Da-Ju Kennel Ramblings

This page will be dedicated to my ramblings about German Shepherds and dog training/care.  Perhaps some folks will disagree with me on what I write, but I am not able or interested in trying to please everyone.  These are my thoughts and opinions and should be taken as such.

Puppy/Dog Training

This is an area that has received extensive coverage from multiple "angles" depending on the writers background, experience, and the audience they are writing for.  Lots of new pet puppy owners are at a loss in trying to provide basic training needs for their new family member.  If it is their first puppy, they may have underestimated the commitment required in raising, caring for, feeding, grooming, exercising, socializing, and training this new hyperactive, cute as can be, bundle of fur and needle sharp teeth.  Where do you start?  First let me explore some thoughts on how the puppy views this new life situation it finds itself in.  http://www.leerburg.com/302.htm

First this is a major life change for the pup.  It now lives in new surroundings, smells, and people that it must rely on for its very survival.  Most pups make this transition very well and in a short time.  Everything is new to the pup and they feel they should explore and investigate.  As they do not have opposable thumbs to pick up objects, they use they next best thing, their mouths.  A moving object needs to be chased after and checked out.  This could be your hand while trying to pet your pup, your pant leg as you walk, the broom, or one of your kids.   Now what do you do?  This bundle of fur and needle sharp teeth, although very cute, is starting to wear on you and your family.  When can you start "training" your puppy?  Well, training may be the wrong word, but shaping your pups behaviors and establishing the house rules begins right away.

House training and crate training are the first steps.  These subjects are covered extensively elsewhere by others.  Crate training is an absolute.  Research this and use it.  It will serve to protect your new pup when you can't watch it, it will prevent unwanted destruction of your belongings, and provide a secure, private place for your puppy to call his/her own.  http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

Next, start with the basic commands come, sit, and down.  Start shaping these behaviors with a reward system.  This is the LEARNING phase.  I highly recommend a food treat.  I cut up hot dogs in to very small taste size morsels, and use these as the treat.  Please remember this is shaping these behaviors through repetition and a positive experience for the puppy not training per se.  Gently guide the pup to the correct position when giving the command and rewarding as soon as the position is achieved.  The pup does not have to be perfect.

Some would say you must use a clicker as part of this training.  Clicker, a small plastic box that makes a noise (click) when pressed.  I do not feel that clickers are magical and in fact a poor substitute for your voice.  A clicker is used to "mark" a correct action by your puppy.  Example:  Tell your pup to sit, its butt touches the floor and you click the clicker and then treat the dog.  Well very nice but why not just say "good boy" or "good girl" or "yes" when your pup does the correct thing?  Your voice is rich in expression and your pup will hear your pleasure not just "click".  Your pup deserves the best, your voice, not an emotionless click.  http://www.leerburg.com/markers.htm

Practice 4-5 repetitions, 4-5 time a day.  Don't over do it and make this fun time a dreaded burden on your pup.  If your pup does not sit or down correctly, again not perfectly, just withhold the treat.  Always fun.  If it is not, stop and come back when it is.

When the basics are well ingrained in your pup, add stay, and the heel (basic) position.  Same routine, guide first, mark the correct position with a "good boy/girl" or "yes", and treat.  You will be amazed at the speed your pup learns when it is all fun.

Now most pet owners and pet "trainers" stop at this point.  These trainers point to the fact that your dog will sit, down, etc, and you did not have to correct your dog at all.  Well maybe in your kitchen or back yard where you have done this behavior shaping, but what about at the kids ball game with other people and dogs around?  I think not.  The latest in vogue training philosophy is positive training only.  Never correct your dog.  I agree with this in puppies and when training a new command.  But a point comes when you command your dog to come, it must come.  This reliability can only be accomplished through proper correction.  The positive only crowd will try and have you believe that any correction is harsh and cruel.  This, of course, is non-sense.   

We can now enter what I call the real training phase of your dog.  When the LEARNING phase has been completed (guide, mark, treat), you can now start the CORRECTION phase of training.  http://www.leerburg.com/corrections.htm  This phase is where the dog learns that it now must obey your commands whether they want to or not.  In the learning phase we withheld the treat if they did not do the correct procedure.  Now we do not let the dog get away with blowing us off.  We know from previous shaping that the dog knows the commands.  We still give the command, mark the event with our voice, and reward with food or a toy at this stage.  But if the dog refuses, we stop and repeat the exercise with what ever guidance force, correction, is required to get the dog to comply.  Then mark and reward this correct procedure.  You must be consistent at this point.  You must enforce all your commands so your dog learns that it must comply and when it does, it is rewarded.  Start giving your rewards at variable intervals when the dog is doing well.  Keep him guessing when a reward is coming.  This will increase the dogs motivation to do well.  Please remember that if you did the learning phase well and in a positive manner, your dog will want to do the correct thing and few corrections will be needed.

Again, we have left the positive only crowd behind but we are still not done.  We must now PROOF our dogs.  Proofing your dog means training in the presents of increasingly difficult distractions.  Yes, this can be very tough on some dogs that find strange/familiar people, dogs, cats, cars, balls, food, etc, difficult to be around without breaking a command and checking them out.  Now you must train with these distractions present and correct as required to have the dog do as directed.  Obviously you start with minor distractions first and work your way up the list to the very tough ones. 

When your dog obeys your commands after all this, then you can say your dog is trained.  A well trained dog is a joy to be with and be around.  This is a dog that looks to you as the leader and respects your position as such.  This is a comfortable and happy position for your dog.  http://www.leerburg.com/120.htm

Training Equipment

This is another area that can confuse new pet owners.  The number of various collars, leashes, toys, and others gadgets available to train a dog is impressive.  The correct training tools depend on the age of your dog, temperament, lesson being taught, and level of training your dog currently has (highly trained vs. beginning puppy), and your dogs response to the equipment when used properly.   Now that I have confused the issue, let's attempt to wade through some of the equipment to determine what is reasonable.  To organize this section, I will proceed based on the dogs age.

Puppies: 8 weeks to 5-9 months.  I would recommend a flat buckle or snap fit collar made of leather or the various synthetic materials.  Not a choke chain, prong collar, fur saver, Halti type device (straps that fit around the pups head and muzzle), or e-collar.  The flat collar will serve as a means to attach ID tags, rabies tag, and a leash.  As we are not performing leash corrections on a puppy we don't need a correction type collar.  Depending on the future training your puppy will receive, you my want to consider placing different types of collars on your pup to acclimate the pup to their feel. I start this around 4 months of age and let them wear a collar for an hour or two then switch to a different collar type. This conditions them to the feel of these collars.

Young dogs:  9 months to adult.  Depending on how your LEARNING PHASE of training has come along and you start to enter the CORRECTION PHASE of training http://www.leerburg.com/corrections.htm, we can consider different training equipment.  This is where the dogs temperament and lesson being taught comes into play.  As regards temperament, this has been written about extensively by others better than I.  Research this and learn how to read your dog and his/her reactions.  As regards lessons being taught, new lessons are not taught with corrections.  Old lessons learned under the LEARNING PHASE need to be reinforced with a correction if required.  For some dogs, a prong collar is the next step, others continue with the flat collar.  The e-collar can be introduced at this stage also.  A note about the e-collar, if you decide you would like to use this collar in training and every day use, please seek an experienced individual to guide you through its use.  If you had been switching collars on your pup up to this point, the new training collar will not be some foreign alien to your dog.  I also switch my every day collar to a fur saver at this age.

My thoughts on Halti type devices, choke chains vs. prong collars, and e-collars.  The head halti or gentle leader is a device that fits over your dogs head and muzzle.  Mr. Roger Hild wrote an article that reflects my thoughts on this product. http://www3.sympatico.ca/tsuro/_articles/gentle_leader.html

As regards choke chains and prong collars, here is a link that discusses this is detail. http://www.cobankopegi.com/prong.html

As regards e-collars, here is a link with valuable information.

http://www.loucastle.com/articles.htm

Parents, Dogs, and Children

As I feel strongly that our German shepherd dogs should be good with families/children, I would like to expand on this topic a little and explore responsible parent/child/dog relationships.

First, not all breeds of dog are the same in size, color, or body shape.  Nor are dogs of a specific breed.  That is why the standards exist with ranges of size, acceptable color variation, and with German shepherds, show dog body shapes and working dog body shapes. http://www.eastgermanshepherd.com/type.html  In addition to these physical differences, dogs also have genetic and temperament differences that must be taken into account when considering a German shepherd, or any dog, as a family member.

One question I have heard is, "will my family be safe around a German shepherd."  My response is absolutely yes with an explanation.  One must look at the world as your puppy/dog sees it to better understand my "yes."  Genetics have programmed our four legged friends with a sense of "pack" or family.  They want and need to be part of a "pack".  As a member of that pack, they function quite happily and can be very adaptable.  This "pack drive" works in our favor in integrating our new pup to our family.  In the dogs view of the world, every family or pack member has a position within that pack, ranging from the pack leader (alpha) to the lowest ranking member (omega).  Where we allow our dog to function in that family pack can and will determine the harmony in which we live with our pup/dog. http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

Now I will bring in the other element I mentioned, that of temperament. http://maxvstephanitz.homestead.com/mvs_temperament.html  There are many different definitions of temperament that are written about but I will use this.  Temperament is the genetic make up or lens that the dog views the world through.  Examples; some dogs are afraid of everything.  They view the world through a lens of suspicion and fear of new encounters.  Some view the world through dominance.  They wish to literally be the top dog and will intimidate or fight their way to the top.  Some view the world as followers and are loyal pack members who wish to follow their leaders directions and please the leader as best they can.

This "lens" I mentioned, is made up of all the dogs various "drives". http://leerburg.com/drives.htm    Depending on your specific dogs drives, you may face different challenges with your dog versus someone else with a different dog or breed.  http://workingdogs.com/dom1.htm  As breeders, it is this "lens" that we are trying to manipulate or maintain in our puppies.  Different breeders may breed for different temperament traits in their dogs, or worse, only color and shape.  Check this out before purchasing a puppy by meeting the parents.  When doing this please remember that a German shepherds temperament is to be aloof to strangers but not overtly aggressive without provocation.

Now lets get back to my "yes" answer again.  We try and breed dogs that are strongly pack orientated and have a desire to function within that pack.  We do not breed for overtly sharp or aggressive dogs. http://www.leerburg.com/aggresiv.htm  Yes, some variations exist in our dogs, especially male vs. female when it comes to these traits, but all should make excellent family members.  All dogs need to be extensively socialized to as many different sights, smells, flooring, and environmental situations as possible.  This helps teach them what is normal and that something new is not something to be afraid of.  If you have people coming and going to and from your home (I have 5 kids and all their friends), they must be exposed to this and taught what the rules are about this.  How your dog turns out as a family member really comes down to how his new family pack raises him.

Our dogs have strong pack drive but it is you as the owner to decide where in the pack the dog will function.  If this is to be a family companion/pet, then the dog should be the omega. http://www.leerburg.com/dominac2.htm   It must learn to take direction from all the responsible pack members.  In uncertain circumstances, it must never be the dog deciding the best course of action.  He must look to the leader to decide if he is to ignore, retreat, or advance http://www.leerburg.com/corrections.htm. The dog must not be allowed to dominate family members or items. http://leerburg.com/dominanc.htm  Children must be taught that the dog must be respected as a family member and not teased and tormented.

Obedience training is a very important part of teaching the dog who the leader is, and the rules that must be followed. http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm    You must obedience train your German shepherd.  Your dog will be trained whether you do it or not.  The German shepherd is a very intelligent dog.  The lessons learned, if you dont teach them, may not be what you want. Take the time to imprint, guide, teach, and train your dog into the dog your family deserves. 

Your German shepherd will show undying loyalty to its new family.  It will be a great playmate and friend for the kids. It will provide, at the very least, a visual deterrent for those with evil intensions. It will give its all to its new found family.  Make sure you return that loyalty and love to your dog by helping it through obedience training and defining rules so you get the dog you deserve. 

So you want a "Protection Dog"

I have heard this several times and I would like to write a few thoughts about this request/statement.  The first thing that comes to mind is do you really know what youre asking or do you really know what a "protection dog" is?  http://user.mc.net/~jimengel/JimRead/GUARDIAN.htm

I fully understand and agree that our society has made it more important than ever to make ourselves, families, loved ones, and property secure from the ever growing criminal element.  With child abductions being reported at what seem an alarming rate and the boldness of these crimes as well as other horribly violent crimes, it makes good sense to guard against these outrages in an effective and safe manner.  A dog has a tremendous amount to offer in regards to "protective services."  But what exactly are these services?

To answer that question you must first take a serious look at your particular situation.  Life style, neighborhood, work place, kids, proximity to other people/property, other security measures...  Then you must think about what it takes to own and maintain a "protection "dog.  Where can you train?  How often can you train?  What should I train? 

First, most people do not need or ultimately want a dog that will actually engage and fight a human on command. http://www.leerburg.com/pickpup.htm     But a "protection dog" does not necessarily mean a dog that bites.  A dog that will alert you, bark, when someone comes to your home is really all that most people need.  Most criminals will by-pass a home with a barking dog.  This could be a dog of most any breed.  That would be the base level of protection dog, and the most common. http://leerburg.com/bark.htm      

Now depending on your specific situation you may need the next level of protection dog.  I call this the intermediate level dog.  This is a dog from one of the breeds that people tend to avoid walking next to even if the dog is being a perfect citizen.  The breeds would include but not limited too many of the herding breeds and guard breeds as well some of the giant breeds.  These dogs, if trained to bark on command or naturally bark/alert to strangers at your door or on a walk, offer a visual deterrent as well as a vocal deterrent.  These dogs may or very well may not ever bite a real intruder but the intruder does not know this and again would choose to move on.  

So far we are only talking about a dog that barks.  Most people can not distinguish between an aggressive dogs bark and one that wants to play.  I have not mentioned formally training these dogs in any bite training.  The visual and vocal affect of your family companion can be quite impressive to would be bad guys.  But, some folks need more then this based on their life styles, where they live, or where they work.  Now, we move on to a different level of "protection dog." 

When we talk about the next level of dogs you must know that these dogs and their owners require a large amount of testing and training. http://user.mc.net/~jimengel/JimRead/PRIMER.htm    A dog that will truly protect you or your family by engaging a bad guy is a great comfort but a huge responsibility.  This is a dog that must have extensive obedience training as well as handler/family defense training.  This is training that goes on the entire life of your dog.  Owning this type of dog involves a life style change for the owners.  They must greatly increase their awareness of their surroundings and have a great understanding of what may trigger an aggressive response from your dog.  An example here may be in order.  I own a dog that is protection trained and maintains a constant eye on me at all times.  I know when he is with me that sudden hugs from "strangers" or a slap on the back when telling a story or joke can make him vibrate.  Some one running aggressively toward me will make him step out to meet the individual.  If some one is telling a story with wild arm and hand movements and gestures, he will zero in on that individual waiting for him to strike me.  As you can see, these examples to the dog all could be threats to me that he feels he may need to participate in.  But every situation mentioned could also be nothing more than a friendly greeting or a funny story.

As you can see from the above, you take on a great responsibility when venturing down this road.  A dog with this training is not a perfect reasoning beast that can recognize and analyze infinite possibilities. It also cares nothing for the legal ramifications of its actions.  Oh yes, those nasty legal ramifications.  I am not saying that this training leaves you with an uncontrolled aggressive machine.  Quite the contrary.  This training should give you a stable and reliable companion that can go most everywhere with you.  If you have an uncontrollable aggressive dog you have the wrong dog for the job.    http://www.leerburg.com/dominanc.htm

Now you may be getting the impression that I do not approve of this type/level of training.  I think that if you need a dog with this capability and training that you fully understand what you are asking for.  I support fully dogs trained for personal protection.  I wont be without one myself.  But I also fully expect knowledgeable, responsible owners.  These are not dogs that are shown off to friends or neighbors.  Not bragged about but best kept as a family secret.  Their best use is to alert you to trouble before you get in to it so you can leave without an altercation.  They will protect you and give you time to retreat and live another day, but remember you must also watch out for your dog and avoid areas or situations that could be confusing to your dog. 

This is an article I received via e-mail that I thought was outstanding in it's message.  Enjoy!

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