Thank you Diamond Dog for your answers to my many long-winded questions. :)
****Ideally your club has puppy time with new memmebrs and for puppy owners. Usually the cutoff stage is 6 months. Usually its in an area where adult dogs are not allowed. Its for safety. Check the rules of the club*****
From what I could tell, this club doesn't seem to have a puppy area for puppies to socialize in. I will keep my pup with me and crate him when he seems tired.
***You want to keep it short. I dont know the exact time limit. Puppies have short attention span and you want to be building drive and confidence right now. A lot of obedience early may diminish this. make it fun. Try to stay away from compulsion at this stage and use motivators like food*****
I am only working on basic puppy type OB work with food/praise rewards and motivators. No compulsion at this point.
***You can mess up a dogs grip and other things by doing things on your own, Simple things you do in play at home may not be appropriate. If you want a Sch dog, you have to do all kinds of things to ensure the precision the sport demands. You really have to decide if you want a Sch dog because if you do you can not just do things as if you had a pet and do whatever you want. There are so many nuances to Sch....its really an art. Our trainer told us to simply show the dog toys at home, wave them around, get the dog frustrated...then put them away (without giving him the toy). That way he was ready to go at traiing and the trainer could play with him correctly with the rag or tug. There are whole videos on just "playing" with your dog correctly so you can build drive and focus. Check out the Flinks video on building drive and grip, and focus (or something like that) at
www.????????.com. You will be amazed at all the things you can do with a ball on a string******
I have the Flinks video and have been trying to follow it when working with my puppy. I am concerned about making mistakes and creating bite problems, but from what I have heard and read so far it seems that building drive is up to me until my puppy has gotten to the age where he can start training seriously (15 to 18 months?).
As for the toys in the yard, are all puppies intended for Schutzhund work not allowed to play with any other toys? Does this mean only work with the bite tube, tugs and rag work? Or are there certain toys and chews that are acceptable?
*****Flat collar should be OK for now. I like using a harness. You can get a good one at k9toolbox.com Your dog is probably too small for a harness at this point. Let him leap and lunge at dogs as long as its not agressive. let them go nuts and get tired. Nothing is better than a tired puppy!********
Thanks, I'll check it out.
*****Sure it is! All the pros on this board at one time had no idea what Schutzhund was*****
Thank you for the encouragement.
*******People who title Sch III dogs make mistakes******
:D
*******Go regularaly and don't drop out. Clubs get new people all the time, they invest time and then those people drop out a few months later. That happens much more than people staying with it. Schutzhund is so much work and so many aspects and so much of the work is not glamerous or fun. A lot of people say "ask lots of questions" I say before you ask a lot of questions WATCH a lot. Do what your trainer tells you to do and try not to variate from what he tells you. Always remember that he knows more than you (for now). Read your club rules and follow them. Download the BH and Sch I routine off the DVG website and get familiar with it. Even if you are not ready to do it. This way you know what its about and what you are working toward and people will see that you are serious and putting in the effort. Don't rush your puppy. People tend to have big expectation that are unreasonable with puppies. And remember that the protection phase of Sch is only part of it.*********
*****I would also ask the trainer what should you do this week. It may be something simple. It may be, work on getting him to sit. The next week I would say "You asked me to do X, let me show you my dog and the progress I made (once you complete his task) Eventually you should get on a program and the tasks will get more complicated and take weeks or months and that is why you see people doing their own thing on the field.******
Thank you. Very good advice. I hadn't thought about downloading the BH and SCH I routine, but it makes perfect sense. You need to know what you're working towards not just what you're working on. I am not concerned about the hard work, early mornings and non-glamorous aspects of the sport. I used to train horses for a living so I understand what it takes to be a good trainer and work with an animal every day no matter what. Schutzhund is something that I am looking into because the sport is fascinating. Having a strong working relationship with my dog is also something that appeals to me. Realistically, I know that I may well be one of those people that does not continue because I don't really know what's involved with training a dog for this type of work. It may not be a fit for me or my dog. I would like to give it a try though. Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. :)
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