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by bill2712 on 27 February 2013 - 21:02
Does anyone have good experienced advice on how I should go about the stages of training my new GSD puppy for family protection. I have read articles saying not to touch them with training for awhile to let them build their drives. But then I see people starting obedience & bite work on the rags right at 8 weeks old. I'm looking to have a well rounded high drive family protection dog for me & my family along with achieving titles along the way. Any good suggestions are greatly appreciated. All my wants are based off of my puppy having the correct drives needed.
by bubbabooboo on 27 February 2013 - 22:02
Protection dogs need to be older before they start their bite work in my opinion. That said play and prey drives are great tools for teaching control and obedience. Personally I would lay off bite work for a protection dog until they mature ( 1 year plus or minus a couple of months depending ) and get some real fight drive going. You can teach a poodle to bite a sleeve but that dog may or may not be a reliable protector. For many dogs sleeve work is a game and all they will bite is a sleeve. I would teach obedience and get the dog absolutely reliable in the down, recall, and stay under distraction. There is little way to tell if your dog will be able to "fight with fury" as a protection dog must without letting the dog mature some. Your relationship with the dog will benefit from obedience work and that relationship is a big part of what protection dogs work from in my opinion.
by melba on 27 February 2013 - 22:02
Ok, you can take my advice with a grain of salt, but this is how I raise puppies destined for police K9 and sport work:
I start puppies at 5 weeks chase flopping after and biting a very soft rag with very little tug/resistance on my part. I can tell a lot
at 5 weeks which will have the drive I am looking for. Who chases and bites, who sits back and watches, who is biting my leg
instead, and who is attacking the puppies that are chasing the rag. I build rag work from 5 weeks onward. I start at 6-7 weeks with
motivational ONLY obedience with food and a clicker. I had one puppy at 6 weeks old passive alerting on explosives just for grins
and giggles because it puts absolutely NO pressure on the young puppy. This type of obedience teaches them to use their brain
to figure out the problem and find the solution. I start teaching to use their nose around 8 weeks with a ball or small kong. The
principles of scent cones can be taught very very young, and again there is no pressure only fun.
Puppy is socialized socialized socialized from 8 weeks onwards. They are taken to the lake, friends houses etc... and exposed to
many things just in the course of being a puppy and with me. Up until around 7 to 8 months they only wear a flat collar and are
allowed to pull (to an extent) me to objects and such if they want to investigate. It is around 7-8 months that correction is introduced
into obedience and more is expected of them. If your foundation work is good, you may need very little correction until they hit
puberty. At 7-8 months they should be biting a tug. When you start working your dog in defense will completely depend upon your
dog. Some show that they can handle it much earlier than others. This is where having a good trainer comes into play. Your trainer
should know when the right time to start this will be.
Melissa
I start puppies at 5 weeks chase flopping after and biting a very soft rag with very little tug/resistance on my part. I can tell a lot
at 5 weeks which will have the drive I am looking for. Who chases and bites, who sits back and watches, who is biting my leg
instead, and who is attacking the puppies that are chasing the rag. I build rag work from 5 weeks onward. I start at 6-7 weeks with
motivational ONLY obedience with food and a clicker. I had one puppy at 6 weeks old passive alerting on explosives just for grins
and giggles because it puts absolutely NO pressure on the young puppy. This type of obedience teaches them to use their brain
to figure out the problem and find the solution. I start teaching to use their nose around 8 weeks with a ball or small kong. The
principles of scent cones can be taught very very young, and again there is no pressure only fun.
Puppy is socialized socialized socialized from 8 weeks onwards. They are taken to the lake, friends houses etc... and exposed to
many things just in the course of being a puppy and with me. Up until around 7 to 8 months they only wear a flat collar and are
allowed to pull (to an extent) me to objects and such if they want to investigate. It is around 7-8 months that correction is introduced
into obedience and more is expected of them. If your foundation work is good, you may need very little correction until they hit
puberty. At 7-8 months they should be biting a tug. When you start working your dog in defense will completely depend upon your
dog. Some show that they can handle it much earlier than others. This is where having a good trainer comes into play. Your trainer
should know when the right time to start this will be.
Melissa
by Keith Grossman on 27 February 2013 - 23:02
I'm with Melissa and start working with my pups as soon as I lay my hands on them. The things you imprint in a puppies mind before 16 weeks are there for life. From there, there are no real,"stages; it's more of a progression and the rate of that progression depends entirely on each individual dog.
Keep in mind that if the dog doesn't have it in him, you will never obtain your goal. If he does, he will likely lead you to it.
Keep in mind that if the dog doesn't have it in him, you will never obtain your goal. If he does, he will likely lead you to it.
by bill2712 on 28 February 2013 - 00:02
Thank You for all the good advise. My only question I have now is...starting obedience at 8 weeks is a good idea or not? For myself, I just want to make sure that foundation is very strong on the puppy. I got my hands on a leerburg dvd titled "how to raise a working puppy" & their advise is to not start any training till later.
by Keith Grossman on 28 February 2013 - 02:02
I've watched that video and that isn't what they say at all. Obedience is fine to start at 8 weeks so long as it is entirely based in positive reinforcement...use treats.
by melba on 28 February 2013 - 03:02
Yes, use treats and no correction. I like the clicker with little puppies because they seem to catch on to the "game" and new
behaviors can be created from nothing. It is such a wonderful sight when you see your puppy actively thinking of ways
to get the click. I've 100% off lead recall on all puppies I have done this with. I usually use puppy's meals for training, and
so builds the bond between you and him/her stronger. Once a command is learned, I'll switch to a ball or kong if higher
value to get real sharp ob, and the other way around also. I will go back to a clicker on an adult if ob gets sloppy due to the
higher drive associated with the higher value reward.
Melissa
behaviors can be created from nothing. It is such a wonderful sight when you see your puppy actively thinking of ways
to get the click. I've 100% off lead recall on all puppies I have done this with. I usually use puppy's meals for training, and
so builds the bond between you and him/her stronger. Once a command is learned, I'll switch to a ball or kong if higher
value to get real sharp ob, and the other way around also. I will go back to a clicker on an adult if ob gets sloppy due to the
higher drive associated with the higher value reward.
Melissa
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