Hello, I brought home a 7 week old German Working Boxer last week. I have purchased several videos and have read Gary Patterson's "Tracking from the Beginning" and "Schutzhund Protection"; however, I am not entirely sure how to handle a few things. 1.) Is it ok for her to see our other Boxer while she is in her crate and he is hanging out in the house while we're home? We have her crate on a table in the dining room so that she can see us over the dog barrier. She is facinated with him and I'd like to ensure that she bonds to me and not the other dog. 2.) She has TONS of prey drive and this MAY become a problem in the not too distant future. I try to play with her with a rag on a string at least a couple times a day for a few minutes each. She really is intense in her chase and fight. However, during the other times we are "bonding" she invariably wants to play fight. She bites really hard and can get worked up quite a bit. How do I stop this without reducing her drive? I've tried redirection and this will work if I can keep the item moving constantly!! 3.) I generally respond by putting her back in the crate when she becomes too much to handle. Right now I am able to devote about 1.5 to 3 hours a day 3 days a week and about 45 min a day the remaining 4 days. Is that too little time? Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm really excited about training her in Schutzhund and would like to make as few errors as possible. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

excited for you... easy on the obedience and your spending good time...keep the drives going and be tough with the bites... If its out hand show your teeth... in other words let it be known who the boss is and one thing i would is not correct the bites when your schooling the drives... only away from the play from where training takes place. I would not correct the pup until about at least eight weeks old on the unwanted bites and there is several ways of doing the correction... One I learned and like is to take the pups upper lip and bring it in and pinch it with a k9 and say no bite or word of choice ,realease... get a that hurts!! wait a second or two... praise and pet and repeat if need to... good luck! null

The only problem with your new dog seeing another dog during training is it becomes a distraction not a bonding issue. You can use this later when distractions are introduced. But for now train/imprint in an isolated environment.

I do not correct my pup for biting me but as long as you show him what is a proper prey item after the correction with tons of praise you will have no reduction in drive.

As a puppy a few minutes a day is all you need. Any more than 15 – 20 minutes will bore your pup. You always want to end with the pup wanting more.

Hope this helps…

I always corrected my pup for biting me. That is inappropriate and they must know this. If done correctly, this will have no impact on how they will work for you. If you don't believe that then it will have an effect. I learned this from someone else - Is it the correction they fear or how we apply it? Our mood, attitude, desire, body language, etc. all comes into play.

Vince hit the nail on the head. Better than a correction for biting, at this stage with a pup you are better off refocusing the behavior on an appropriate object. Chances are that you can kill two birds with one stone--develop the puppy's interest in prey games and also focus her biting behaviors away from you.

Try to distract her away from biting at you during your "bonding" sessions. Belly rubs and ear scratches may help. If all else fails, put her back in her crate after telling her "no bite!" when she nips at YOU. She should figure out soon enough that your bonding time is not the place for biting. That's what you have your prey-game sessions for.

If she is still biting at you when she's six months old--which I would bet against--then a correction would be in order. And the dog, by this age, is much more likely to understand that you are correcting her for biting YOU, instead of thinking "I should not bite, ever, ever, ever." You don't want that for a dog you plan to do Schutzhund with.

Good luck,
Pete Felknor

Thanks for the advice. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I will continue with redirection and if she returns to biting me I might try a light correction followed by praise. It's just that she has SOmuch energy and confidence, I really don't want to risk diminishing it. I have seen what a hard correction can do to a 14 week old. My 13 month old male Boxer (from Am. show lines) was permanently affected by a hard correction given to him by the trainer of a puppy kindergarten class. He went from a confident young pup, to a nervous nelly in 1 minute. He is the same today! Yes, I now know how stupid it was to 1.) teach obedience at that age. 2.) teach obedience at a class with other dogs. 3.) allow another person to handle MY dog, but I knew virtually NOTHING at that time. One more question for you all: how much time on average do you spend with your competition dog during the 8 weeks to 16 week phase? My work does not allow a perfect routine. I work 4 days and then have 4 days off. Thanks again. Jordan

Jordan,

Your doing great and keep up the good work, Time is not of the essence but maintain the drives is so take it easy on yourself and let the puppy be a puppy and only be careful with the phases your puppy will go through such and a fear period, socialization, and imprinting... good luck and excuse my spelling... Best of luck to the two of you!