Al. Basically I've been rewarding him by giving him social interaction. The way my house is setup there is no place I can kennel the dog that would be considered out of the way. Hard to explain without living here

I was advised that this pup needs a out of the way space so when he is interacted with he will come out strong and want to play. We only play for two to 5 minutes at a time to make frustration. He actually needs it to work.

Ps. pretty Tervuren you've got there.

 Quote: Nick Logan

Al, ...

Ps. pretty Tervuren you've got there.

A good one! d{>_<}b

 Quote: Nick Logan

we don't have enough space in our home to properly give him some alone time which is what he needs for sport work. He has too much interaction with us and has made it hard for him to focus on the decoy when he's so focused on me.

I live in a APARTMENT, with 2 kids. 6 and 3 yrs old. 2 dogs, 1 80lbs, 1 55lbs, and 2 adults. Plus a cat.

My dog, nor any of the other 'sport dogs' I've met have needed 'alone time' That interaction with you is what he NEEDS, to create a BOND to make him want to work for you. Leave the decoy out of it. If Gambit is unsure, any not willing to engage a decoy who is experienced in bringing along a puppy, then you've chosen the wrong sport for the dog you have, regardless of your desires. Work with what you've got.

Pea Gravel is an excellent substrate for dog, and dog runs. It drains well. Easy on joints, poop is easy to scoop/pick out. Diarrhea can easily be hosed down. A rescue I used to work @ had 30 dogs who used a small 'night yard' with pea gravel all night long, or in crappy weather (often, in the Pacific Northwest) Simple to clean the next day, with no oder residue.

 Quote: Ana Kozlowsky

 Quote: Nick Logan

Al, ...

Ps. pretty Tervuren you've got there.

A good one! d{>_<}b

Awww, dang, you beat me Ana! I was hoping to be the first to make a sarcastic comment about the fantastic long-coat GSD.

didn't realize you should frustrate a puppy, thought the puppy is supposed to frustrate you at least that's my experience

my advice is to have him in a play pen when you can be in that same room, put him in his crate after he potty's, and put him on a leash connected to your belt the rest of them time. keeps him out of trouble, keeps him happy to be a part of your family, and builds your bond. with out bonding with your dog your dog will NOT WORK for you unless forced. the whole goal is to make your dog WANT to please you, WANT to be with you, and WANT to make you the center of its world.

ps...the older he gets..the longer he can hold it.

 Quote: Nick Logan

I was advised that this pup needs a out of the way space so when he is interacted with he will come out strong and want to play. We only play for two to 5 minutes at a time to make frustration. He actually needs it to work.

This isn't the first time I've heard this comment. I never put much thought into it...it doesn't apply to me. There are many ways to produce the end result and that just sounds like a short cut at the dog's expense similar to the old school thought of negative corrections. I'm struggling here with the right words, just trying to say I do believe you were told that but it is not the only way to have a dog choose to and continue to engage with you. Honestly I think it will back fire as time goes on. Plenty of experts on this board and I've never heard any of them say to isolate the dog.

I'm curious. How long are you planning to leave Gambit in isolation? I mean, how long a time has been recommended?

BTW - there is a reason solitary confinement is used as punishment for social creatures (like humans and dogs).

....I tend to refrain from reading your threads because since day one they've been like watching a horrible trainwreck....between this one and the other you posted about a new dog you've pretty much made impact and we're now watching the cars flip around in midair (the other potential outcome I saw was "bit someone, putting him down" but since he's still so young....). You have what seems to be a great dog from what you've explained as his "problems" on the board. He seems smart, desperate to please you, and extremely forgiving yet he gets no credit for it. You want to rehome the dog, DO IT, give him to someone who will appreciate a puppy like him. Don't give him to family, who is going to continue to mess him up. Find him a home that won't see "to much handler focus" as a problem to be solved by throwing him out in a kennel, a home who's not going to be in over their head like you are....

There are many people who would LOVE to raise a puppy right now but are refraining from getting one at the moment because they want to make sure to only act at the right time. Then they come on and see you, who's screwing up your puppy, ignoring GOOD advice, and now attempting to acquire a dog who will have the size and power to do an extreme amount of damage when they can't handle a puppy and it's infuriating. Perhaps you should consider a different hobby....

"we don't have enough space in our home to properly give him some alone time which is what he needs for sport work. He has too much interaction with us and has made it hard for him to focus on the decoy when he's so focused on me."

"I don't understand this at all." (Al replied)

"There are many people who would LOVE to raise a puppy right now but are refraining from getting one at the moment because they want to make sure to only act at the right time. Then they come on and see you, who's screwing up your puppy, ignoring GOOD advice, and now attempting to acquire a dog who will have the size and power to do an extreme amount of damage when they can't handle a puppy and it's infuriating. Perhaps you should consider a different hobby...."

I never forgot the post about scruffing the new puppy until he screamed ..... all over chasing a BUG. And the one about "I'm a yank-n-crank trainer because Pointers respond to it."

And now this .... toss this young dog into isolation (or throw him away entirely, depending on which post of yours we happen to be reading) ...

This thread, like most of Nick's threads, isn't a positive thing here. JMO.