I'll try to keep this short...

Went to the park in my sisters neighborhood yesterday...there is a house next to the park (the front door actually opens out directly to the park). Out comes a guy w/ a GSD puppy...I walk over and strike up conversation. He says the pup is 4 months old.
Anyhow, he is using an e-collar to train the puppy-I have never seen one used on one so young...is this common practice? The puppy was literally scared to death to move away from this guys side...it wanted to come over to say hi SO bad but was to scared of being shocked.
And while I'm at it...my 'very timid around strangers' 4 yr. old nephew asks the guy if he can pet the puppy and he says firmly NO. Normally I have no problem w/ peopling giving a 'no' answer (being as I say NO all the time with one of my dogs), however in this case...this dog is going to be living practically on the park...would it not be wise to let it socialize w/ children a bit 'just in case'??

I mention that I have an 11wk. old GSD pup at home too and he immediately says HIS pup is from ALLLLL Champion Bloodlines :rolleyes: (as if I cared...wasn't going to go there with him).

So, the big questions here are...Is it common practice to use an e-collar on a puppy so young? AND am I wrong about the pup needing to be properly socialized w/ children if it's going to be living that close to where children run and play daily?
(sorry...I tried to keep it short <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> )

No.

No.

You have found a really nice example of a walking asshole that can successfully pose as a human.

Great <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ...that's exactly what I was thinking...only put in much better terms <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> .

VanCamp,

Could not have said it any better.

Hi Tammy,

From the description you gave of your encounter with the gentleman he sounds like someone who is very inexperienced, unknowledgeable, and a misguided owner/handler trainer.

In most cases 4 months is not too young to begin collar conditioning. Providing the trainer has a proper understanding of ecollar training so it can be combined with a well rounded training program. I'm not going to try to go into all the proper details on ecollar use, but I will say you don't just buy a collar put it on a puppy or dog start zapping the @#$% out of them and call that training.

Regardless of whether you live along side a park, or out in the boonies, the best thing you can do is socialize, socialize, socialize with people and other animals under proper control of course. One of the worst things that can happen with a young puppy is a bad experience with an animal or stranger. So socialize but just be careful. Another thing I like to do with my pups and recommend for everyone else is environmentalize. Meaning get them comfortable around different noises, sights and sounds (traffic, car horns, backfires...) and different surfaces and textures (tile floor, hard wood floor, decks, gravel, sand.....). All of this will help ensure that you have as steady and confident dog as possible.

Craig