I continue to be amazed at how smart GSD's are!!! I have just recently figured out that Kodee can learn much faster than I have been teaching him. He picks things up so quickly! I can see him "thinking" and trying to figure out what it is I'm asking him to do, and he doesn't take long, either. I feel like I have been holding him back for fear of overwhelming him w/new commands, and I'm starting to think I've been training him more slowly than necessary. I incorporate training into everyday activities, not just training sessions, so he has a lot of practice on each command he's learned.

He is almost 7 mos old now, and I'm wondering - how long do you do the "training phase" on a command, before you move on to the "correction phase?" There are several commands that I am sure Kodee knows, so do you move into corrections for each command at different times? (For example, his "down" is very solid, but he just learned the "place" command. So can you do corrections for not obeying "down", while still in the learning phase of a different command (like "place?"),for example?

*tap, tap* Hello, is this thing on???

well....take it for what it's worth coming from a newbie....

but i would say yes, you can be in the proofing/correction phase for one command and in the learning phase for another. i introduce different commands at different times so the dogs are definitely at different levels w/respect to each command. unless i'm doing something where i attach the commands, i imagine it's fine to treat them distinctly. a dog may know the down and still be learning the heel....i don't see any reason why you should not proof the down b/c the dog is learning a different command.

....hopefully someone more experienced will have thoughts.

Yes, Jennifer you are right. You can proof one command while an additional command is still in the learning phase. However, don't jump to corrections too soon, Kori. The dog needs to go through what's called the generalization phase as well. What this means is that if your dog is able to down in front of you, in your living room then the dog may not know that he is supposed to do the same thing when you are in a different room or other location, or if you are next to him instead of in front for example. The dog needs to understand the command completely before you should be correcting.

Good point, Brad

Thanks, Brad. I think I've been doing ok on that - we practice our commands out in the yard, and at the park, etc. But I'm glad you brought it up, because the fact that I've been doing this was just dumb luck, I guess. I never consciously thought about doing this intentionally before moving to the correction phase. Thanks again!