Found a sch club in my area & they say my pup is not to young to start training with them in obedience. He is now 4 months old.
Do you guys & gals think it is needed that i join a club now @ this young age? or are they aout for the $$$?
I belive i can do the training needed on my own for now & then join the club when he is around 7-10 mo old @ least that was my plan.
My main concern is not the money, my concern is that i have him bond further with ME & not associate much with others. He, i belive is way to freindly with everyone & i do not like this, even though i tolarate it. he constantly wants to runn to people especially kids. yea i know hes a puppy.
What are your experienced views on this?
BTW: i did not realy like what the person i contacted & spoke with did with my pup. he Was trying to force my pup into a down by pulling his collar down & offering a treat, causing my pup to cry! I belive i had told him that he already knows; down, sit, stay, paw, no, out. if i did or not tell him i still do not like anyone diciplining my boy! is this type of action the norm at these clubs? I was under the impression that they direct you on how to do the training yourself? waht are your views? I was not to impressed with them in general, even though the TD is from the tome rose school.
Everyones vies are appreciated.
thanks in advance
nick

I would absolutely join the club NOW. There is so much a pup can learn at this age - not only obedience, but tracking as well, and probably most important of all is the socialization with lots of people and dogs. Avoiding people is not the right approach to teaching your dog to focus more on you and less on other folks. When you're at the club, give instructions to others that you don't want them to overtly interact with your pup if he approaches them - they should act neutrally, while you, on the other hand, should make yourself very attractive, as the source of great treats, toys, play, etc. Pretty soon the pup figures out that you're the most interesting guy to be around.

You are absolutely correct that NO ONE should be correcting your puppy, to include YOURSELF, when it comes to the teaching of the obedience that you will need for the sport. Not saying you can't correct the pup for behaviors that you want to permanently extinguish, but the obedience training should be all positive at his age. You have to stand your ground at the club and tell them hands off. Tell them to teach YOU how to teach your pup, and if you don't like the approach they suggest, simply thank them, then quietly do it your own way without causing a ruckus.

Nick,

I agree with Lee on this matter concerning your club. However, I see nothing wrong with your dog being friendly and outgoing. To me this is a very desirable trait in any sport dog. Just because a dog is well socialized, doesn't mean he won't do the work when it comes to the protection aspect of training. Lee is also correct in his advice not to correct or punish your pup right now for obedience. Keep it positive and let your pup grow up before putting a lot of pressure or expecting to much from him. I also would not let anyone correct my dog, unless I was very comfortable with them and understood their training methods. Best way to learn is to do it yourself. Good luck!

Nick,
Unless you're raising a PPD or a future Police canine, allowing the dog to be friendly with everyone is just fine - a well socialized dog is to your advantage if you intend to compete in SchH as a sport. The dog playing with others isn't bonding, he's still your dog and he knows it.

And that's some interesting typing skills there, Nick. You might wanta take off the baseball mitt *before* you try and type! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Just kidding!

Ok, Im sold, I will go ahead & join the club now. If for nothing else then just for the fun of it.
But one of the things I was concerned about, him starting to early & having too much pressure put on him. I guess I will just keep everything light for now.
*When would you all say it is a good time to slowly start with more formaltraining/corrections?
*I’m aware that I should be socializing him like crazy (believe me I have, we go everywhere we are allowed to & we have been kicked out of places we were not allowed to be <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> , i.e.: An art bldg (torpedo factory) I wanted him to ride the elevator), he had no problems with it. the only thing he is afraid of is to ride the escalators. but when I say socialize I mean contact & the need to go to people to get petted. this I don’t care for much. He is such a mush in this situation, he will lay down at a strangers feet a rub up on peoples legs ,lick, wag tail in order to get attention. but I do let him do it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> , its almost impossible not to, everyone wants to pet him <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> In all honesty I think im a little jealous that he seeks attention elsewhere <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> . I will try the treat things & make staying close to me more rewarding for him.
*John, that is part of my concern that he is too friendly & will not work in the protection part of the sport. but you guys know best & I will follow your advice, I never had a puppy before nor have I done the schh thing, so im learning.
*im sticking to my guns regarding the correction thing! only I correct my dog, period. I also don’t want him following others commands, other then family. Reason being is that i dont want him to view others as dominant to him.
*Will, im am a little confused about the difference between a schh dog & a ppd and the difference in everyday handling of each? yes, I intend to do the schh thing & after or during I do want him to be able to do the ppd thing. Sounds like a ppd is a junkyard dog that comes with you on on leash during your daily activities. i know this is not true but it sounds like this when i read various other posts. I DONT WANT THIS!
I wish the reason for the spelling was baseball mitt :rolleyes: . how does spelling look this time? I did a spell check!!!
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
Thank you all for your help, as always its greatly appreciated.
NB

Nick, listen to exactly what Lee posted. He is spot on as usual. I made the mistake of waiting to get involved when my pup was about a year. He missed out on so much important stuff, not to mention what I missed out on learning as well. That being said, the more you wait, the less you learn.

I also made the mistake of giving corrections too early hence deminishing what I think could have turned out to be a great dog. I guess we all go through learning phases especially with our first puppy. I agree with Lee though that no one should be giving corrections at this point.

He is spot on as usual.


She sure is.

Nick,
I guess I look at a SchH dog as having to be more tolerate with close human contact as it will encounter people in the exercises during competition - so a well socialized dog is a real plus here.

A true PPD usually isn't going to be in close contact with anyone else but his owner and the owner's immediate family. If a person tells me that they have a constant stream of people coming in and out of their house, the odds decrease that a PPD could tolerate that - plus, an owner with that much house traffic probably doesn't need a true PPD.

You'd be surprised by the number of people that I've talked out of getting a PPD after I explained the type of dog that they were looking at and we took a realistic look and the person's lifestyle. 85% of the people actually wanted a dog that would do an alert bark - period.

Once again thank you all for your advice.
I also want to say that after re-reading my post on a ppd being like a junkyard dog, I felt that was kind of rude. I did not mean it that way or to offend anyone & I do know this statement is off. I guess a ppd is much more wary of people & is always evaluating a given situation for a possible threat? where as a schh dog...I guess his bite work is just a game to him & he does not constantly look for a threatening situation?
thanks again
& yes I will be following Lees advice.
Nick