This question was in the FAQ section of Kraftwerk's webpage.
Question:
We have never bought a trained dog before. Do we need to come to your kennel and learn how to work with the dog?

Answer:
We sell trained dogs that are titled under recognized certified judges. A truly well trained dog does not need an experienced handler in order to perform what he has previously learned.

Isn't this an oversimplified answer? Will a well-trained dog immediately take to a new, inexperienced owner and obey commands? Kinda makes the dog seem like a machine.

Way over-simplified answer, needless to say.

Well....I think I have a truly well trained titled dog ( at least people have made those comments about him in the past ). But if you take his leash and give him a command, he'll likely just look at you. If you try and compulse him into a command, he'll bite you just for starter's and it will go down hill for you from there....you get the idea.
Most of us know dogs like this.

And I've seen several novice handlers get bitten by the SchH bug and drop a ton of cash on highly titled dogs, yet oddly......they never worked as well for those novice handlers as they had in the past for skilled handlers.
Go figure.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Has anyone had an experience where they bought a titled dog with little or no experience and have it turn out terrible?

I can relate here. Training doesn't necessarily transfer with ownership. I just imported s 2 /12 year old Schh3 and although her OB is great it has taken us some time to get use to her and her to us. We are as green as they come.

She was trained in German which created a barrier in itself being we didn’t know a single German command. Plus every trainer has there own way of correction and reward.

The first couple weeks we just bonded with her… and didn’t ask much of her. Once she was settled in we started testing her and she has responded very nicely. I am very pleased with her progress… except she could have better eye contact during heel.

If you are considering buying an adult trained dog… you need to know exactly how the dog was trained… what method did they use, what toys it likes and doesn’t like. What words or actions turn the dog on… what correction did they use. Ed likes the word “Yes” for eye contact and reward. The previous trainer may have used his own word to get the dog to look at him. Since I don’t know what that magic word is… I am finding myself retraining her. She catches on quick but I think it would be easier for her and me if I had gotten all the background info on her from the start. Ask all the questions.

Maybe some of the other more experienced members can give you a better idea of exactly what you need to know before you buy it.

I wouldn’t discourage you from buying an adult trained dog (I am very please with mine)… I just encourage you to talk to the trainer and familiarize yourself with it’s background. A dog is not a machine. Good Luck.

Julia, I've read a bunch of your posts about your SchH3 dog and I'm curious - are you unable to get in touch with the people you bought the dog from? Shouldn't you be able to contact them and find out about the dogs training history and commands?

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> My own dog responds to certain things other people tell him, but if someone gives him a "Come" type command, he'll come to ME instead of THEM, n he doesn't listen worth a damn to anyone else if i'm not in the room lol.

John - you ask if people have ever imported a dog and had problems?

The answer is in the THOUSANDS !!!! In fact the odds are very much against you getting what you want - go and look at a dog before you buy it. A plane ticket is cheap compared to a very expensive dog that does not fit your temperament or needs.

Those are the best words of advice I've heard in a long time - thanks Ed.

molly

Mike,

I actually tried to get some info form the breeder who imported him... but the check has already cleared and he has been no help to me. He never spent one minute with the dog personally and when I asked him to get some background info... he gave me some very canned advice that I knew did not come from the handler who worked with him as I knew right away what he was telling me didn’t apply to this dog.

For example: He told me to pass him a ball to get him engaged. The dog has no prey drive what-so-ever and won’t give a ball a second glance. The handler knows this. The importer was just trying to appease me by giving me a bunch of general crap information.

I did track down the owner in Germany and emailed him. I wrote an email in English... went to a website that translated it to German. He wrote me back in German. When I tried to translate it back to English... much of it did not translate. He must have been using German slang or something because a lot of it didn’t translate or make sense. He did confirm that he had used the prong on the dog. He confirmed that the dog has no toy drive. The rest was so broken I couldn't make sense. I didn’t reply.

If there is anyone on the board that speaks German... maybe you can take a shot at trying to interpret.

 Quote:

If there is anyone on the board that speaks German... maybe you can take a shot at trying to interpret.

Translation sent to you via PM.

Ed,
Sounds like you're not against buying a dog already trained, just against someone not doing their proper due diligence before they buy.....makes sense.