What is your prefered training style?

[mycobraracr]

Do you like to build a dog up until around a year or so with little to no obedience then cap and bring in ob? Or do you bring the dog up a little more balanced introducing protection, ob and tracking all at once?

These would be once the dog is a bit older. Say after a year or so of age. Are you of the make it or break it mind frame? Or do you coddle the dog a bit if it needs it?

I hope what I'm asking makes sense. I couldn't figure out how to word it.

[hunterisgreat]

We lean towards "crazy". I ask for enough control to have ... well.. control and not a **** of a lot more. I hate seeing a dog with perfect ob that is then flat and lame in protection. I want people to think "OMG, I hope he has more control that it appears or I'm going to get mauled" lol

[N Smith]

I start OB right away at 8 weeks - but for the first 2-4 months its small marker training sessions teaching games that will later become commands (through, weave, spin, go out/come in etc). By 8-9 months I was proofing my female, was more like 13-14 months with my male, just different times with completely understanding concepts and I don't proof until I know they understand 100%.

I have never had a problem with not enough "crazy". I just can't imagine how much "crazy" I would have if I didn't start young...

I do my own tug work with posting for the first 8-9 months, while also putting the pup in front of the helper once/twice a week for fun play sessions.

I start tracking at 8 weeks as well, just short scent pads, circle tracks and food searches. Progressing to straight tracks then corners, when the dog is ready (no set age), then once they can do a 500 pace track with at least 4 corners and only food drops, I progress to articles. I start articles off the track marker training a "show me" with a down at the article.

I also taught agility starting 8 weeks, freestyle, Rally-O and Kayaking. I start from day one teaching my dogs small increments of EVERYTHING I am going to need later on, and just do some imprinting in each area making it fun for the dog.

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by N Smith

I start OB right away at 8 weeks - but for the first 2-4 months its small marker training sessions teaching games that will later become commands (through, weave, spin, go out/come in etc). By 8-9 months I was proofing my female, was more like 13-14 months with my male, just different times with completely understanding concepts and I don't proof until I know they understand 100%.

I have never had a problem with not enough "crazy". I just can't imagine how much "crazy" I would have if I didn't start young...

I do my own tug work with posting for the first 8-9 months, while also putting the pup in front of the helper once/twice a week for fun play sessions.

I start tracking at 8 weeks as well, just short scent pads, circle tracks and food searches. Progressing to straight tracks then corners, when the dog is ready (no set age), then once they can do a 500 pace track with at least 4 corners and only food drops, I progress to articles. I start articles off the track marker training a "show me" with a down at the article.

I also taught agility starting 8 weeks, freestyle, Rally-O and Kayaking. I start from day one teaching my dogs small increments of EVERYTHING I am going to need later on, and just do some imprinting in each area making it fun for the dog.

I've never had a problem with not enough crazy either lol. Usually its a problem with too much.

[N Smith]

Originally Posted by hunterisgreat

I've never had a problem with not enough crazy either lol. Usually its a problem with too much.

LOL - I totally get that statement!

[Tim Connell]

As pups and young dogs, we limit it to environmental exposure, socialization, light luring imprinting of tracking and OB behaviors, all light and positive, just motivational stuff.

Bitework right from the get go, as we subscribe to the "build the engine before installing the brakes" mentality too.

I agree with the earlier theory of not squashing drive with heavy OB early on.

[mycobraracr]

With Mina I started ob at 8 weeks and protection and tracking at 3.5 months. During protecion there was litte to none obedience. Just be crazy and bite.

Heidi didn't do any (and I mean none!) ob until she was a year. Just socialize and grow up. Then at a year it was time to train.

A lot of the younger imported dogs I'm seen have very little ob and in pro a ton of bark and bite but no control.

So I only asked to see what you guys do. I'm trying to decide which way to go for my next dog. Although I may just get a 12-24 month old and not have to worry about it.

[TrickyShepherd]

We start OB and Protection from the start.

Storm was started at my breeder/trainer's when she was even younger. I got her at 9weeks and started from there. Nothing too crazy at first. Very short, very easy sessions until she was probably around 4-5 months. Then we started asking a bit more from her in OB.

Tracking was started late this time around. We started her around 7 months old. Normally that would be started around 4 months. With the holiday season being the busiest at work, I just didn't have the time to start tracking. She's doing just fine now though.

I believe everything should be trained with balance. Depending on the puppy, I don't think I would wait to start Protection. Of course, I'm sure there are specific cases where I would do differently.

As of coddling. Storm has really never been too coddled. She's not a very loving dog. Don't get me wrong, she does have her moments, but for the most part she just enjoys being around you.. not on top of you. Which is way different from my male who can't get in my lap enough! She gets everything she needs, and we train and play a lot. That's pretty much exactly what keeps Storm happy.

[elisabeth_00117]

With Zefra I allowed her to be her crazy self, but maintained enough control so that she wasn't a danger to others or herself.. lol.

We did very little OB for the first year or so, just enough so she knew the commands and performed them correctly, protection was done as was tracking (although not enough because I hate tracking..lol).

I am not the "coddle" type, so no, I don't coddle. Zefra is definitely not the 'coddle type' either when working.. in the house she is a mush but when there is a job to be completed.. nothing will stop her.

We are just now working on our secondary obedience and I believe it is going very smoothly and quickly. She is now running blinds on her own and coming into the blind CLEAN which is a big improvement since she was a BITE NOW, ASK NEVER type of dog in the beginning.

[Liesje]

Depends on the dog. I don't really put my dogs in little boxes based on how I like to train, but do what's best for them. Pan I could have worked a lot in protection early on but he has a low threshold for prey so we did minimal protection until he was 18 months or so. We tried him on a suit at 14 months and while he was biting armpits and collarbones really full and hard he was a bit crazed and out of control so we put that away for a while. Nikon has always been very serious and matured mentally a lot younger so we were able to tap deeper when he was around 1 year and go from there. If my dogs aren't showing me what I want then we change up how the helper is working the dog to get the desired result, we don't "coddle" it out of the dog.