In less than a month I will be picking up my new GSD. I am going to work her in Schutzhund, but I am a newbie to the sport. I have done a lot of research, joined a club, work with another trainer, but I am still a little lost on how to initially raise a working puppy at home.

I have raised many puppies, but never a working dog. My biggest obsticals (well one of many!) right now is dealing with the puppies 'fear periods'. I live in a rural area, there are not a whole lot of places to get a puppy out to socialize in controlled environments. I am not sure how to go about properly socializing the puppy to new things/sounds/dogs/people in the proper time frame.

Advice?

Hi Molly. Welcome and congratulations on the upcoming bundle of joy!

The only advice I'd offer is that appropriate socializaion will be somewhat different for every pup--because they will be expected to live in different kinds of environments. So focus your socialization on the kind of life your dog will lead.

For example, my dogs live in a city environment. We go on walks and have to navigate through people eating at sidewalk cafes. We hear lots of sirens. There are pretty frequent displays of fireworks. There are lots of other leashed dogs that we pass on the sidewalk. We have to contend with crosswalk lights where other people are also stopped. Baby strollers. Rolling luggage. People in wheelchairs. All those things are probably very different from the kind of life your dog will lead in a rural area.

So focus your socializing on your world. Will your dog live around farm animals? Will he ride in a truck? Will he be around children? Will he hear the sound of machinery? Guns? Will he go to the store with you when you go to town? Imagine what a "typical" life might be like for your dog when he is older, and then make opportunities for him to experience those things in a positive way when he's little.

There are plenty of common things to "socialize" regardless of where you live--walking on different surfaces (concrete, tile floors, tall grass, etc.), household sounds (vacuum cleaner, alarm clock, doorbell, banging pots and pans), as well as visitors coming to your door (mailman, fed ex man, neighbors, relatives). Start now, making a list of all the experiences your dog may encounter in his typical life--and then create a plan to simulate those experiences for him as a baby.

Good luck. You'll get other replies with more specific things about working dogs, I'm sure.

 Quote: Molly Huff

In less than a month I will be picking up my new GSD. I am going to work her in Schutzhund, but I am a newbie to the sport. I have done a lot of research, joined a club, work with another trainer, but I am still a little lost on how to initially raise a working puppy at home.

I have raised many puppies, but never a working dog. My biggest obsticals (well one of many!) right now is dealing with the puppies 'fear periods'. I live in a rural area, there are not a whole lot of places to get a puppy out to socialize in controlled environments. I am not sure how to go about properly socializing the puppy to new things/sounds/dogs/people in the proper time frame.

Advice?

"How to Raise a WORKING Puppy"... http://leerburg.com/117.htm

If you are going to be in a club, that is your first order of socialization. When you bring your pup to sessions, everyone will want to greet the pup, as most people love puppies. They will offer to help with socialization, and they will also offer tons of tips about raising working puppies. Also, as Tracy suggested, full exposure within the world he lives in will usually suffice. Just the basic comings and goings at meetings and trials will require that the puppy learns to deal with new people, places, and dogs.

I'm not sure how productive it is to foretell fear periods. Not all dogs have significant fear periods. Many working dogs are confident and hard enough to take new things in stride, and you never observe any signs of puppy fear. IMHO, JMO, you would be better served to expose your puppy to lots of things and deal with ant issues as they arise, rather than anticipating problems that you don't yet have and setting yourself up for them.

If you are open to working with a club, you will do fine. I can't think of a better environment to raise a confident working puppy in. Get to know your fellow club members. Learn to trust the good trainers and take their advice. If the club doesn't feel right, don't hesitate to seek out another.

Good luck!

i think the important thing is just to recognize that dogs do go through periods where they are more susceptible to being adversely affected by new strange things , and like duane said , to try and identify dates on a calendar is probably not all that productive .

just pay attention to your dog , and as you get to know the pup , you will begin to anticipate situations and things that may require a more measured approach for a positive experience .

Well the biggest thing I have to deal with is, I work night shift 11pm to 7am, and the puppy will be staying at a family members (who lives closely to work - i do not get a long enough break to drive 13 miles home), during the night until she is able to hold her bladder for the 8 hours.

I crate train. How do I ensure that the family members completely abide by my rules and do not try to expose my puppy to anything until I am present. They have 3 dogs themselves, who are very gregarious. I am taking a week off work when I get the puppy, how do I ensure when her first night comes to being over there she feels comfortable? I mean this seems very simple, but I just wonder how you might approach this with a working dog? Do you just simply say - only touch the puppy to take her out and nothing else? I trust my family members completely, but they can be a bit bull=headed and sometimes don't follow rules because, you know... 'puppy!'

Are the dogs generally good with other dogs? That would be my only concern. If they are pretty well mannered/under control I don't think I'd worry too much due to the time that your pup will be there. Everyone will be ready to sleep at night. And a little attention in the morning with a trustworthy person will do much more good than harm at that age. Maybe ask that the pup only be loose with one other dog so you don't have any pack type issues and the pup isn't overwhelmed but other than that I think it's good for a pup to be exposed to other well mannered dogs at times.

molly , take the time to have a discussion with the family about the relationship you are trying to forge with the dog , and the importance of the pup seeing you as the center of its' world . that initial connection is most likely to take root when the dog is young and is looking for who will be the central figure in its' life .

these family members play the roles of bit players in the dogs early life , basically attending to the dogs' basic needs .

i think that the most important factor in this equation though is how much work you are prepared to do to establish engagement with the dog in the time that you do spend with her . make it so that the puppy would rather be with you than any one or anything else .

the approach i take with family members , co workers , and others that i interact with is : you can either help , or hinder the process . it helps if you have some direction for them , so that when they are responsible for the pup , they feel like they are part of the training .