Considering Personal Protection Training

[ch3ckpo1nt]

Damian is only 5 months old, I understand it is far too early for this type of training. I'm taking him to obedience classes when he turns 6 months. The place I'm taking him to said they can start exersizes to prepare him for the training, after they decide he has the drive for the training. He comes from a West German Working Line.

My question is, does anyone know what type of exersizes this trainer is talking about to prepare him for PP training? Also, at what age did you guys start this training?

[JKlatsky]

I would be very careful. Training for PP is a major commitment, and frequently the people who advertise themselves as PP trainers really don't know what they are doing. A good decoy can be hard to find.

Who in the area does PP training?

(And just FYI, based on your pup's pedigree, that's West German Showlines)

[ch3ckpo1nt]

Thank you for that bottom note, I feel not so bright. The breeder told me working line so I didn't even think to read up on it.

The Doghouse LLC

[ch3ckpo1nt]

Someone just PM'ed me with another link to one of their founders who is a trainer, Ivan. They said they believed he was the best trainer they've ever seen.

[Castlemaid]

Is it Ivan Balabanov? Then you have nothing to worry about!

There is often confusion between West German Showlines and West German Working lines among new GSD owners.

Your breeder may have meant that the dogs have working titles, but the dogs are still from showlines.

[ch3ckpo1nt]

I will certainly admit, I'm a new GSD owner.

Yes, its Ivan Balabanov.

By your guys' opinion.. as far as training is concerned, am I doing a decent job for never training before?

Damian is 5 months and 1 week old.

He knows:

Sit
Stay
Lay down
Jump
Leave it
Watch
Sit pretty ( Stays in sit position but puts both paws up)
Beginnings of heel

[ch3ckpo1nt]

Carrie, is who I believe I've been talking to at the Doghouse. She told me to wait until Damian is 6 months old for training. She recommended the full service training, where I drop Damian off for three weeks and he is fully obedience training when I pick him up. I said I wanted to be there for the training so we are going a different route, in which i told her I wanted to PP training in the future, so she told me they will perform exersizes to gear him for it after they learn his drive and willing to learn.

[Castlemaid]

As for your other question, the excercises a trainer would do to prepare a pup for PP are mostly drive building, grip development, and focus and obedience excercises. It would be similar to the foundation training done with a Schutzhund puppy. He will be developing the dog's prey drive, keeping it all fun and rewarding.

What you can start doing with Damien if you are interested in pursuing this is to build up his confidence sky high!!! Make him believe that he is the best pup in the world and that he can do no wrong. Manage his environment and supervise him and redirect him to you in a fun and positive manner to keep him out of trouble instead of letting him get into stuff then correcting him. Play tug with him and he always wins. Do not correct puppy biting of hands and body parts, redirect to tugs and other toys. Do not correct jumping on people, but control him to prevent him from jumping, and teach him alternate behaviours.

And don't worry about putting a lot of obedience on Damien at an early age - let him be a puppy and have fun! Too much obedience can have a negative impact in this kind of training, as the dog later gets too dependent on direction from the handler and does not trust his own ability to make decisions. The Obedience will have to be solid for PP training, but that can come later.

[ch3ckpo1nt]

Thank you for that advice!

[Castlemaid]

I just saw your last post - Damien is doing very well for a five month old! All good and fun basics to start with.

Personally, I would never drop off my dog, let alone my puppy and leave him for stay-away training! You want and need to be involved with Damien and you need to learn how to train him as much as he will need the training. A big part of training your pup is to develop the bond and a relationship with him, and for you to learn training skills even more than for Damien to know how to sit flawlessly.

If they are putting pressure on you to do the send-away training, that would make me very uncomfortable with the whole situation. Plus it would be pretty traumatic for a six month old to suddenly be in a new place with new people, and to not see you for 3 weeks.

Though other people here may have some insight and experience with the trainer and training facility. It might be hard to find good PP trainers, I would continue to look around, and talk to Schutzhund people for recommendations. You could joine a Schutzhund club to work on the foundation training, and through the club contacts you may find a good trainer for PPD.

But as Carrie said, the first thing to do is to evaluate Damien to see if he has the temperament and the drive for the training. This can be seen and evaluated in a five month old pup. They will be looking to see how confident he is in a new environment, with people he has never met before, how much drive he has, how willing is he to engage in play with a stranger, etc. A good trainer can tell a lot about your pup just by observing him interact with you and with strangers.