# Sch/IPO for puppy



## Sealdoc (Feb 16, 2003)

So I will be bringing home a working pup and want to do get the dog titled in Sch/IPO. I have read about how much time commitment etc. and that I need to join a club. I do have the time and will join a club. I have also read about imprinting and fear stages.

At what age do you "imprint" the pup for tracking and protection?

I also read about a "fear" stage that you want to be careful of. When is that?

Thx


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I can't comment on the schutzhund because I don't train in it, but fear stages do not occur on any sort of a schedule. Some dogs don't go through fear stages at all, some go through a few and some go through a ton. 

My high drive border collie puppy went through about 6 different fear stages between 7 weeks and 1 year old, lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. My
German shepherd didn't go through any fear stages, and none of my foster puppies ever have either.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

We start tracking almost immediately (get the puppy at 8 weeks, let it settle for a week or so and then start tracking)...protection is all play/prey tug work until the dog is right around a year...even then, it depends on the dog and a good decoy that can read the dog and only give as much pressure as the dog can handle before letting the dog win.

Get with a club. That's really the first place to start, and the sooner the better....lots of bad habits can be created in a very short amount of time and a TD can help by seeing it right away and coming up with a "fix it" plan...as well as give you the basics of what you should be doing at home.


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## Sealdoc (Feb 16, 2003)

Any recommended reading material for tracking?

How do you identify fear stage coming on or if they are in it. Last thing I want to do is imprint a fear of water, cars, strangers etc.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

For a baby puppy I would be doing scent pads for tracking imprinting, make sure not to be squashing the drive, socializing (take him everywhere, expose him to everything), and just letting him grow up thinking he's the smartest, fastest, most courageous dog on earth. The specifics vary person to person depending your goals and experience level. For example I know people who do not start any formal obedience until the dog is a year or so, but I personally start obedience day 1. If your puppy is well bred and has good nerves I would not worry about fear periods, that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. YOU need to be confident as a handler and help your dog always feel confident.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Liesje said:


> For a baby puppy I would be doing scent pads for tracking imprinting, make sure not to be squashing the drive, socializing (take him everywhere, expose him to everything), and just letting him grow up thinking he's the smartest, fastest, most courageous dog on earth. The specifics vary person to person depending your goals and experience level. For example I know people who do not start any formal obedience until the dog is a year or so, but I personally start obedience day 1. *If your puppy is well bred and has good nerves I would not worry about fear periods, that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.* YOU need to be confident as a handler and help your dog always feel confident.


Amen. Curious, do you work just general obedience and house manners until a certain age? Or do you work on those as well as moving quickly into obedience in the different venues you train in?? I know some people that will only do basic obedience and house manners until the dog is closer to a year and then they start in on the obedience for whatever venue they are working.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Here is an excellent website for learning more about IPO: Schutzhund-Training.com - Tracking


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I do a lot of house manners stuff from day 1 as all my dogs are house dogs, not kennel dogs, and eventually they aren't crated in the house either. Stuff like not door dashing, not scratching at or bouncing off the back door because you want in or out, learning the order of who gets fed and not diving into someone else's bowl, etc. For obedience it's mostly stuff like recalls and then imprinting that front and basic (heel) position are the best places in the world to be. Since I do flyball and agility I'm also imprinting a lot of those behaviors with "flatwork" (no actual jumps/boxes/obstacles) as well, and also encouraging things like retrieving, tugging, letting the dog frustrate and bark. My formal SchH obedience also uses -R and +P so I don't start that until later on when the dog already has a relationship with me and can understand the consequences as well as me being able to mark behaviors, release the pressure, reward the dog. I've just found that if I put in some work early on, doing the more formal stuff takes less time and is more clear to the dog. For example with Pan he didn't start learning heel/"fuss" until he was about 10 months or so but was easily ready for his BH before he was even old enough (15 months?). This is just me though, everyone kind of has their own protocol and a lot depends on your club/support system. I train with friends who have similar training styles and goals so we all start our puppies the same way. Also, I own dogs because I love to train them and puppies are like sponges as babies, they LOVE to be with the owner and work/play/train, it's all the same to them. I like working with them at that age, so I do.


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## ScousePete (Oct 29, 2013)

That was a great website that Onyx'girl recommended, specifically THIS page for puppies.


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