Thread: obedience

I will answer a couple of your questions, they are valid certainly not silly at all. Here's a reply of mine in mouthing pup's..

Mouthing & Building Drive
With the youngens biting human flesh i give a command ahh! If that doesn't sink in then a good grabbing of the scruff does and they do shake it off as already said here.For the more stubborn babies i can only suggest persistence and consistency in your method.You can redirect the bite with a tug or towel or whatever you are using however it is a good time to also say "I am alpha and no bite satisfaction is happening right now,till you get the desired behaviour from the puppy.

You are leader, you say when enough is enough and i do not think that will crush your boys spirit. Puppies need leaders.

Whatever a puppy is purchased for, good ground rules and routine is key. I let babies be babies, then slowly by 12 wks i begin to expect some compliance or simply no satisfaction is given. I believe in time out for young dogs and run time is certainly included for the older ones, mine are essentially kennel dogs with time out for activities,training,feeding,etc. All training tools have a place, but bonding and respect come from the owner! Very important to have a relationship with an animal you want for a task IMO

A few knowledgeable people here, hope they reply.

It all depends on what you personaly want from the dog but the best advise I can give on this topic is to imprint the pup from day dot for the lifestyle it has to live. If you dont want an adult dog sleeping in your bed then don't allow the pup to. If you expect the finnished product to be left at home alone for long periods of the day as an adult then don't cart the pup everywhere with you when he is young. I you don't want an adult dog sinking its teath into you then don't allow the puppy to do so. I think you see where I am going with this. I will also add that as far as obedience and bite work etc goes, the pup will tell you what he is ready for when he is ready for it.

By the way, good productive post. Lets hope it doesn't get over shadowed by other bull shit threads.

ONe of the best threads i have seen here in a while, with real potential for education
I don't have any answers but i look forward to the responses from the many knowledgable and experienced people here!
Thanks to Amy and Craig for those answers!

Some excellent responses.

I struggled with puppy behaviour in the past, loved them, but were a pain in bum until the first time I crate trained a pup, what a major breakthrough and a crate is worth it's weight in gold. Pack structure is important to imprint I think for the pup to learn the best things in life come from me or the family who ever will handle the dog. I don't socialise pups in the sense that people often believe means allowing their pups to interact with other people and other dogs and prefer to show pups that people and dogs exist to neutralise the pup, but to imprint handler focus, I don't want my pups to find pleasure in other people and other dogs which helps avoid the stage in adolecence where they become excited and misbehave at the sight of dogs and strange people and prefer them neutral to these distractions.

Rag work and balls are my favorites for drive building and once they begin to loose their puppy teeth, I stop tug games until their adult teeth are through and work on retrieve and prey drive with a ball. Tug games with sore gums can often ruin a good natural bite and cause avoidence in a teething pup which I prefer not to take that risk. Ball games are good for training obedience in drive and once the adult teeth are through and ready to resume bitework, I like my pups to have learned the sit, drop, some focused heeling, retrieve and outs with the ball. NEVER EVER do I go near any form of defence drive until a pup is around 12 months old and mentally mature enough for defensive pressure.

Having said all that, some of the best dogs I have seen in service have been raised by in all sorts of fashions by average pet owners and haven't had an ounce of training until 12 or 13 months old. Although there are great theories with good sensibility how to raise a working puppy it still remains a mystery which is the ultimate way to go to produce the best dog you can.

Cheers
Nev