Which DvD should I purchase for my 12 week old GSD.

Basic Dog Obedience

or

Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months

What are the pros and cons of each?

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Which DvD should I purchase for my 12 week old GSD....Basic Dog Obedience....or Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months...What are the pros and cons of each?

Disclaimers: I don't have puppies; the youngest has been an adolescent; I train pet dogs and am brand-new to special-purpose training.

I have friends to whom I've recommended the Leerburg videos after I first watched Basic Obedience, and so I've watched the puppy one.

My take is that the puppy video covers the obedience you do with a little puppy, plus everything else: care, house-training, feeding, the neutering questions, grooming, and more.

That's the one I'd get first if I had a new puppy.

For myself, I like the obedience DVD so much that after I had one given to me, I watched it twice, and then gave it to an owner whose dog I helped train.....then I bought more so I could do that again.

So JMO: I'd get both and watch the puppy one first.

And I hope that the folks who train working dogs will give their opinions, too.

If I remember correctly there's things in the Basic OB DVD that you won't do with a working puppy which I think is outlined in the DVD "Raising a working puppy". At least, that's what I remember....

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If I remember correctly there's things in the Basic OB DVD that you won't do with a working puppy which I think is outlined in the DVD "Raising a working puppy". At least, that's what I remember....

By working puppy do you mean PPD and Search and Rescue?

For Schuthund does working puppy apply?

I have both dvds. i bought the basic ob dvd first and boy i feel like i made a mistake. i went back and got the 8weeks-8mo video and got back on line. believe me, if you go right into the basic ob dvd, you will feel the same way i did. the way the videos are set up is kinda like a building block. you need to watch one before the the next. if you dont you will be putting the cart before the horse. now with that said, it also depends on your level of exp as a handler. it also depends on what you wanna do with them. if you want a pet dog that will lick you and smile when you scold it, you may be able to get by just getting the basic ob dvd. if you wanna do any kind of sport or SAR with it then i HIGHLY suggest you go in order. in each video you will finds things that are both informitive and interesting. hope this helps

If your dog is a family pet:

1st: Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months
2nd: Basic Obedience
3rd: E-Collar Training for Pet Owners

I agree with Jason. I also have both. I believe that you will be kind of lost if you start with the basic obedience unless you have a lot of experience. “8 weeks to 8 months” gives you a really great start with your puppy and also helps understand puppy behavior. It seems to me that some of the training in the basic obedience video is too old for a really young puppy, but the puppy video is just about puppies—it applies right now. I really believe that you need both videos. So start with the puppy video, but also get the basic obedience soon after. You will want to watch it a few times before getting started anyway.

BTW- I asked Ed Frawley this question and he also recommended “Bite Training for Puppies” in addition to the other two videos.

Linda Duhon

Let me clarify—the basic obedience is easy to understand…I just think that it assumes that you have an older dog that is ready for basic obedience, but a puppy may not be old enough for some of the training.

Linda Duhon

I have both the "Basic Obedience" and "Your Puppy Eight Weeks to Eigh Months." I am a first time dog owner with a now Seven Month old German Shepherd puppy named "Dieter."

I purchased the "Your Puppy Eight Weeks to Eight Months," about two months before I was able to take possession of my German Shepherd from my breeder. It was a HUGE help and I must have watched it at least ten times before we brought our puppy home. The DVD teaches about Leerburg's three training stages, at roughly how old a puppy is before they reach an individual stage, and what they should be learning at each stage. In addition, was some great health information and instruction on very simple obedience skills you can teach your dog right away. The simple OB that we did as a puppy with him has paid off for us now that we have a private trainer and are doing Schutzhund. We were able to concentrate on different tasks other than learning setz, platz, and komm giving us a head start. In addition, the DVD has some great advice on dog behavior and the dog's thinking process, which has been key to every thing we have done and are doing.

The "Basic Obedience" DVD I really didn't care for as much as I thought there was a lot of overlap between it and the "Your Puppy Eight Weeks to Eight Months." However, I did like the attention exercises Leerburg includes on the DVD.

If I had to do it all over again I think I would have purchased the "How To Raise A Working Puppy" and then the "Building Drive and Focus" DVD instead. Of course, I'm paying a lot for private Schutzhund training for my dog so that may have given me a different perspective than others in different situations.

I don’t believe that the obedience video is repetitive of the puppy video. While some subjects are touched on in the puppy video, he goes into much more detail in the obedience video. He also discusses some subjects in the obedience video, such as prong collars, that he does not mention at all on the puppy video.

Some things are taught on both videos, such as teaching your dog to sit. If you bought the puppy video, your puppy probably will know how to sit before you start the basic obedience. But I believe that a lot of people buy the basic obedience video that have an older dog and do not need the puppy video. With an older dog, you can start the basic obedience right away and I believe that the obedience video assumes that your dog is older. I think the youngest dog in that video is 6 months. He uses young puppies in the puppy video and explains at what age you can expect your puppy to be able to learn something. He kind of jumps right in on the basic obedience video.

I would definitely recommend that your purchase the puppy video first with a puppy as young as yours. But I would also recommend that you get the basic obedience. I really believe that you need both. I personally have used them both with my lab with great results <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

Linda Duhon