Okay, I will divulge my deep dark secret. I have 4 dogs right now, 2 adult and 2 young dogs (15-17 mos) and I spend at least an hour each day with at least two of them doing various training and all of them get exercised daily. One goes to work with me every day. On the weekends, I work dogs. My own and also help my teammates.
On Monday (OMG it is here already) I am receiving two (from different dams but the same sire) Czech GSD pups. )

One is for a contract training and the other was given to me for part of the contract.
These two have been kept separate since they were 9 weeks and will be kept separate here.
Each will go to work with me along with my Dutch. One will go with me in the morning and one will go in the afternoon. They will be in crates in the house to be "potty trained" and taught house manners, and once I see they are doing well there, they will be moved outside into the puppy kennels. Separate of course.

I am looking forward to it and this is a difficult post to answer because my schedule will go haywire for a while so I do not really know how to answer it.

I know two pups is not looked highly upon, but I figured with all my other dogs separate and having the kennel space, it will go well.

Both puppies will start their RAW lives with me so I have been secretly brushing up on that. (Thanks Connie

So, I will keep you all posted and I was trying to save this post until I had pics.

Jason, No question is dumb, only the answers can be dumb(at least that's what I was taught in school.) Anyway, to some answers that will hopefully help you and a couple questions.
What plans do you have for your pup? (great thing with starting foundation training early)
How many times and for how long are you training? (too long and very few training sessions can lead to confusion. short 2-5 min. sessions 5+ times a day are best)
Now, as for crate time. My choc. lab spent a good portion of time(1/2 the day tops) when we first got him, even though he protested profusely. It's really up to you on how much time you want the pup to be crated,how much time you'll have for it while it's out and if you're going to be able to keep an eye on the pup 100% while out.
Both of my dogs get PLENTY of attention and time-sometimes I think they don't get enough. They do spend about 6 hrs or so in their crates when both me and my fiance are working. They don't mind, because of the attention and training they get when they are out(My GSD is 16 mo old and my Lab is 5 mo old, both still puppies).
Maybe buy these videos that Ed sells:
http://leerburg.com/302.htm
http://leerburg.com/120.htm
http://leerburg.com/117.htm
and depending on whether the pup is hard or soft:
http://www.leerburg.com/318.htm
And remember, when you become frustrated, step back, take a breath, ask yourself what exactly it is your asking your pup and if there's a different way to go about it or have you been training for too long a time for the pup to pay attention(pups have fairly low attention spans for a while), then go back and try it again, or try something else. Don't lose sleep trying to hard to train your pup quickly, take your time and make sure the pup knows each command you give and wants to do it readily.
I hope this helps you out! Let us know how things go! Good luck!

Carol, you stealthy thing...Trying to sneak not 1 but 2 pups in under the radar??!! Is this the reason why your icon face thingy is blushing...LOL

I hope you have a bite suit, plenty of coffee, a masseuse, and a big ol' hot tub to soak in after a day with the HERD You just may be my hero.

I wish there was an icon that was pulling its hair out.... hee hee just kiddin.

I am lucky to have kennel help. AND plenty of "victims" to train with. My team mates are great and I think my private trainer is ready to smack me. But she supports me and believe me, she would tell me if I could not do it.

I am excited to get these two monsters....ooops I mean beauties. It will be fun, as this is what I love to do. Maybe next year I will start with a 15 month old or so, but I actually love raising pups, and watching them mature into nice, well balanced working dogs.

Thanks all for your responses.

@Carol I did use the search function, but I really didnt find what I was looking for. I did read those posts, however.

I was merely looking for other's expieriences and schedules with thier dogs. I wanted to do some contrast and comparisons with my routine as a learning exercise.

I see what your sayng about the thread title, to vauge.


@ Carol, Lisa, Richard, Michele, Sarha, Yuko and Louanne-

Reading your expierences and advice really helps me to put things in perspective.

Id love to buy those (I plan to) videos but Ive spent my budget on 2 pups and all of the important gear, vet visits, Shutzhund fees..on and on and my finance minister (A.K.A. my wife) is going to cut funding on me! I did order my training gear from here so I guess I qualify for some very basic feedback

During a (as you all can attest to) trying and chaotic time with family (I have 3 kids) work and other responsibilities.

I have a male GSD comming in 2 weeks and I feel like I need to spend as much time with Isis (my female) to ensure our bond.

I registered on this board to learn and thats exactly what happens when you share your expierences, so I thank you!
and look forward to many more discussions.

I know I'm doing the right thing ultimately, I just like to check out how other people approach raising thier working dogs.

Im very serious about rasisng and training my dogs responsibly.
Thats why were all here.(or should be)
I want them to reach thier full potential.

Sorry about the poor spelling.





Edited by JasonFitzsimmons (03/28/2007 02:06 AM)
Edit reason: edit

Jason, just for your assurance, feedback isn't at all dependant on any ordering from Leerburg. Forum members have no way of knowing what others order.

As to your question, I wish my life was as orderly as Richard Pryor's (very cool Richard) and his post reminded me of a time when my life was like that....think I'll work on getting back to that beautifully structured way of doing things. I'm sure dogs get a lot out of that kind of structure.

What I've been doing since my GSD arrived at 8.5 weeks is spending as much time as I can with him (now 9 mos). Sometimes there was frustration as you mentioned (I was his favorite chew toy), but I too ended those times on a positive note.

When he was very young, we spent a lot of time outside so he was potty trained within a week or 2 (can't remember and doesn't even matter now). He spent a lot of time sleeping in his crate. I spent time training him basics and playing with toys and bite training (puppy level), going to parks where dogs didn't frequent and going on the kids' jungle gyms and slides. Playing in the backyard with the water hose (it was summer).

There wasn't really any structure as far as the clock was concerned, I just tried to spend as much time as I could with him when he was awake. Now that he's 9 mos, he's started official training with a PPD/Schutzhund trainer on weekends and loves that, so that will be incorporated into our time together.

 Quote: sandy moore

Jason, just for your assurance, feedback isn't at all dependant on any ordering from Leerburg. Forum members have no way of knowing what others order.

Or even IF they order. You don't have to be a customer of Ed's and Cindy's to visit here, or get feedback. One of the things that so impressed me was that their experience and knowledge is passed on through so many FREE e-books and articles and Podcasts. People clearly think highly enough of them to be able to charge for these things, but they're free, despite how much time and energy goes into writing them.

Clearly, their goal is not simple profit-making, and I'm sure there are many people without the funds to order videos who have dogs who's lives are made better simply from the e-books and articles...and this forum.

I know this isn't what you asked, but it's something that I've always appreciated and haven't had a chance to vocalize until now!

As to your question...I feel your pain! My schedule is such that I have appointments with clients, and I have to get my son of the bus. That's about as scheduled as I get. I like the idea of schedules, but every time I try to keep to one, something comes to muck it up!

I basically try to get in at least an hour with my dogs...more if it's good weather. But that's in formal stuff. The rest of the time, they're hanging out with me or going with me where I go. I'm kind of dreading the hot part of summer when I'm not going to be able to leave them in the car when I go to work with a client for an hour.

My Corgi would allow me to be a complete couch potato but my (working-line) GSD pup won't stand for it. He wouldn't be fit to live with with if I didn't challenge him. We mess with each other a lot...he and I both instigate games or get the Corgi going.

When my pup's age was still measured in weeks, I spent TONS of time with him. He didn't do much crate time, despite my best intentions. He wanted to be with me, and I wanted him with me. He was (and still can be) a little butt-pain from time to time, but I have to tell you he is maturing into a better dog than I have ever thought possible...and I do think it's because of all the time I spent/spend with him. What you get out of a dog has a direct correlation to how much time you put into them...even if it's just having him at your feet while you and your family are watching a movie.

I know you're raising a working dog, but I think that an excellent bond with your dog now will do nothing but help you later.

Hope this was somewhat useful!

I now return you to your regularly "scheduled" lives!

Hey Jason:

I'm all about the individual and all that... you got to figure out what works for you and how to work your pup into that, or Vice Versa.

e.g. at (20) weeks I moved my pup from (3) meals per day to (2) meals per day. Why? 'cause I'm not home at lunch as much now. Up 'til that point, I would pack the food and take it with me so that he could keep getting his (3) portions per day ... but as he started picking at his first meal of the day ... and really hogging down on his final meal of the day, I decided that between his behaviour and my schedule it was time for (2) meals per day. So now I try to feed him sometime between 7 - 9 in the a.m. and 5 - 8 in the p.m. depending upon where we are.

another e.g. - last night was one of those nights where he had his diahreah business (he must have gotten ahold of that toast or something after all), and we were up all night ... so when he finally didn't have to go anymore, GREAT we can both get some sleep, so we slept in until 9:30 a.m. And he had a very light breakfast, very late at 10:30 a.m. I wasn't going to feed him til later today to give his tummy a rest, but he was busy chasing flies outside, and something about him catching and eating flies just bothers me. So I fed him a very small portion.

This board is great to post any kind of question that you have ... but in the end it is you who knows the dog, and your schedule best. I have started to crate my pup more than previously during the daytime, so that when I HAVE to do it, he is OKAY. He crates great at night (In His BIG Crate, again a personal choice here).

I'm taking one of the XL crates to my Store that I'm in the process of opening up, so I'm going to put the smaller crate in the Kitchen for use. Due to some backslides I am going to revert to feeding in the smaller crate in the kitchen, as well.

Having a Pup really is just like having another child. They're all different and you have to figure out what motivates them and use it to our advantage.

Cheers!

= sarcasm. That was meant "toungue in cheek".

If I had unlimited funds Id pick up the catalog and say give me 2 of everything.

Thanks for your honest comments. Feedback really does help when your having a arrrrrrgh! type of day. Humor and not taking everything so serious is good to.

This is a great board and I'm glad I found it.

We have long winters where I live and we all get a little cookoo when spring is still a month away but the sun is out everday teasing us with the promise of green, I love the snow but after 9 months im ready for grass on the lawn and warmth.!!!

thanks again!

 Quote: jasonfitzsimmons

= sarcasm. That was meant "toungue in cheek".

Ah! I had to go back to your post to figure out what you were talking about. I'm so used to seeing instead. If you put a space on either side, it'll pop up.

It did have the effect of giving you some feedback though!