Hi folks. Ed has mentioned in his "Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months" DVD that you have to allow a puppy to be a puppy. How long is this period and what do you do during this period?

As some of you may already know, I own a 2 month old GSD and for the first week that he's been with me, I'm doing just that: letting him run around, playing tug, crate time of 2 hours a day max and minimal corrections in the form of a shake on the scruff of the neck for unwanted behavior (i.e. biting the rug, eating grass and dirt).

I've also been training him to get used to a collar and lead but I'm afraid to do any pops on the leash as I was advised by the breeder to not do any pops on the leash until he was about 5 months old for it may damage his neck muscles and bones. I've also been pulling the ball and string during our drive exercises, is this safe for his neck? I try to minimize the light tugs and do the "S-shaped" pulls like the ones I see in the Drive and Focus Video. Am I doing to much?

John, I haven't seen the dvd but I can tell you that the dog begins "doggy puberty" at 17 weeks. That is when hormone levels will begin to rise and change in your dogs body chemistry.

A couple of other points for you, based on your OP;

 Quote:

minimal corrections in the form of a shake on the scruff of the neck

Actions like this won't accoplish the result you are looking for. What your dog will learn is to avoid you when engaging in the behaviors you mentioned. Also, actions like this will really hurt your bond with the dog. You run the risk of him learning to be afraid of you and to not trust you. For the things you mentioned, you need to implement a training regime to teach the dog what behaviors are appropriate and which ones are not; this is part of house-breaking.

For tug, just don't be too rough with a really young dog and do not move the tug up and down; move side to side.

P.S. I love that picture!

IMO, when puppy is doing something like digging, getting into trouble, it should be a firm NO and then YOU need to get interesting real quick...more interesting than that hole!! motivational training is such fun and can flow really well if you are "thinking outside of the box" as I do tend to believe (some) humans have a natural tendency towards the power over versus power within model. IE: "no", followed by a correction when the puppy hasn't truly learned the lesson.

It can take a while and can be a challenge to "stay positive" because it is just so easy to get pissed and "scruff the neck". Your puppy is definately in the learning phase and markers IMO will be of great benefit in your training later. Have fun with your pup and good luck.

I've always thought pups are pups until 2.5 or 3 years!!!

2 hours in the crate maximum??? A 2 month old pup should be sleeping all day. Pups live in the crate, then they come out as often as they need to go potty, short palytimes, then back to sleep.

Don't correct the pup for anything, there is no need, there is no need to scruff or say "NO" or anything like that. If you need to correct your pup then you are doing something wrong. The easiest way to raise a pup is to take em from crate -> outside -> crate. Playtime is done outside where they can't get into trouble, if they do something you don't like in the yard then throw a ball or something. Just relax, pups don't need much. Just socialize, take the pup everywhere, let the pup get enough sleep, experience new things every day and play ball & tug.

This is just how I do it, maybe I have more patience than some? But I have learnt that going into puppy-hell requires you to enter it in a state of mind where you are just going to accept everything that happens for the next 10 months. This includes peeing in the house or crate, it happens, puppies are puppies, anytime a pup has an accident it is the handlers fault not the pups. You can do motivational OB with food n such now, but I personally prefer to wait till the pup grows out of their "mindless puppy" stages so you can get some more focus and understanding from them. 5-6 months old or so. Then if you need a prong for any reason, I like starting a prong at 10 months old and introducing it in such a way that it turns the dog on rather than causing submission from the dog. But I've already gone into that in a past thread so I'm not gonna go thru the prong = drive stuff again

JM$0.02

Mike, can you provide a link or thread title for your prong = drive stuff?

This is the one Mike is talking about, I believe:
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=18&Number=129278

Thanks Sandy, I woulda never found it

I print out your stuff

Not to take the post too far off topic, but I really enjoyed reading it. A very well thought out and interesting perspective on training and training equipment. I have a question for you now though, but I will open up my own thread. I'll title it; prong = drive stuff again.

Yep: 2 hours a day in a crate because I'm allowing him to get used to the environment first. Now,he's doing great at being in the crate (in my case, it's a big dog cage or kennel)from mid morning till late afternoon. He still sleeps in the house at night.