Control over your dog begins the moment you first take possession over him. Even long before you ever start obedience you are establishing control just by caring and bonding with the dog. The dog learns that most if not all pleasant experiences come from you. These things establish you as the leader and sets the groundwork for supreme control thru obedience.

I would also concentrate on the proper way to praise the dogs. Treats are fine, but eventually you will want to wean them off the treats and have them respond just as well to vocal praise.
On Ed's basic obedience tape he demonstrates the proper way to praise.

I completely agree with Lonny on the animal agression. Get control over this now while he is still young and immature.

hey lonnyB. that's pretty funny. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
i wanted to respond to your question about why i do three commands and then reward...
my zeus has a problem with the STAY command (i know he's still a puppy and we are still learning).
he does the SIT and DOWN very well, but he tends to get distracted easily. so, i have to practice the STAY (ie., zeus SIT...zeus DOWN...zeus STAY, he looks away or starts to move....ZEUS STAY!!! then i reward). the only REAL corrections i have been doing on him is when he tries to attack our cat. as soon as he sees her he starts barking and lunges for her. i immediatly grab him, hold his muzzle shut, tell him to SIT and LEAVE IT. as soon as he calms down i pat his chest and say good boy.
well, i hope this helped you understand my training process. i am trying and believe me i do not want an animal i can not control.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

2gsds, Where are is your pup at with the STAY command? Are you able to circle him? Are you able to get distance? introduce distraction? There's no way you can train the stay command to a pup with a mouth watering cat in sight. That's PHD level training Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ringsport, Have you seen Ed's Competition Heeling dog tape? They had so many cats I was distracted. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

2gsd,
Yeah, I think you may be trying to go a bit fast here... bieleve me I know what you are going through... I tend go too fast as well, but have learned to take er easy....

Let's tackle the stay problem, I don't teach the stay comand myself, (you can I'm not saying not to) I think it's a waste of a command, my dog is expected to stay doing whatever command I give him without saying "stay" for instance the sit. I comand "Sitz" and he sits, I wait a few seconds telling him all along "Good sitz" then say "ok" to relese and treat. I repete the command, he sits and I wait a few seconds praise while sitting, relese and much praise... I mix it up. Then as we progress I start to walk a few steps away, or circle the dog... nudge him with my foot, clap, jog by, jump up and down, play with his ball.. you go step by step until he will stay under hard distraction. He knows if he waits he will get what he wants.. if he takes success himself he gets nothing except a "verbal correction".

Next thing... never use a OBD command while correcting your dog, such as SIT, LEAVE IT, "Yank" this will make him not ever want to sit for you... just use LEAVE IT. If you do this he will begin to associate sit with punishment.. not a good thing.

I for one am happy your trying and your doing fine... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> keep up the good work and let us know if you run into problems...we are all here for ya! For that matter... they are all here for me too!

What are your goals with these dogs? Are they just pets?

Yea, I saw it.. But I don't remember the students working with alot of high drive dogs. I remember Tom demonstrating with a Malinois, but I don't recall alot of working line GSDs with the students.

just my $.02

Don't beat me up, I'm probably wrong. But I like this thread..

ringsport, i train the dogs in the livingroom or outside in the backyard where there is no cat, but my two young children (lots of distractions).
the cat is terrified of the dogs, so she mostly stays under our bed until the dogs are put in their crates for the night, then she comes out to play.
lonny B... i will give the command to STAY and then slowly back away a few steps.
example of what zeus does, last night we were watching T.V. and the dogs were laying by the couch asleep. the cat some how snuck by both of them and was sitting quietly next to the fireplace. well, zeus caught site of her eventually and jumped up, lunged for her, and started barking. needless to say, it scared the mess out of all of us. i got up grabbed his collar and muzzle and said "ZEUS, LEAVE IT! then ZEUS SIT!".
he calms down, but as soon as i let him go he starts pouncing around the bed and constantly sniffing around for her.

i might be expecting too much too soon. i just don't want him to get ahold of the cat and kill her.
both the pups do good will training with treats, so maybe i should give him a treat after he calms down??????? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

P.S. i am planning on getting a CGC title and MAYBE getting into schutzund, tracking, or herding (i'm not too sure yet). they both come from working lines (according to their pedigrees) though, so i'd like to keep it that way. i don't much like beauty pageants anyway.

2GSDs wrote "well, zeus caught site of her eventually and jumped up, lunged for her, and started barking"
It sounds like you need to release them out of the command earlier. When you write "eventually" I wonder how long it was before the pup saw the cat. It's possible that the pup would not chase the cat during the first 30 seconds under a controlled test, but 45 seconds may be too much for right now. I would work them up to a thirty minute down/stay with a definate release/reward. The pups will know it's coming and won't break the command. As long as the reward is greater than the temptation they will wait. For resisting cat distraction should be raw steak or something the dog goes nuts over. I would have someone carry the cat in and turn around and walk back out with the dog in a down/stay. Then release/reward. If thats too much, back up to the point of success.

thanks for the advice. i'm gonna try it. i'll let you guys know how it turns out. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />