# Suggestions for a Beginner



## Rechtash (Jan 27, 2016)

I just posted earlier in a different section of the forums about finding a trainer/club in the Twin Cities area of MN, but I'm pretty sure the only one there is is the one I've already been to. I may end up gritting my teeth and going the distance, but until then I would like suggestions on a few things so I can continue to train my dog, who is about a week shy of a year old.

First item: protection work help. By the hand of some divine force, I ended up with a WLGSD puppy that DOES NOT BITE. She will if I push her into it, and is getting more and more comfortable with the idea but I never really had to redirect biting or anything. I just don't remember her being bity. To be clear, I have not had the chance to work her on a sleeve. Another issue we have is that she will bark on command, but when it comes to getting her turned on she ends up whine barking(HEAVY on the whine.) I've been making sure only to reward when she does proper barks, but does any one have any suggestions? As for the biting, what is some equipment I should get to start her on bite work? I know she'll be more comfortable biting a sleeve than my bare arm, I was more shocked that she never even tried as a pup.

Next item: What are some good reads for all around schutzhund training? I need guidance, but I can't find a person so far. I trust myself enough to self-teach now that I have a solid foundation to work off of(I've also trained horses which is includes similar methodology)Our obedience is looking good, albeit very slow moving, but we have all the parts and I got a book that I think will help me piece together and polish everything. The training school I go to has competition obedience and nose work classes, so I get some help of instructors for these two skills. Nothing is schutzhund specific, though, and completely misses key elements. Articles, books, or even helpful YouTube videos. Anything I can soak up that is reliable.

Lastly, what does everyone use for a release word??? And does anyone also do agility along with schutzhund? To avoid any confusion on my dogs part, I might use different commands for similar actions, such as "heel" for agility heeling, but "fuss" for competition heeling, and English vs. German for pretty much everything else but praise(Praise is praise not matter what we're doing). Right now I use "good" for markers and "yes!" to release. This is a not so good idea because I end up overusing "yes". I did try "ok" briefly but that was also a terrible idea. Just curious as to what everyone else has used, and should I be making a distinction between the sports? We just started agility and have not added verbal to any commands yet, so want to make sure I'm doing it right before I start doing anything at all.

Sorry for long post, feel free to pick and choose what to answer!


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## Chuck94! (Feb 8, 2018)

That last paragraph with changing words and adding words sounds like it may be overwhelming to your puppy!


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

Rechtash said:


> I just posted earlier in a different section of the forums about finding a trainer/club in the Twin Cities area of MN, but I'm pretty sure the only one there is is the one I've already been to. I may end up gritting my teeth and going the distance, but until then I would like suggestions on a few things so I can continue to train my dog, who is about a week shy of a year old.
> 
> First item: protection work help. By the hand of some divine force, I ended up with a WLGSD puppy that DOES NOT BITE. She will if I push her into it, and is getting more and more comfortable with the idea but I never really had to redirect biting or anything. I just don't remember her being bity. To be clear, I have not had the chance to work her on a sleeve. Another issue we have is that she will bark on command, but when it comes to getting her turned on she ends up whine barking(HEAVY on the whine.) I've been making sure only to reward when she does proper barks, but does any one have any suggestions? As for the biting, what is some equipment I should get to start her on bite work? I know she'll be more comfortable biting a sleeve than my bare arm, I was more shocked that she never even tried as a
> bite wedges, pillows,rugs, and rolls were what I used[/COLOR][/COLOR]
> ...


Hope that helps


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## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

the double handled tugs are what I would recommend for biting, teaching her to bite the tug/toy, aiming correctly and getting used to pulling back, its a great bonding exercise too, you can find lots of videos about how to properly play. but at the end of the day if she just doesn't enjoy biting then she just doesn't enjoy it :/ you can try to build drive but it probably wont ever be as high as other dogs. 

as for the commands, I use heel for just walking beside me, like a loose leash heel, and fuss for the focused heel, but for a while I just teach the positioning and such without commands. as for the everyday things my dog knows 2 languages, was taught Russian as a pup and I taught him english at 2, so you can always start with one language while she is young and learning and proofing the behaviours, then teach more later to avoid confusion for her

I use "yes" as a marker, so he knows he's done what I want, "no" to tell him that isn't want I want, "good" as a duration, so he knows he continuing the proper behaviour. and "ok" as release. some people use "free" as a release and like it better because it wont come up as often in conversations like "ok" might and is a longer word so it could avoid confusion. I've never had any confusion with using "ok" though. Keeping it simple with simple commands will avoid confusion the best though

I've never done the two sports at the same time, but I would probably use the same command for the same action, sit is sit, down is down, no matter where you are or what you're doing, its the same action, so same command.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I would stop doing anything involving "bitework" until you are under someone's guidance. You can do more harm than good. 



Dave Kroyer's videos, https://www.davekroyer.com/ , would be a good place to get excellent information. I think it is $9.99/month and he has a ton of videos for training in IPO. 



Yes, there are people who do both IPO and agility. I have always used "OK" for a release, but also use "yes". "Good" lets her know that she is correct, but keep working. I use a clicker for much the same reason. "No" is my negative, but "eh" comes in too since my "no" can be a bit strong to my own dogs. I use all English except for my blind search and some words like "bring" used in the retrieves is rather universal. I don't, for the most part, change words, even in the home. My "go lie down" is not the same as the formal "down" or "come here" is not the same as "come" or "here" especially since the tone and the situations are different. Many people do use German on the field and English at home, but my friends who have done both IPO/SchH and agility used their German commands for both.


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## Mame (Mar 13, 2018)

lhczth said:


> dave kroyer's videos, https://www.davekroyer.com/ , would be a good place to get excellent information. I think it is $9.99/month and he has a ton of videos for training in ipo.


thank you!


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

There's an old saying, "No training is better then bad training". There's nothing that applies more to them bite work. Don't go to just anyone with a sleeve because they're closer. Make the longer drive, it matters. I'm not big on reading how to train, I like watching video and seeing what something looks like. The drawback is always problem solving, what do you do when something doesn't work. I prefer Ivan's stuff, for me it seems easier to apply to a wide range of dogs, less chance of having those times where something doesn't work.

The one book I have that does translate pretty well to training your dog, is Tracking from the beginning by Gary Patterson. Its not the only way, but its a very well laid out out step by step plan that explains how and when to progress. Tracking is very time consuming, and I'd recommend finding people to track with as soon as you can. Even if you're using a different method or have put a different foundation with your dog, its important to have people with you as a second set of eyes and if you ever get to the point of trialing, thats not the first time you want your dog to see someone else walking the track with you.


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## hoytn (Oct 1, 2017)

At 3 months what are the thing the dog needs to know? So far she know sit, down here, all if them are not 100% solid will sit is near 100% down if I point she gets it, here is on her terms I'll call her and she will look at me. I wonder if she is thinking should I come or not, she tilts her hear when I'm talk to her.


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## dogbyte (Apr 5, 2002)

Leerburg.com is a huge wealth of info. A lot of it free


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

hoytn said:


> At 3 months what are the thing the dog needs to know?


IMNSHO, there are two things ALL dogs should know ASAP (doesn't matter how old they are you get them): Call Name and Come. Both should be 100% rock solid as fast as you can get there. Lavish rewards and praise are critical to teaching both, I've found. Why these two commands? Because both (but especially Come) _may literally save your dog's life one day_. 

Aly


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## hoytn (Oct 1, 2017)

She knows her name and the come is hard from rock hard it is more like wet noodle.


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

Well then, you know what to work on.  Find treats that she absolutely loves, put her on a long line (so you can reel her in if needed) and invite her to come. Make coming to you the best, most exciting and fun thing you can possibly imagine --- and she will believe it. Use a happy voice, smile, and open your arms. Then, praise and reward lavishly when she comes. Then repeat --- even if you have to reel her in. Practice Coming around the house, in the yard, on walkies, in fields, at the vets, etc. Practice until she and you are both perfect. Only practice for a few minutes at a time, several times a day.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I would add a solid Down. I prefer that over a recall. Down! I'll either come get you or recall you from there but I never want them coming back across a road as their first option.


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> I would add a solid Down. I prefer that over a recall. Down! I'll either come get you or recall you from there but I never want them coming back across a road as their first option.


That's a very good point, @Jax08. So, OP, that's three things...



Aly


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Steve Strom said:


> The one book I have that does translate pretty well to training your dog, is Tracking from the beginning by Gary Patterson. Its not the only way, but its a very well laid out out step by step plan that explains how and when to progress. Tracking is very time consuming, and I'd recommend finding people to track with as soon as you can. Even if you're using a different method or have put a different foundation with your dog, its important to have people with you as a second set of eyes and if you ever get to the point of trialing, thats not the first time you want your dog to see someone else walking the track with you.



Still the number one book I recommend.


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## hoytn (Oct 1, 2017)

Another thing which I did because it was cheap and very helpful. After talking to Ich she gave me the suggestion of looking into dave kroyer, he has a whole lot of information on his site, costs 10$ a month for unlimited access to the info. It legitimately has so much I haven't even scratched the surface.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Jax08 said:


> I would add a solid Down. I prefer that over a recall. Down! I'll either come get you or recall you from there but I never want them coming back across a road as their first option.


Yes. I had a Jack Russell that was a train wreck and was the first dog to drive me to professional training. After a brief assessment, the trainer said we will worry about everything else later...right now we need to teach a "freeze" command. Never did fully trust her off lead. She was good in the woods, didn't chase animals though she wanted to, but in populated areas her idea of recall was sometimes too wide of a circle around me to be safe. She would come within 6 feet or so and call it good enough. This dog use to be able to ninja flip out of anything restraining. Had I known then what I know now I would have put a prong on her, back then I thought they were only for big dogs. So yeah, her "Freeze!" command was invaluable. 

For commands for my GSD now, I am mostly on German except for some casual commands. Fuss is our focus heel, "with me" is our loose lead. I had to change that by the way. Originally I was just using Fuss for any type of loose lead. It worked, he gets it. OK is also our release work for things like leaving the door threshold, hopping out of the truck, eating his food, casual stuff. It isnt what i would have picked, but the people who had him before me up until 5 months old had obviously taught it. I say it with a particular tone/enthusiasm and always with eye contact. Thus far he has not keyed/jumped on it when I say it casually in conversation to people. He will sometimes jerk slightly but pauses, looks at me, and waits to see if it is "his" OK. Dogs can be pretty smart 

"Place" is the other casual English command I use.

Other than that I use all the German commands. Funny- I use Pass Auf for barking/watch him...well my 6 year old has autism and when he potties he needs explicit step by steps...seat up. pants off..which apparently sounds like Pass Auf to the dog. It is kind of funny to have a 6 year old going potty while the dog barks and looks for the helper. Funny, but not desirable. I changed what I say to my son. We now say pants down lol 

For praise I do head pets, and say Supahhh! (super). Its the same in German or English, but I say it the way the German trainer does so I am calling German lol Same as Gut (good). I use a type of sound like "achhhhh" followed by Pfui (phooey). He knows it is a not pleased with him sound.


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