Thread: New puppy guidelines for dummies

I'd have to say when looking into buying a puppy first thing you should do is to write down on a piece of paper what your looking for in a dog, how active your lifestyle is, how many hours do you work a week, is your property securely fenced, etc. I wouldn't buy a long haired breed if your not willing to brush it's coat regulary etc or a very active dog if your a couch potato.

Then I'd go out and buy a dog encyclopedia or dog breeds book / website with all the dog breeds so you can research all the registered dog breeds. Once you find a few suitable breeds I'd go out to a pet show or a dog club and see the breed in person and quiz the owners with all your questions!!

I'd look into registered breeders, I used Dogz Online - The Pure Breed Dogs of Australia
rather then the tradingpost or local news paper (which you'll find back yard breeders - willing to pump out pups for $$$).

Once you find some breeders after visiting there website, I'd strongly suggest meeting the breeder in person and seeing the dogs they have. As obviously most breeders will tell you what you want to hear and will always talk up their dogs and tell you there's are best. Most breeders will have the health issue's with the breed on their website, as well as a puppy booklet - on socialisation etc.

Most of the time the stud won't be available as they might use semen. So I'd watch videos of him and do some research online etc. Also see the female. You should quiz them to see what health checks they do, and get them to show you paper work - don't rely on hear say.

Before you get a pup - I'd read up on how to socialise your dog between 8 - 16 weeks from books to videos or just online reports, like on this website.

Once you get a pup, I'd go to a sports dog club straight away and seek professional help from an expert, before going there with your pup I'd say to come down before to speak to the people down there. You can also see other people's dogs being worked - sometime's they breed litters themselves. You can also see a professional dog trainer who deals with dogs with high drives / working dog lines.
* some breeders will suggest to you good trainers, especially when your buying from another state, like I did.

Clubs

Schutzhund Australia

Originally Posted by Ben Fairclough

I'd have to say when looking into buying a puppy first thing you should do is to write down on a piece of paper what your looking for in a dog, how active your lifestyle is, how many hours do you work a week, is your property securely fenced, etc. I wouldn't buy a long haired breed if your not willing to brush it's coat regulary etc or a very active dog if your a couch potato.

Then I'd go out and buy a dog encyclopedia or dog breeds book / website with all the dog breeds so you can research all the registered dog breeds. Once you find a few suitable breeds I'd go out to a pet show or a dog club and see the breed in person and quiz the owners with all your questions!!

I'd look into registered breeders, I used Dogz Online - The Pure Breed Dogs of Australia
rather then the tradingpost or local news paper (which you'll find back yard breeders - willing to pump out pups for $$$).

Once you find some breeders after visiting there website, I'd strongly suggest meeting the breeder in person and seeing the dogs they have. As obviously most breeders will tell you what you want to hear and will always talk up their dogs and tell you there's are best. Most breeders will have the health issue's with the breed on their website, as well as a puppy booklet - on socialisation etc.

Most of the time the stud won't be available as they might use semen. So I'd watch videos of him and do some research online etc. Also see the female. You should quiz them to see what health checks they do, and get them to show you paper work - don't rely on hear say.

Before you get a pup - I'd read up on how to socialise your dog between 8 - 16 weeks from books to videos or just online reports, like on this website.

Once you get a pup, I'd go to a sports dog club straight away and seek professional help from an expert, before going there with your pup I'd say to come down before to speak to the people down there. You can also see other people's dogs being worked - sometime's they breed litters themselves. You can also see a professional dog trainer who deals with dogs with high drives / working dog lines.
* some breeders will suggest to you good trainers, especially when your buying from another state, like I did.

Clubs

Schutzhund Australia

Pretty good post all round Ben.

Regarding Sch clubs....'getting professional advice from experts' will not always happen there, as many are 'hobbyists' or 'enthusiasts'. Often times they are very well meaning people, some with great experience, however unless you are specifically wanting to compete then I would be careful with going down that road.

Professional trainers/behaviourists that have the appropriate understanding of how to help you and your dog achieve your own customised end training goals would offer a better alternative if you can find one who is reputable, highly experienced, and can teach what he/she knows in an effective and efficient fashion.

Sch people are not concerned with producing livable working pets for the most part, and often times the balance between work and livability goes by the wayside in favour of avoiding suppression....

Suppression is a terrible thing in a puppy, although applied extremely selectively in conjunction with drive and confidence building you can have stellar results.

Also, if you dont want to compete then an end goal of reliable, happy behaviours that make the dog livable are key. Sch dogs only have to display this on a green grassy field, and compete for maximum points, plus they have so many complex skills to train and concepts to teach the dog that many handlers would not even have the time to proof in different environments even if they wanted to.

Train with an end goal in mind.

Dont rule out Sch clubs....but for a pet protector I would suggest there is a lot of different points to consider.

By the way guys....full respect to sporting competitors and their dogs, but its not suited to promoting livable or sociable pets primarily.

Have a great day training guys,

Brad

Originally Posted by Jonathon Howard

This totally positive training stuff is BS. They see the success of guide dogs and think its the way to train. Little do they realise that most of the training guide dogs fail if they don't conform to this type of training.

My sister is a vet and has no idea about training. She took her dog to the local OB club where they use only positive training. Dog is disobedient as hell and wasnt working. I grabbed a toy and trained the dog for 5 minutes and it started to sit, heel and stay.
I see every day pups come into the surgery for a first checkup when a new owner gets a pup. Vaccinations get done, talks about worming and desexing etc. Nil about socialising and obedience training other than a puppy preschool handout. Most which have much to be desired.

Lets talk about "purely positive" for a moment...leash corrections and praise from a handler is purely positive.

A dog must learn how to learn, from both aversive and appetitive events.

These trainers who espouse that no form of aversive should ever be used, or that claim dogs do not learn through punishment will only ever have limited success due to the fact that they are forced to be highly selective about the dogs that they work with. Also they rarely produce any reliability in their final outcomes for clients and dogs.

IMPORTANTLY The biggest damage done by these trainers is most often the vitriole and sycophantic rhetoric that they purport as being truth/fact regarding the use of compulsion, punishment, and equipment such as check chains and pinch collars.

A great many of these 'trainers' teach such techniques or equipment is inherently cruel, thus closing the minds of these disadvantaged clients to the possibility of training in a more balanced fashion.

For puppies this is not an issue as there is rarely a need for a check chain and certainly not a pinch collar, but when these dogs cause their owners 'brain damage' as a result of problem behaviours left unchecked over a significant period (and often being moved to the outskirts of a class as the trainers 'cannot deal') the ability of real expert trainers/behaviourists to work with the dog effectively typically winds up being thwarted, costing these dogs a certain quality of life.

If they have their beliefs regarding this type of training, even though it is often based in ignorance or arrogance, then that is their right.

When these people poison the minds of paying clients to further a ridiculous political agenda based in nonsense and whimsy, it is blatantly cruel to the dogs that they cost a chance to realise their potential, and also to their clients who paid for solid information and were instead fed rubbish.


Have a good day guys,

BG