Hello all. I have a few questions about my puppy's potinal for performence work, ie ScH, obedience, tracking. His name is Xander and he is an 8 month old Standard Schnauzer. He was given to me by a man that could nolonger keep him. He has a nice bite and drive but no real focus. He can be easily distracted, especialy by other dogs. He is very pertective of me and my family, he barks but not like a looney terrier. No one can sneak up on us in the dark but some time he lacks restrainte. I would love to do some kind performence work with him but am at a loss where to start. I took him to school and he now knows Sit, Dowm, Stay, Loose Leash Walking, to leave it(as long as its not an animal), drop objects, to jump up, and some distraction work. He is sensitive to correction but so much so that his drive is gone. I want to use an e-collar on him and due to his sensitivety I have decided to use the Vibrating collar I found on this website and excited to order a few of the DVDs and the e-collar and get started. But first does anyone have any suggestions to what i should do first or how i should go about his training.

Thanks, Ashley

Find a local Schutzhund club and have them look at the dog. Not much you can tell online. I've worked a few giant schnauzers that weren't bad. Very different dogs to work with than most people are used to though.

Is your dog a standard Schnauzer or a Giant Schnauzer? Must be a giant if you're looking into SchH, Ob. and tracking work with him. Could you post a pic of your boy?

Good advice to have someone involved in the sport evaluate him. Easily distracted seems to go hand in hand with being 8 months old Your description of him sounds pretty typical to the behavior of a puppy.

Good for you to recognize his sensitivity to corrections. Are you familiar with marker training? It is a wonderful way to train and encourages confidence.

BTW; welcome Ashley and I agree with Keleah....a picture would be nice.