1.) Will Teaching your pup manners (in the house) affect his/her drive, and to what extent?

2.) Should a Shutz pup live among the humans? Or be kept outside in a pen like a wolverine?

3.) Can we have our proverbial cake and eat it to? Shutz pup inside with humans (adults and kids) well mannered but exhibits great drive outside on the field?

Ive ordered some books and videos on training . while Im waiting for them to arrive I thought Id ask here.

Im wondering what others think about this subject. What are your expierences?

Thanks in advance!

B4 you ask: I did a search but did not find exactly what I was looking for.

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"Don't take the fence down, until you know why it was put up."- Robert Frost

My dogs live in the house with me and I do not see where it affects their drive but really, how would I know if it did? Regardless, it is something I'm willing to risk, for me the benefits outweight any potential drawbacks.

We have loose rules in the house, no eating anyone, no playing, no countersurfing. My dogs are well exercised though and spend a lot of time outside with me or my husband.

I think the answer really depends on a lot of factors, you, your dogs, and your goals. It can vary so much from person to person and situation to situation.

There is some truth in that, but it's not just limited to schutzhund. Many professional handlers even in the AKC show ring believe dogs perform better when kenneled. This way many dogs are more "up" for training/showing because this is when they get the most attention/affection. These dogs are by no means treated cruelly or neglected. That said, most of us have our dogs as companions, and are happy to sacrifice a little drive in order to live with our dogs. Also, we compensate in other ways. For example, some competitors might give their dogs a little more quiet time in the crate before training/competition in order to bring drives up a tad bit. Nowadays, dogs are being bred with more than enough drive to compete even if they are first and foremost our companions. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think I could handle my dog if he had any more drive - he's borderline crazy as it is!!!

One more thing, with regards to manners, we raise our schtuzhund prospect puppies differently than the average pet so that we don't knock down the drives.

Thanks for your replies!