What to teach first? - Page 1

You have a new puppy what do you teach him first. You are raising him Schutzhund.

Scent pads, can't start tracking imprinting too young. I don't really do much formal obedience other than working on eye contact and making the front and basic positions the most rewarding places for the puppy to be.

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I don't start tracking until I get attention..which takes about two days, otherwise, puppies nose is on the ground all the time.  I also, never tell a dog "no".  I tell it what to do. I keep a long line on it...about 15 feet....when it does something undesirable, I walk away from it and say "hier".  On a second command, if necessary, a give a little correction.  The correction (pressure) is given when the pup is away from me..which drives the dog into me.  I correct in a very neutral way, with lavish praise when the puppy comes to me.  I always keep the puppy on a totally loose lead.  Before long, when you walk away the puppy is right with you...you can't get away from them.  That makes you the leader...them the follower!

Then I start scent boxes, then linked scent boxes, then linked scent boxes with a track going off the third box at a 45 degree angle.

Keeping a journal on each dog is especially essential for novice trainers.

With all this said, every pup is different...so each has a slightly different sequencial order for training.

First? How about it's name? Second, off leash informal recall. I call you, you come running, good things follow. Nothing
formal, just get the puppy flying in at top speed every time. After this, I don't do much obedience until they are older, but
starting the recall motivational and young sets you up for a nice fast formal recall later.

Then there's tracking. You can never do enough and if I have one regret, it's not doing more with mine when they were little.


Melissa

Teach first? I'd say, teach yourself to find a good club with plenty of knowledge. I see some good info given and some garbage. If you are that new to dogs that you ask the question, perhaps you cannot decipher good info from garbage. I'm not trying to be funny or mean. I'd just hate to see you mess up an important time in your dogs life.

I have a good group to train with I was just wanting to see what other people train for first and to see if it could be something that I could put in my toolbox so to speak.

a new puppy .. I like what Steve1 writes and is doing with his new pup .  as i have done with mine . i think steve1 and i are on the same page .. in generality _ what you teach first is about yourself & set your relationship . Every single aspect &  event stems from your Relationship. This is not just mere words .. e.g Von spreng .. just told me how she has set 'communication with her dog' , and what the dog can expect. .. for whatever it's worth . she explains to the pup how she is going to present , and that sounds predictatble :  the pup is always safe with her and within her psyche. IMO it is the abstract that is so critical even before you start so called exercises. Every relationship has terms , rules , boundaries , what's acceptable and not . A multitude of factors  go into a relationship . Best  to get the dog one with you . Whether that means in  attention , bond, sharing of resources , the understanding that you both will have the same goals - on and on 
               i am in total agrrement with steve1. the eyes are the window to the soul for  people and dogs alike . how can you teach , train , etc etc  if the dog won't even look into your eyes. figuratively and literally . i don't mean mere make eye contact .. i mean to look INTO [ not at]  your eyes & and your essence of  being .  i know , some here think the dog just learns .. you think ?  .. you think that is so ? then , IMO you know nothing, nothing  about a canine !! 

I agree with Melba....how about a name.  lol.  Gotta mess with ya...oh and hey this is not your first rodeo, trust yourself a little bit.  

I agree with Alphapup on the importance of a bond and working relationship, not just relying on aversive training to coerce behavior or gimmicks like luring with toys.  But I also don't see the harm in actually teaching the brand new puppy a few things that will only help you later on.  I tend to develop my bond with my dogs through training and work, I don't bond and then start training. For me the two go hand-in-hand, and the longer we work and train together, the stronger bond and mutual respect we have.  Just in the past few months I feel my three year old male and I have a hive-mind, lol, but it took three years to get to that point.  I'm not much of a puppy person, I dont dislike puppies but it takes me a while to really bond with a puppy and that happens as we train and challenge each other.  I can't wait for that bond to be there before I start trainng, that takes at least a year or two.