May 19, 2011
I just got a 8 week old GSD that I want to raise as a service dog. We have your tracking through drive tapes at our department. What should I do with my new pup?
Full Question:
I have an eight week old GSD puppy that I would like to train as a police service dog. I have tested him according to your procedure and found him to be excellent. The dog has a great prey drive at this point.My question is when, and how, do I begin tracking training with him?
I purchased your video on Tracking through Drive for my current police K-9 and found it to work well.
Thanks,
Scott
K-9 Handler
![Ed](https://leerburg.com/Photos/articles/authors/edfrawley.jpg)
![Ed](https://leerburg.com/Photos/articles/authors/edfrawley.jpg)
Glad the test helped.
There are a couple of points.
Good luck
There are a couple of points.
- TTD should not be used on a dog until its 12 months old. The early stages of tracking are motivational foot step tracking. I have written about this on my web site in the Q&A on tracking The video for this is Video 203. TTD is way to much exercise and pups don’t have the concentration to cover those distances and remain in drive.
- You should start the foundation of bite work right now. It’s done in prey drive. You do ALL OF THE FOUNDATION bite work training between 8 weeks and 12 months by yourself. Here are the videos that show you how:
Good luck
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