Quote: Natalie Rynda

Anyway, I might actually luck out with a good trainer and hopefully I won't need to post anymore. I thought it'd help but I'm just being more all over the place trying every new thing I hear about.

It's easy to suffer from "information overload" these days. I'm much the same way. I become interested in a subject and try to learn everything I can about it, and of course much of what you read and hear is contradictory, and it just becomes overwhelming to try to sort it out.

When it comes to how you are going to manage your dog and integrate him into your particular lifestyle, I think it comes down to weighing the pros and cons and deciding what is going to work best in your situation, leaning heavily in the direction of what will make your dog happy, healthy, and well-adjusted.

I hope you will stick around the board, Natalie, and let us know how things are going with your trainer and with your dog, in general.

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

I can't imagine that people with their first dog did that much better than I.

I'm curious about this, because almost all of the dog owners I know were exposed to dogs since childhood. Most had some basic familiarity with dogs and had a clue about what they were getting themselves into.

Even though all of my family had dogs since before I came along, I checked out a book about puppies from the school library when I was getting ready for my own first personal dog. That was age 13, in 1976. I still employ many of the principless in that children's book. One, luring a puppy into a sit using a treat, is the cornerstone of all the training I do to this day.

You didn't do your homework ahead of time, but I'm glad that you seem committed to getting this mess straightened out. For your next dog, please make sure that you select one that fits your experience level, lifestyle, and schedule.

" I might actually luck out with a good trainer ... "

I wish you success in that! It can be very hard.

Finding a good pet (companion) dog trainer ... one who uses positive-reward training methods and also understands pack structure, as well as the necessity for appropriate corrections sometimes for pack issues .... this is an elusive goal, but well worth undertaking.

Trainers specializing in sports dogs, personal protection trainers, PSD trainers .... these specialties are not, IMO, always entirely compatible with training the "happy well-behaved companion dog" Steve was talking about. They occupy spheres that overlap the "happy well-behaved companion dog," but using one for a pet dog may require a pretty experienced owner to weed out what applies to his/her pet and what does not.

Nothing in any way negative about SchH/IPO/PPD/PSD trainers, of course, some of whom are equally at home with companion-dog training (think Michael Ellis, for example; Will Rambeau, for example; Ed Frawley, for example).

For me, happy well-trained pet is a specialty, and a good pet (companion) dog trainer ... one who uses positive-reward training methods and also understands pack structure, as well as the necessity for appropriate corrections sometimes for pack issues, is a trainer who is focused on what the inexperienced new owner needs. Then weeding out what doesn't apply isn't needed.

JMO!

Excuse me guys, but back to this for just a second...

Natalie;

A dog left alone in a crate for 11 hours was pbly conditioned to it gradually. I don't really think anyone took a green puppy and put in a crate for 10+ hours the first time and thought it would be okay.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

Anyway, I might actually luck out with a good trainer and hopefully I won't need to post anymore. I thought it'd help but I'm just being more all over the place trying every new thing I hear about.

It's easy to suffer from "information overload" these days. I'm much the same way. I become interested in a subject and try to learn everything I can about it, and of course much of what you read and hear is contradictory, and it just becomes overwhelming to try to sort it out.

When it comes to how you are going to manage your dog and integrate him into your particular lifestyle, I think it comes down to weighing the pros and cons and deciding what is going to work best in your situation, leaning heavily in the direction of what will make your dog happy, healthy, and well-adjusted.

I hope you will stick around the board, Natalie, and let us know how things are going with your trainer and with your dog, in general.

I will stick around, i just won't be asking questions.
I will get him trained, sooner or later, that I'm sure of and I will be here posting about it

 Quote: Duane Hull

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

I can't imagine that people with their first dog did that much better than I.

I'm curious about this, because almost all of the dog owners I know were exposed to dogs since childhood. Most had some basic familiarity with dogs and had a clue about what they were getting themselves into.

Even though all of my family had dogs since before I came along, I checked out a book about puppies from the school library when I was getting ready for my own first personal dog. That was age 13, in 1976. I still employ many of the principless in that children's book. One, luring a puppy into a sit using a treat, is the cornerstone of all the training I do to this day.

You didn't do your homework ahead of time, but I'm glad that you seem committed to getting this mess straightened out. For your next dog, please make sure that you select one that fits your experience level, lifestyle, and schedule.

I've never had a dog, I didn't do my homework. You know, there are a lot of people that do things on impulse. I'm one of them.

Yes, I am straightening it out and I will have all the problems figured out, with help or without.

I will get another dog, maybe a few. That's a huge part of the reason I'm so committed to figuring this out, I want another dog or two once Boomer is under control.
I want another gsd but might consider a mal, it seems like a challenge and I'm always up for one

"I will get him trained, sooner or later, that I'm sure of and I will be here posting about it "




Yes. You have learned beneficial things here, including upbeat training in short session and quite a bit more. Probably more than any other webboard.

But you are absolutely right that you need one-on-one. "Living with a dog for the first time" is a major chunk of what a good companion-dog trainer can impart, being right there, than any webboard can, not being there and trying to prioritize scattershot topics.

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

I want another dog or two once Boomer is under control.
I want another gsd but might consider a mal, it seems like a challenge and I'm always up for one

That's a future thing.

A Mal is not for a person-new-to-dogs, and certainly not for a small NYC apartment with a GSD and some cats.

But I'm sure you meant "in the future."



eta
And no, this isn't a topic for this thread. This thread is about this young GSD.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/15/2013 11:48 AM)
Edit reason: eta

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

" I might actually luck out with a good trainer ... "

I wish you success in that! It can be very hard.

Finding a good pet (companion) dog trainer ... one who uses positive-reward training methods and also understands pack structure, as well as the necessity for appropriate corrections sometimes for pack issues .... this is an elusive goal, but well worth undertaking.

Trainers specializing in sports dogs, personal protection trainers, PSD trainers .... these specialties are not, IMO, always entirely compatible with training the "happy well-behaved companion dog" Steve was talking about. They occupy spheres that overlap the "happy well-behaved companion dog," but using one for a pet dog may require a pretty experienced owner to weed out what applies to his/her pet and what does not.

Nothing in any way negative about SchH/IPO/PPD/PSD trainers, of course, some of whom are equally at home with companion-dog training (think Michael Ellis, for example; Will Rambeau, for example; Ed Frawley, for example).

For me, happy well-trained pet is a specialty, and a good pet (companion) dog trainer ... one who uses positive-reward training methods and also understands pack structure, as well as the necessity for appropriate corrections sometimes for pack issues, is a trainer who is focused on what the inexperienced new owner needs. Then weeding out what doesn't apply isn't needed.

JMO!

I ways wanted to find a sport trainer, though I understand that they train with different goals in mind they know how to train a dog and that's what matters.

I'm not interested in sports because I've never been around them. I wasn't interested in dogs either because I never got to experience one.

I might very well become interested in sports if I work with a good sport trainer. But even if I don't, i'd rather work with a good sport trainer and weed out the things that don't apply than a mediocre pet trainer.

I must not know how to look, I'm on my third trainer already. So I will just go with the sport trainer if one takes me.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

I want another dog or two once Boomer is under control.
I want another gsd but might consider a mal, it seems like a challenge and I'm always up for one

That's a future thing.

A Mal is not for a person-new-to-dogs, and certainly not for a small NYC apartment with a GSD and some cats.

But I'm sure you meant "in the future."



eta
And no, this isn't a topic for this thread. This thread is about this young GSD.

Obviously in the future, I said once Boomer is trained. In my opinion, that's at least a year away.
I'm not sure about a mal, a 2nd gsd from a good breeder I'm sure about. But again, much later