by GregMK9 » November 15th, 2007, 7:38 pm
I agree, you can do simple "Basic" obedience with out corrections. More of a teaching phase, using food and taking a dog out of a situation. By all means do all these things.
I am simply saying stay away from any "Real" corrections. And don't over due the motivational obedience.
I also agree that a pup either has the right temperament or it doesn't. But there are things we can do and not do to make a strong working pup an even stronger working dog!
I don't expect everyone to wait a yr. to put formal ob on a dog. I mean let's be realistic most people with working dogs who compete in sport are doing so with there family pet, a dog that in most cases lives in the house and probably sleeps in bed with it's owner and who are competing with their dog for something fun to do with their dog. People who could care less about a title let alone winning or competing at a high level.
You can't expect these people to wait a yr for ob. Six mos if their lucky!
but all too often these are the dogs I see with the nerve issue's, the handler dependency issue's. Doesn't mean at one time they weren't good strong pups. What it means is they didn't get proper foundation for a "Working" puppy for what ever reason. Maybe the owner got the pup, it had a ton of drive, the pup got correction after correction for it's drive. Now the owner wants to do protection! And now the owner has a dog that has a ton of drive but afraid to show it b/c of previous corrections. NOW I as a trainer have a ton of issue's to work through but am willing b/c it's still a good dog.
Again, I am not saying don't do obedience. I'm simply saying be careful how you do it!
Greg
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."