when to start training a sport dog?

[Leader]

I have heard several opinions about training and obedience in a working dog. My breeder doesn’t train his dogs until he’s ready to start the work program. And I was reading some old posts and read opinions for and against training sport dogs too early. I started doing obedience with Leader when he was 3 months old (as soon as he had all his shots) and have never stopped. Although he did get up to French ring II, he has always worked for fun, which isn’t so bad, given his character. ;)
But as I’ll be getting a bitch pup this summer from working lines I’d like to avoid as many mistakes as I can with her:(. I adore Leader, think he’s the dog of my life, but you never know. He’s a great housedog, companion and works fine. We sort of fell into ring. So, my question is: to have a good sport dog, is it better to start training young or to wait until 8 or 9 months and then start directly into sport training, aside from general good house behavior?

[WorkinDogz]

Just remember.....the males....are much more forgiving than the bitches. ;)

Lots of people don't do a thing with their dogs for a year..... Just build drive.....

I like to imprint obedience and do the drive building....but don't really get into "working" (and this also depends on the breed and the individual dog) for a good year...

Sometimes.....the females surprise you though.

At 8 months... my now 7 yr old GSD bitch was very much into her bite development. At 1 year....she was a fireball on the sleeve.

Depends on the dog......or bitch :)

[Leader]

:) Thanks WorkinDogz. I'm not surprised to hear that about bitches, but Leader is whole and I don't want to lock any rott up or spend my time stopping fights..... And if the bitch turns out to be quality, I'd love to breed her, maybe to Leader. But we'll see about that when the time comes.
:) Thanks for the info., as usual to the point and high quality.
:D

[laurlitt]

WD,
From your experience w/ both breeds would you say the GSD develops a bit faster? We have a lot of Shepherds at our club and sometimes I think they are moving along too quickly with them (some of the younger ones) but then maybe I'm think Rottweiler maturity rates... I too am planning on getting a bitch puppy w/in the year. This will be my first female and my first puppy I've started w/ in Schutzhund. I had Blaise since a puppy, but didn't start w/ Sch.

I've been reading a lot about imprinting (starting as young as 6 weeks) and was wondering if the stages of imprinting might be different for a Rott (the books I read I assume are written w/ the GSD in mind)... A lot of literature discusses getting puppy as young as 6-7 weeks for proper imprinting (assuming the handler knows what they are doing)... Thoughts anyone?

[WorkinDogz]

IMHO there is no doubt that the GSD is ready to go long before the Rottie.

Biggest problem the Rottie has is people insist on training them LIKE a Shepherd. They just aren't mentally ready for the work in the same timeframe as a GSD or Mal is.

[Leader]

WD,
Today I spoke to the pres. of my club about this. He says (after 20 years experience!) that he feels that with puppies you can do pretty much as you please, being gentle and not scaring them nor harming them nor their teeth nor bites....but that he's found that many dogs are extremely 'sensitve' from about 8 to 13 months and anything that goes wrong then can be irreversible, or almost. So he feels that during that time only gentle work, training with familiar people (known by the dog), not changing helpers nor trainers etc is very important during that time.
I think that a lot also depends on the dog, character, temperament, etc. If the dog or in my case bitch is sensitive, then special care should be taken. I think it's really important to have serious bonding and getting to know your dog in order to know what can be done or not, what might be harmful or not. That and helper and trainer you trust and who respects you (or in this case me) and your dog.:p

[WorkinDogz]

Actually Leader, I find they get down right WEIRD around 8 or 9 months.....but it usually only lasts for a very short period of time (thank goodness :) )

Again; have to know your dog first and foremost; and absolutely trust your helper.

That goes for any age though.