not possibly get it all done in one reply -- but a commentary to your post -- i can tell you how i do several things with my dogs gladly --you may e-mail me -- i generally have to watch you/dogs to see what's going on but since i can't i would say -- if you go to the door -- obviuosly you want the dog to go out with or without you seeing that you allowed your dog there. ok given that is what YOU really want is the dog to THINK / CONTROL ITSELF -- then if you dog offers you a behavior sit , [rather than jumpimg up on the goor /or pushing you aside to get to the door. ]yes yoour dog is attending to you because  in it's mind : " if i sit i get to go out .. sitting opens the door for me . the dog needs the door opened but is willing to offer a behavior and indicative of self  control itself ..  you didn't need a collar l leash did you . you didn't  "command " your dog to sit did you ? but ultimately you got the behvior you wanted ! the only feature that i add is that if the door opens i want my dogsa to look to me for permission to go -- but that is taught differently - and not that hard. Also this corresponds to the second point - 'THERE IS NO SUCH COMMAND AS STAY"-- and if you train a stay sort of speaking then you have also introduce a no stay -- talk to me .. believe me without a seminar here it makes sense. -- and what i do in that respect is also a begining step to teach the dog self control -i do other thiongs to -- would be happy to share whether you agree or disagree -- that is not what is important -- last comment -- " A LACK OF REWARD or  THE WITHHOLDING A REWARD ....IS A CORRECTION IN AND OF ITSELF !" . this is extraoridnarily POWERFUL !

Jeff / others  -- i take a different outlook to my GSDs -- i look at the Gsd for what it is .. it is like a person .. having thoughts , feelings and emotion [as i have written a thousand times here] but it is an animal . Meaning [ that even people have intinctsd too ] it frelies heavily on it's instincts . The mental processes are simiolar yet different than people . like childrfen , depending the bent of the animal [ it's predispositions] a dog putting it's head fown on the ground is within the behavioral repitoire .. has nothing to do with you per- se. dogs are almost 100% nose .yes!if you want to understand a GSD understand it by the use of it's nose[ great point as to why all trials should have a scent or tracking portion  -why i still like Sch . it's part of it's being to use it's nose .. if it puts it's nose down to the ground .. I ASK .. ok .. what is this dog trying to communicate to me ? in protection work nose to the gropund is " a form of avoidance " that is the dog is stressed and concearned .. or another context the GSD may have hit upon a dog in heat .. hard to fight mother nature therte now ! So i do not look at the situation my dog is making a stantement about me ! seconf point - there is a difference in having dominion over the GSD . and this translates into training as opposed to havving dominance ! it is easy to dominate a GSD [or person for that matter]. very difficult to havbe great dominion . so if your [ i hate this word CORRECTION] dog does not do a behavior it is because generally , that is generally , we haven't established the CORRECT RELATIONSHIP and / or TAUGHT it correctly . So dogs do make mistakes .. the are a creature , living thing . in that case ..more guidance .. . Now as i alsao stated .. I purposely place my pups in the most distracting context i can find at the initial learning phase. as i stated ..for tracking .. day 1 my trackes arew laid purposely on poluted cross track and day 2 already different surfaces and weather conditions. it is my job to teach them [and i do from the start] to pay heed to what tyhey are supposed to . laslty -- i develop all my GSDFs to no matter what the context , the environment we work as a team/ unit so they are conditioned to look to me for permission , directions , cues to  ellicit a behavior . and yes when you CORRECT a dog , if the correction is uncalled for and if one [ and this is sop easy to do] overcortrects it can impact relationship and your dog's performance negatively -if we are not careful [ yes ] in protection for example ..hard corrections .. now your dog is  not just focused on the opponent/helper .. now he mnay become worried abou you on the back end to -did you ever see dogs handler sensitive in OB and protection -- tells me a lot right there

Jeff-you must be psychic. He does play with the other two a good bit. I have a very hard time with the idea of preventing it because they are all so happy doing it. I know a lot of people say I should, a lot say it doesn't matter. In your opinion, would it be better if he were with me and only played an hour or so a day with the others? Or is that still really the same thing I'm doing now? I mean they are pack animals, I guess that's why they're so happy together. Aren't I a member of the pack in their minds? Or do you think they differentiate?  I struggle with these questions a lot when it comes to them being together.

What's your opinion?

Allabout --was just outside / thinking of your progress -- i have two 11 week young pups -- two minute ago i had the two pups runnimg around the yard with 6 other adult GSDs ! others wouls say they will become to centered on the other dogs..-- yes or no ..It all stem .. everything stems form the relationship that you cultivate with each individual dog -- so if you had twin chioldren -- do they cut you out of the picture and go and live their merry lives ? No you develop a loving relationship with each one singularily or plurally. moreover -- as i stated in the previuos post -- i put my dogs in the most distraction situation .. well i think for a pup another adult dog is distracting ? no? -- great -i use that to ,my vantagehare ..i have teached my dogs whistle conditioning [ started at 8 weeks] -ok so they here the whistle , which mean : present your self in front of me toe to toe.-- out of all the so called trained dogs .. who do you think gets there first ? in trugth the pups ..or at least they try to be there first anyway ! ok ..would you call that a "recall" .. now when they get there .. the one that locks on to me with full eye gaze .. and the longest . who do you think locks on the most imtent .. the pups .. seems they try harder .. they don't want to be left out if there is a treat .-- another point -- they learn manners with other dogs.-- so how do you get your dog mannered with preople .. by putting into the context with other people so you can teach it wgat is accpetable with humans and what is not./-- and if i want help teachinmg my pups . who better to teach than another dog .. later when i have taught the down at a distance - i will drag 6 of my gsds out -- keep them at a distance and say [ not yell , not command .] but say "platz " the first thing that may happen -all the adults guaranteed will platz - the youngster my or may not .. but when he sees the other .. most like;ly the pup will follow suit.  !  b BTW they have been running around with the other at 10 weeks old now