# Newbie: Puppy or established dog



## meldy (Oct 23, 2013)

Not going to repeat my whole history here (its a couple other places in this forum already) but heres the Coles notes version:
Minimal experience with breed owned a Czech bred family pet), general interest in SAR and IPO but no experience.

Im intend to start puppy/dog shopping with intent in the spring, for now Im just doing my homework.

Just sort of had a brainstorm today wondering if someone such as me, with no training experience, is better buying a dog with the leg work already done (not even sure at what age such dogs become available) or if training myself is a feasible option. 

How badly can a beginner, dedicated as I may be, mess up a dog bred to work like the dogs Im interested in?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

You should go and check out the venue you're interested in. See the kind of work it will take to get to the level you want to get to.

The upside of a puppy, is that they are a clean slate. With proper guidance of a good trainer and helper you'll easily be able to learn what is necessary and train your dog the right way. The downside is that you can make mistakes and it will take you some time to learn how to do things the right way.

The upside of a trained dog is that its trained, and then you'll do the clean up work or the more advanced training. The downside is that it might not have been trained the way you want, and since you're a beginner you really don't have any way of knowing what you should be paying for a given level of training.

If you're truly looking into getting into sport...go with a puppy. Find the right club, and start learning immediately. First and foremost this is going to be a pet, so make the connection through training. If you're really just looking to compete and you want to do well, well then sure you can go with what is called a "green dog" but it kind of depends on what you'll want to spend. Those dogs can go for $5000 and up.

If you're willing, the learning curve is not that huge. You'll make mistakes, but with the right dog, you'll both get over it very quickly. If this is going to be your first dog that you're going to try to train to a competitive level, you're going to just have to get through the same stuff the rest of us did. Most of it is on you, and not on the dog. Plus going through the really basic training will really help you figure out how to train the more difficult exercises. Teaching sit, down, housebreaking, and the struggles that come with it will really help you when it comes time to teach retrieves, go outs, jumps, ect.


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## ShadowXx (Nov 5, 2013)

I don't know much about raising a pup either but my girlfriend is raising a laboradoodle, she actually kind of knows what she is doing and he is still a pain most of the time lol. Which is why I'm trying to get an older german shepherd , but in the end its all up to you!


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

I would personally get a pup around 4-5 months. 8 week pups are cute but they sleep a lot and are still going through their shots. A 16 week pup is ready to go and potty training is almost done at that age. An 8 week pup will pee every 30 minutes


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I prefer puppies. I like taking care of them, watching them grow, watching them learn and experience things for the first time, knowing how they were raised and treated, what they were exposed to, etc.

I personally like slightly older puppies, 10-16 weeks old. :wub:

They are a lot more exciting than an 8 week old puppy, they can hold their bladders a little longer, they have a better attention span and the breeder will have a better idea of what their personality is like.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Puppies are a lot of work. We got Riley at 8 weeks. It was great watching him grow and learn. He was 9 months when he passed. When we got Kaleb he was 3 months old. Still a puppy. There were younger pups there too, but you just know what one is for you. He's the one who "called to me". 

We've been raising puppies for close to a year now and my husband is saying no more puppies. We will start with an older dog next time. His may change is mind when the time comes for a new dog. Which hopefully is many years away. I'm not against starting older. In our present circumstance having two smaller dogs we wanted to make sure to start a large breed dog with us young and small to ensure they all get along.


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