raising a puppy not using bite inhibition

Did everyone at the BBQ had something to redirect him to? Like a toy, stick, towel? Maybe they actually were redirecting to their shoes because they didn't want to be nipped.

I remember with Yana all those ouches and yelps were waste of time and the redirection was my only option. Also I remember how often I wasn't fast enough and her teeth closed on my hand instead of on the toy (I still have scars on my arms and legs). You'll have to pay for the redirection process with your blood but I wouldn't expect others willing to do that. I supervised Yana all the time especially with kids. The good thing is that Yana is a super tugger right now, it's her favorite game and most desirable reward. And she still gets me sometimes when I'm not fast enough Good luck with your pup!

LOL

You really want to avoid posting this kind of thing in the regular puppy section. That way you don't have to read posts about calling animal control about your "killer attack puppy"!

Here is the way I approached it. I don't want my puppy to interact with others the same way he does with me. With me you can show power, bite and we will work together to develop that. With others, I want him to be calm unless on a field, so I set him up for success. Before any interaction with others I would exercise him as much as possible, and then feed him. Now, when others come over they have clear cut rules. No quick movements (prey like). It is not funny to move your shoe quickly to get the puppy to latch on. We will not play chase, and nobody is prepared for the way my puppy would play with a ball or toy (especially after 3 months of age). Calm petting is the only interaction I want, and I supervise every single second. If I cannot, or my guests want to operate on the own agenda the pup is crated. It is much easier to start young and establish a separation of behavior between field and home as well as you (handler) and others that will carry over to adult life.

thanks very much john, that's really helpful! i was hoping you'd see this.

i realized for sure, my problem w/the bbq was that b/c it was that i wasn't controlling the interactions enough. what you've laid out is great.

from all the reading i've done, and seeing what working people have posted on other forums, what i'm doing w/neb isn't uncommon for working homes in terms of redirecting, not correcting, etc, and encouraging drives and making that the focus. i know that i'm not as experienced, so it's a learning process for me.

i do recognize neb is an off-breed to say the least....in terms of developing his prey, he is part husky, and i'm starting to get a lot of comments that dad may have been an off-breed which does sometimes compete in SchH and FR (and which is banned here in ontario and would make neb subject to bsl/euth, so if anyone comments about his head shape etc i've got my 'he's part lab!' comments ready).

anyways, my thought is - i want to get a mal one day and do FR. the timing didn't work now b/c i'd have to get a car, and financially i won't be buying one for about 4 years. but in the meantime, i see this as a golden opportunity to practise raising a working dog, learning about building drives, maximizing his natural drives, and building confidence in a dog. sort of like a test run. and my other thought, though i'll see how he develops, is the person i plan to train FR w/seems to be fairly open to different breeds (i've been out to visit a training session and am in touch w/someone who trains w/him who has mals from the breeder i'm looking at) - i've been invited to continue to visit the field to watch training so i can learn more about FR - maybe neb and i could do some FR training, again, as a learning experience, recognising that he is an 'off'-breed and that would likely impact how far he can go. i'm not sure how the trainer would feel about that though, it's just something i'm kicking around in my head now though even to do it in a more relaxed way i'd still have to figure out transportation issues. i haven't approached him at all, again, it's just something i thought would be great from a learning perspective.

....not that that was too long-winded

Originally Posted By: ZeusGSDLOL

You really want to avoid posting this kind of thing in the regular puppy section. That way you don't have to read posts about calling animal control about your "killer attack puppy"!

Click to expand...

I think maybe you should re-read what was posted. NOTHING was said about a "killer attack puppy".

and so far he is really good with people - his reaction to strangers is a wiggle butt. i can't say for sure if he's the cross he may be - the father is unknown, and it's a bit soon to say for sure, but i've had a few comments, i can see it (taking into account he is young) and i've approached people familiar w/the breed and they're split on it.

i adopted him b/c of his personality and fitting into my pack, first and foremost. i've been pleased to see he is confident in new situations, with new noises, and doesn't seem to have issues w/'scary' things. it is also early days though.

to have him well-socialized is really important to me, for a number of reasons - it's just basically important, i have an example of what happens when a dog's world is severely contracted for years in luc, and b/c i don't want any possible issues, especially if i think his mix is a potential risk (not from the perspective that there's anything wrong w/the breed, simply from a bsl perspective). also, b/c when i get the mal, i want to have the dog that is a good house dog and can go out on the field and perform at a high level.

john, you've expressed very well what i've been thinking but perhaps not able to communicate. i want to understand how to develop his drive, how to work w/a dog to do so, and to raise them where they can be highly socialized but still have lots of drive. when i noticed how well he's doing w/tugging i decided that i would take this as far as i can w/him and hopefully have a great learning process as a result, as well as developing him into a confident, well-socialized dog.

if i don't take him to the picnic this weekend, it's mostly going to be b/c it's in a park, and he's only had his first set of shots. there shouldn't be any dogs running free in the area we'd be in but i'm still not sure i want him there.

Hey John,

I really appreciate your advice for me to

“Why don't you spend time responding to questions about socializing, house training and having fun with puppies as opposed to worrying about giving advice that will mess up drive building and foundation work for others?.”

Since you are the expert did it cross your mind to ask jarn what type of training Schh, FR or protection the puppy is being imprinted for? It makes a difference. Do you think it would be helpful to find out what experience jarn has w/ training in drive or raising a puppy for that matter? Do you think a first time dog owner should focus on the basics (socialization, housetraining etc.) or advanced imprinting theories? Maybe you could point to an experienced trainer who tells their students not to teach an 8 week old puppy to keep its mouth off people because it will hurt “drive.”



Rag and tug work is great for a puppy of 8 weeks to build confidence as part of an overall training strategy, but that was not what the original post said. The original post asked “raising a puppy not using bite inhibition.” I guess it doesn’t matter because this is just jarn’s practice dog until she can get a mal and do FR. Good Grief…..

So in your words “as opposed to worrying about giving advice that will mess up drive building and foundation work” Why don’t you realize that you are no expert on dogs and when people respond to a post as unclear and misleading as this maybe a little less sanctimony from you would be helpful.

okay....i thought i was clear in my original post i was redirecting neb (ETA that the original posts states more than once that i was using redirection), rather than using other methods, and that he was not allowed to bite people or clothing at will, but clearly i was not. i apologize for that.

john has been helpful to me here and on another board w/respect to my other dogs, and while i don't want to speak for him, he probably has a pretty good handle on what my experience is.

i'm not going to lay claim to being the most experienced person - but i can only gain it one way. i can definitely see that i need to make changes from the bbq in terms of not allowing other people to handle him as i did.

in terms of neb being my 'practice' dog - that's a bit of a silly way to put it; i did not adopt neb for that reason - as i stated, i adopted him b/c i liked his personality and he was chosen for fit w/my existing dogs.

when i noticed he has good prey drive and loves to tug, i decided to try to work w/him - hopefully doing some FR foundation work - as far as i can. and i really don't see what is wrong with that. no, i don't expect he will do as well as a mal would. but working w/him and training him towards a sport i'm interested in, even if we don't go far, is a great experience for both of us in terms of bonding and confidence. i know of people who do SchH obedience and tracking w/their dogs, but for instance don't expect them to excel in the protection aspect so don't trial them - i don't see how this is different or that i'm doing something wrong.