# 10 week puppy



## afurr (Mar 4, 2009)

Looking to get our 10 week old into Schutzhund when he's of the right age. What can we be starting at his age now? He is picking things up super quick like create training and potty outside. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

I would talk with the breeder your pup came from.. She used to be involved in SchH and I believe still gives classes at her facility?


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## afurr (Mar 4, 2009)

She does and we are going to start with her puppy course in a few weeks. What I'm trying to make sure is that now we are doing all we can to prepare him


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## Technostorm (May 24, 2009)

I don't know what others think, but at 10 weeks its still early to determine based on the temperaments and health. First of all, it really depends on the hips and elbows. I would wait until he's old enough to take a prelim Hip and Elbow X-ray before determining if SchH is ok. 

But, its never too eary to start your GSD on the right path. I too have a puppy who's 16 weeks old now and starting at 8 weeks, the following day he came home, we started playing tugs, focusing, light running around, and hiding goody treats so he can find them. Most of the things in schH can be done or practice at very early age but one needs patience (reminding myself.. LOL). Besides agilities and attack/protection works, all other can be trained as a game at young age. 

Socializing, both humans and dogs are a must as well to get the puppy used to being around spectators and dogs of different types around him. 

I might add that when the puppy starts to bark, DO NOT scold him. This is because there you do want him to bark. But instead, encourage for rightful barking and ignoring barks to get your attention. 

Good luck.. 

Dan


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## krylos (Oct 19, 2006)

I agree. Start working on getting your pup exposed to as many new experiences as possible. I took mine to the park, played in the sand, climbed on rocks, placed her up on park benches, took her to Petsmart and Petco as often as possible... Socialization and new experiences are really key to a stable dog later in life (all other things being equal of course... breeding, temperment, etc)

As far as getting ready for SchH... Like the previous poster mentioned, work on building focus, do some puppy "scent boxes" out in the yard to develop the tracking instincts, play lots of tug (remember that pup doesn't win without a full grip... help him get a full grip if needed... but let him win a lot). You can work on imprinting the foose with a hot dog having pup walk alongside you and sliding the hot dog out of your curled hand like a push-up or lipstick...

I think the best thing is to find a good SchH club so that they can show you what all this stuff means. They can also judge pup's personality and help you tailor these things to your pup.

Most important of all is to make things fun... fun... FUN!!!! Don't make a big deal out of negative experiences, just move on... act like a bloomin' idiot when pup does something right or has a positive experience. Keep it fun!


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

10 weeks is never too early to start any kind of training. if you ask me, the sooner you start with the bite work, the better.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: TechnostormI don't know what others think, but at 10 weeks its still early to determine based on the temperaments and health. First of all, it really depends on the hips and elbows. I would wait until he's old enough to take a prelim Hip and Elbow X-ray before determining if SchH is ok.


so your saying that he shouldnt be started until he's about 15 months old?? prelims dont mean s**t.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Let your puppy be a puppy! Training's OK but prepping for Schutzhund at 10 weeks????? All I'd say is don't squelch the drives.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Let the pup be a pup, but if you know you are going to have this pup active in SchH then of course there is foundation work, so you don't "squelch the drives". 
Leesa, Dan and Krylos advice is great I'd like to add- build up the pups confidence level by not correcting but redirecting behaviors you do not want. And put the pup in his crate if he gets to be too much instead of reprimanding him. 
On the subject of prelims, it is good to get a look at an early age 6+ mos, so you do no damage if there are questionable x-rays. Though I would not wait til the prelims have been done to start the pup on training for the sport. 
The TD at my club didn't want the puppies to do much in the way of tug, til he was sure we were getting deep bites, not outing. calm grips are important,too. He wanted to be sure the pups were getting it right(along w/ the novice handlers) We have about 6 pups the same age in my club and most of the owners are new to the sport. I had been going for about a year, but Onyx was a wash in protection so I had to wait for my pup. We started going when the pups were about 12 weeks:


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## skyizzy (Apr 15, 2008)

Jane WHAT A DOLL BABY!!!


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: middleofnowhereLet your puppy be a puppy! Training's OK but prepping for Schutzhund at 10 weeks????? All I'd say is don't squelch the drives.


see the problem with people who have little clue about sports such as schH, french ring, PSA yada yada yada... is that they dont know serious trainers and breeders will start there pups as soon as they are weaned. no, its not doing any harm to the pup, think about it, what do puppies usually do?? THEY BITE!!


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

But the "serious" people know a lot more about playing than most people.

For example, last night at our club we had a whole bunch of pups there so our TD got out a bite rag and did a little demonstration of how to play with pups. Needless to say, there was a lot more to the "game" than just waving the rag around and playing tug of war with your puppy. You have to know how to grip the rag, when to move it, how to move it, how much to move it, how to get the pup into prey (instead of just getting them loaded and hyper to the point they will hectically bite anything that moves), and I'm sure a lot of other things I missed.


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## jesusica (Jan 13, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: lcht2
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: middleofnowhereLet your puppy be a puppy! Training's OK but prepping for Schutzhund at 10 weeks????? All I'd say is don't squelch the drives.
> ...


Nearly everything I have learned about schh thus far has come from a pretty big







name in the sport and their philosophy in protection is why rush, wait until you have a more total dog. My dog did not start protection until ~15 months and he was not negatively affected. In fact I've received nothing but "nice freaking dog" compliments from those outside my "mentor's" circle (I pesonally don't think he's as nice as those outsiders make him out to be, they just haven't seen REAL dogs).

Different strokes for different folks but there is no advantage to having a 5 month old on a sleeve.


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## Sarah'sSita (Oct 27, 2001)

Be patient--a good foundation is critical.
from Jesusica "My dog did not start protection until ~15 months and he was not negatively affected"
"protection" training can mean a lot of things. From pups we are imprinting the behavior. I don't think people are talking about giving the 10 week real threat and a sleeve. Heck, the dog is learning the moment it is born-- shape it, train it, nurture it, develop its drives, ENJOY IT!


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## krylos (Oct 19, 2006)

2 things...

The crate is great... get the pup used to the crate, but always make it a positive thing. Toss a treat in there and give the "kennel" command or whatever you choose to use. Everything is happy, fun, and positive.

The other thing to remember is that out of 100 different trainers and handlers you will have AT LEAST 100 different opinions on how to train your dog. You live with your dog, you know your dog... just have fun. Always keep an open mind and realize that your dog might not be cut out for SchH as well, but there is always something that you can do together with your dog.

Just work on your foundation stuff for now, and get out to the club for some one on one, in person advice.


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## jesusica (Jan 13, 2006)

I never suggested anyone would try to put a sleeve to a 10 week old puppy. But the general pattern is to do "protection" with a helper every week with rag work rag work rag work and move on to pillows and sleeves asap with macho men bragging about their 6 month old being on a puppy sleeve. I have seen blood soaked pillows because clubs INSISTED on working teething puppies all in the name of getting them on the sleeve as quickly as possible. If your dog isn't doing a bark and hold into the blind and watered down courage tests by 10 months it's crap. That is the mentality I am talking about and it is FAR too common. Nothing wrong with encouraging certain behaviors that will be applicable to schh in the future but they are PUPPIES. Leave the PUPPIES out of your







measuring contest. If I ever go the puppy route again, the only thing that puppy will do for roughly the first year of its life is track and play with me, doing protection with a helper once every few months just to see where it is. I want to see some natural aggression in the dog before he starts getting consistently worked...I want to train the whole dog in protection from day one, not just his prey. 

All opinion, of course. Take it or leave it. Most tend to leave it, it's not a popular opinion.


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## afurr (Mar 4, 2009)

I lost this thread and now i've found it. Thanks for all the information. I had no intention of getting him on the sleeve or even remotly starting protection this young. My intentions were if there were certain things I should be teaching now ... other than just how fun it is to be a puppy! I know that it's important to play tug and drive games with puppies. I was curious if games like hide/seek are good etc. I don't know if he'll be cut out for it when he's older, but I don't want to not be doing something. 

Thanks for the advice!


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

Jake is 8 months old on a puppy sleeve. While teething he didn't do any work. He's doing escapes, barking for the decoy (out in the open, not in the blind) but we take it as he can do it. I start doing rag work at 8 wks old if they have the want to do so.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I don't think there's anything bad in starting early IF you/the TD knows what they are doing. Otherwise it will sure take a lot longer to fix something than it would to train it right at an older age!! It really depends on the dog and how that dog is being trained. I don't think Nikon did any "bitework" (which was just rag/canvass at that point) while teething but I've seen another dog work normally all through teething.

If you are not really sure what to do and how to do it, then wait.


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## krylos (Oct 19, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: MandaBearI lost this thread and now i've found it. Thanks for all the information. I had no intention of getting him on the sleeve or even remotly starting protection this young. My intentions were if there were certain things I should be teaching now ... other than just how fun it is to be a puppy! I know that it's important to play tug and drive games with puppies. I was curious if games like hide/seek are good etc. I don't know if he'll be cut out for it when he's older, but I don't want to not be doing something.
> 
> Thanks for the advice!


Just have lots of fun with your pup and expose it to as many different things, surfaces, experiences, noises, toys, stores, smells, people... as many different things as you can! It makes for a confident dog down the road and a confident dog (with all the right drives) does well in SchH or anything else for that matter. Lots of car rides too, as you will do a lot of driving to SchH club and trials later on, so good car manners are a must.


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