I'm 34 and I trained my first dog when I was 27. I have had dogs all my life but never really trained a dog right until I got my first GSD 7 years ago. He was very easy to train and had loads of prey drive with little or no defense drive.

Currently I have 2 GSDs: one is a little over 5 months and the other is 3 and 1/2. I adopted my adult GSD when he was 2 years old and quickly found that he is courageously challenged (is that the politically correct way to say he has weak nerves?) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> My 5-month-old is from good German lines and I hope to train him in PP.

I love training dogs and have really enjoyed the information available on this website.

Luis Santana -- Your pup looks identical to mine, it is truly uncanny. Hopefully I will post a picture of my puppy later today.

Hi, my name is Kitty. I'm soon to be 58yrs. I have only trained dogs for myself to enjoy. I have always had my own way of doing things. I've always like training animals. I started out with chickens. yea, thats right chickens.lol. I grew up in a mountian town of the Cascade Mountians. On a chicken ranch. I loved horses and earned my first horse by getting all a's in school. 8 kids in my 6th grade class. He was a used rodeo horse my dad had picked up at the auction. Everytime I got on him he took off like a hurricane. Fell off that horse many times. I started training him tricks. I'd invite everyone I knew over to watch the act. Oh wow! My parents encouraged me and gave me control of many of the farm animals; I learned alot on that farm and in those mountians. I spent alot of time riding way up in the hills all by myself. At 12. Mother nature helped teach me how to look at critters. How they live. Where they live. And how to see. If you know what I mean. My parents dragged me outta there kicking and screaming. They wanted me to get an education in the city. They started raising GSD's and showing them. My mom had a gift for dogs. She had some winners and they were beautiful. I'm not to much into show. I'd like to know more about dogs that help. Maybe search dogs. I live with 2 pit bull Brothers. That has been a trip. They are great dogs. But I think I prefer GSD"s. So, soon I will buy one and start from there. Right now I'm Listening and learning. Thanks, Kitty

i am 25 been at the training for more than a 1.5 yrs
first dog was a lab, completely messed that dog up way to forceful(learned my lesson the hard way)

then got a gsd mainly show lines :rolleyes: and am attempting to train her for schutzhund

i will learn all i can from her do the best i can and than get a true working dog and see what i can do

Hello, I'm a new member, and grateful to have found Leerburg's site.

Almost 50 (July) and have had 2 Dobermans, 1 St. Bernard (rescue). Plus one lab (buddy for 2nd Doberman). Love all animals, have worked with dogs and horses mostly all of my life.

Realize how very little I know and am researching before getting a GSD. Will be going to first Schutzhund trial on 3/6, and am very exited. Hope to be able to hang around club and learn.

I want to get a 1 or 2 year old GSD for companion and possible obedience or SAR/tracking. Have a lot to learn, but have the drive and thirst to right by the dog. Will be researching also for outside kennel building (already found some great ideas) in preparation for dog.

Thanks to everyone for information you share.

I'm 58, went to my first dog school in 1966 at Hindenburg Kasern, Germany. The school was taught by an old Nazi (for real) that didn't really care for Americans. I did learn a lot from him though. Spent 23 years in the military dog program, 13 of them as an instructor at the dog school at Lackland, retiring in 1988. Have been with the state police dog program since then. Participated in some research and development, perhaps the most interesting was working a program to help downed pilots escape track dogs. Currently have a 50 dog program consisting primarily of detector dogs, (drugs and explosives).

DFrost

D. Frost,
Id give about anything to know what you know about the downed piolts escaping tracking dogs. Thats about the most exciting thing Ive heard in a while. Ive never heard anybodies take on that subject. Does the knowledge of that help you in training tracking dogs?

David

When I began working on that project, I "thought" I was a fairly accomplished tracker. Working that program showed me how much I didn't know and taught me a lot about tracking. After a couple of hundred miles behind numerous dogs one couldn't help but learn. It was an 18 month study where I ran (there were other handlers as well) a minimum of two tracks a day. Generally the tracks would be in the 1/2 to 1 mile range. Occasionally longer, never shorter.


DFrost

Like I said, That sounds like a jackpot of info. Do you know of anywhere I could read about it? Is it something that was ever layed out and published? Or is there anybody out there that is considered an authority on something like that?

Sorry Wayne Stromberg, you're not the oldest one on this thread anymore! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
I'm old enough to be a mother of many of the posters here.
(he, he, he. Did I just make Van Camp's day...or is that a choking noise I hear?)

Trained my first gsd in 1954 in basic OB at an AKC class. They taught (still do?) the old "command-n-jerk" method. Oh, and no food allowed. The dog has to love you enough to work for you (sheesh... )

Fast forward thru HS & college.
Trained second gsd in 1965 by THE book: Koehler. All compulsion. Fortunately the dog was somewhat hard and forgave me my errors. Took her thru CDX before her hips gave started creaking. No more jumps, no more training.

Fast forward thru career, marriage, children.
Trained a succession of pets in basic OB: 2 gsd's, a dobie, and an Akita. The last one was a delinquet drop-out! Never again.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Fast forward to retirement in 1999.
Had no idea of the chasm that had formed within the gsd breed. Bought a dog from a byb. The pup was a biting machine and we were advised to look into schutzhund. Couldn't even spell it then and now we train it...
Current gsds have a BH and we are working "retired-n-slow" on the next title.

The high energy dogs and Bextra (yeah...and it better stay on the market!) keeps me going.

34 years keeping my tail to the wind now and looking forward to many more. Like many of you, I was the kid who always dragged animals home. My mother would get phone calls from neighbors asking if I had bathed their dogs again?? I'd send them home smelling great! I've spent the better part of the last 6 years training horses and allowed my passion for canine training to slid, but, I'm baaaaack!!
I currently sleep with a 6 yr GSD/Dobe mix spayed female and a 6.5 month Dobe male intact. I spent a few years learning how NOT to be a backyard breeder of GSD about 14 years ago. Great education, but, I apologize to those 18 puppies I didn't do right by in the end.
I train mostly friends and aquaintences dogs when they find they let that 'cute little guy' they couldn't resist in the pet store ( shudders )get totally out of control.
Of course, I'm working on my own dogs all the time(cause they're the best anyway). I enrolled the pup in local obedience classes for the socialization factor and access to agility equipment.
Hope to bring him to a conformation title this year and get him going in obedience....although the more I read on this board the more I think his drives indicate protection type training. I'm keeping my mind open to new options.
As a side note : I asked our OB instructor today about prong collars for my pup. She says she doesn't recommend them for dogs with skinny necks, like the Dobermann. I disagree <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles you