When to start? - Page 1

I would like to know every one's opinion on when to start working with your dog/puppy? In obedience tracking and protection.  I know some don't want to do anything until the dog is about a year old and others start when the puppy is still very young.  Give your reasons on your preference if you can.  I think this would be helpful for all the new people that are starting out.

It depends on what you mean by work.

If by "protection work" you mean chasing a rag or a tug on a flirt pole or a line, with no pressure... they can start that from day one.

If by "tracking work" you mean letting them find food in a start pad, with no pressure... they can start that from day one.

If by "obedience" you mean luring a puppy into a sit/down/stand and rewarding, with no pressure... they can start that from day one.

IMH [and largely unqualified] O, it's less about the dog being the right age for the work as it is the work being right for the dog's age.

I'm with Mudwick; you can start imprinting the pup yesterday and I don't need to know how old it is to make that statement.

They're always learning, so it is either on their own or with your influence.

Tracking I'd start day 1.  With a real tiny puppy I do scent pads for a long time, but because of weather the last two pups I've got right before winter I haven't been able to do this.  My newest pup did maybe half a dozen scent pads before winter set in and at the time was 4 months or younger.  Now he is almost 8 months and just last week started tracking, an easy footstep track with food every 1-3 footsteps for now.  If I'd gotten him in the spring and tracked all summer, this would be a different story and he'd be much farther along by now.

Obedience I start clicker and food day 1.  I train basic stuff like sit, platz, speak and really work sitting and giving eye contact in front and basic position so these two spots are great places to be.  Around 6 months I start working toy rewards.  Around 8 months I start introducing compulsion.

Protection I don't really do a lot of the rag/flirt stuff.  I do play tug, chase, and fetch games with my own dogs at home but these are just fun games for us, I don't really see this as bitework and don't want protection work to be really "fun", the helper is not a "friend".  When to really start depends on the dog.  When they are mature enough to start working out some defense and aggression.  My 8 month old pup does some sessions now but he's mainly working in prey.  I don't want to encourage this too much.  I prefer more defense.  Depends on what your goals are.  I prefer to get a dog that genetically bites full, hard, and calm so these are not really things that need much foundation.

I miss the Godfather... his humor and wisdom, charm and insight

my 2$ . chaz is correct .. pups are going to learn ..irregardless .. other posters are coorect , "teaching' .. My point .. the whole concept abpout Obedience , Protection , tracking are INCORRECT ..  do you make a 1 yeart old babh obedient , or a 2 year old ? WHY , of course not !! BUT , we can TEACH ... staring at 2 years old or so ,,, TEACH . things like manners , how to use it's hands[eye/hand coordination] . limitaions . Obedience means that when you request that person , dog , worker to do , then  immediately without any thought or hesitation that one executes the request .. THAT is obedience and it implies that what you requested has been leanred ,understood and that one is fully capable to perform ..  SO why [ not meaning this poster] do you dog tainers use that stupid foolish word in the same sentence as the word  puppy ?? IMO .. when i hear converstations from the so called trainers about waiting until a pup is older to so call [work] it .. that tells me they are ignorant- an really mnaKes me wonder if they knw what the blazes  they are doing !! . they miss months and months to teach a pup & from a relationship ,one can teach a pup / imprint to such a high degree , at 12 weeks old i already have a pup understaning a sit[stay] out of sight .not to be bragging,  but simply to illustrate HOW MUCH you loose by not teaching at a young age . same with biting .. by 20 weeks old my pups will bit through a tire , jump in a fence for a bite , run through a teunnel , bite hard , fast and full right into body [ and these are show line as well as working lines].to repeat.  basic skillls can be learned so fast !! so fast , i have had show lines by 7 months old ready for a sch 1 .. and i train as if they were seeking a sch 3 when going for the 1 !!! the gist is what you teach , how you teach it , when and why ..so novices work with well versewd people , may be at a club , they will get you off onto the right track .       BTW ... teaching as pup is so imperative to me ...in my contracts for placing puppies  . i have owners not only sign the contract , but i also have them intial the satement : they are to take the pup tto  kindergarten classes , or i offer all of them my help teach them myself with the pup !!

Alphapup, can you kindly email me at hunger4justice@gmail.com?  I have been trying to PM you for 2 days and keep getting an error message. 

You start imprinting right from the time you get your Pup, However everything is a game Obed is taught, Tracking is Taught, Protection is Taught all from the time you get your Puppy not 12 months of age
I do wonder why some think this way waiting for the Pup to grow older,
Why do you send your Children to School at 5 years of age even play school earlier, To learn but in games, but they learn, Why does a mother talk to her Baby making sounds which the Baby will come to know later it imprints it to the Child  You teach every thing basic when it is young that way it stays forever
Just the same as a Puppy is reared by the new owner.
Steve1

One of the few threads where everyone is right on the mark. That puppy will learn with or without you. Not just our breed and not every breed. But the GSD is HIGHLY intelligent. And his brain EVEN at an early age is a sponge. If you are not teaching he/she will learn on their own. Good or bad. If other dogs are around he/she will learn from them good or bad.

Day 1 and my pups are learning something. Depends on what you want the dog to do/ to be? My belief is the first six months are so CRUCIAL to the making of the dog. We all have are beliefs from reading, experiences, trainers, seeing with our own eyes, etc. etc. But when I see or how "don't do anything till the pup is one year old"? For that one year what did the pup do? What did the owner, Master (can't say trainer) but what did they do with that dog for a full year??? Nothing? Now you have some work to do. Undoing bad habits that were left unacknowledged for a full year.

In all honesty and reality you and the pup are a year behind the game plan..... but to undo some things you are more than a year behind.