schutzhund for beginners. - Page 3

If he is 11 months Old then you will have him walking okay to Heel, Not all the time though

If he is only just stating on a Tug you can get hold of a Sack you hold the Dog on a tight leash and stay in one postition then the person with the sack comes to the Dog not the other way around, this way you can build up his drive for it

Do not forget to talk to your Dog and urge it on

To finish off get the person to roll the sack up and hold it over waist high then let the dog go for it, only start off a couple of yards away Once he is keen then you can go onto a Tug,

After each session let him play with his Obly Ball or what he likes, By this time you may have joined a good Club

Take your pup with you and ask what they do before you commit yourself but it will do the Dog good to as i said to socialise with humans and Other Pups

You can start Tracking as soon as you want to ,over here they start about 10 weeks old its a natural thing but some do it better than others, but its mostly a game at that age in fact make it all a game until the dog understands

Do not rush the Dog or expect too much to soon it will take time the usual obedinace you can do  the basics back home

Steve

I would be careful with how much OB you do.  Alot of trainers will tell you to do very little or none at all until the dog is started in bitework.  Reason being...the pup needs to be confidently  independent, a pup with alot of OB will be dependent on the handler, looking to him for "permission"...OB with alot of compulsion (corrections) can also bring a dogs drive down...they should be a little on the obnoxious side when starting bitework.

My friend who started with her 16 month female did not intend to do SchH from the beginning, so she did alot of OB and actually had some titles before doing SchH.  When she started the trainer told her to stop doing OB all together because he wanted to see her more "free" during prey work.  Recently they started doing an escape where the dog (from a down) chases the helper when he start's to run away.  The first few times she did this her dog looked at her like "can I??" before she moved from the down.

Whatever OB you do (it's hard not to do any) should be all fun and little to no compulsion.  Reward with a ball or tug and reward frequently...do not expect or demand much control, be happy with the dog trying to obey out of drive and want for the toy.

He is not too young, I would find a trainer now...many people start much younger doing prey work.  Everything should be very fun for him, all just a game till he matures.  They will work on him barking for a tug/rag and developing his grips and progress slowly from there.

Regards.

Melanie 

incubus22

There is no time limit on the training, better to go slow than confuse the Dog,

The main thing is to build up his drive steady

At his stage do not expect or even let him near a Sleeve, break him into it gently and as his conifdence grows and the drive builds then you can go onto bigger things,

My 9 month Old Goran is only on a Tug, his Tracking is in a straight line with the lures very close together, the main thing is to get him focused on everything they do,

If you teach him the Down , let him stay there for only a minute, then into a sit gradually teach him to stay down a little longer over a period of time

The way they teach over here in Belgium is that nothing is a Race,

It takes as long as it takes

And the most important thing of all is to remember that you are learning just  the same as the Dog

Good Luck

Steve

Wow I feel sorry for all of you who have had problems with clubs as newbies!  That is what clubs are supposed to be for, helping people to learn about this sport, and grow their dogs to be successful in this sport!

I was very fortunate to meet the folks in my club, they were SUPER helpful in teaching me what this sport was and how to properly raise a puppy in the house and how to have fun training, which is what this is all supposed to be about!

If you have clubs nearby I would highly suggest to visit and be social, but also be respectful of the club that you are visiting, if you are and ask meaningful questions, you should find very helpful people in this sport.

I have found that some new people have come to my club and think they know everything about the sport because they read a website, and they become argumentative, we dont tend to be so nice in that situation, but we have several newbies that come out and watch and listen and ask questions, and they are doing very well.

A private trainer may not show you what this sport is really about, and that is beign social with other dog lovers and having fun!  Good luck, and I hope the rest of you find good clubs, if you are anywhere near Nor Cal, there are MANY MANY around here, I never visited a club where I felt out of place or looked down upon when I first started in this sport.  ~Kari

Steve:  You said it, brother.  I could not agree more. For those of us for whom this is a hobby,  it's all about the journey, it's NOT a race and "it takes as long as it takes".  I like that! 

Sueincc

In our Main Club which we go Thursday evenings and Sundays, There seems to be all of a sudden a lot of Pups about the same age as Goran He is Nine Months old yesterday

I notice that some of thne Pups are more advanced than others, and one said to me only a week or so ago that she thought that her Pup was a little behind some of the others

I said some take a little more time to develope and come on and at this age it means little, The Pups are only just beginning to take it in

All i look for is for the Pup to be eager to learn nothing else, then we can go along together, as we agree there is no time limit on anything,

As ny old Karate Master taught me many years ago  'Those in haste go Nowhere' and i think it to be a true and wise saying

Steve