Bitework at 11.5 weeks old?

[mrose_s]

I was just browsing youtube and found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCABZdtLDa8&feature=related

Now I don't knwo much (anything) about sports/work that involves bitework, but I thought the idea was to get a dog older before you started bitework, so you knew its temperment? Would this be risking having a dog grow up agression issues or would this type of training be used to increase confidence in a pup?

 

[CharlieDog]

It looked like they are just building his confidence. It didn't seem to be anything he couldn't handle or that was too over the top. Bite work starts early, normally, with tug toys and flirt poles and the like... I've never seen anyone do it with the pants on so early, but hey, stranger things have happened.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

You know, that really doesn't bother me, that film. They look like experienced people playing a tug game with a puppy, only the tug toy is the helper's pants.

There is no threat, no correction, no force. They are really just playing with the puppy. It looks to me like these are professional sport dog people. This puppy is not going out to a pet home. The puppy is clearly being trained obedience as well.

So I don't really have issue with it.

JMO of course.....

 

[jess2416]

IMO she looks as though she is having the time of her life...

but just my ..04 cents as usual

 

[mrose_s]

okay, just wondering. I don't know enough to make judgement so I thought I'd ask. Thanks

 

[showdawgz]

I prefer to start "bitework" as soon as I bring a puppy home. It builds drive, confidence focus all things that will be needed in the future. At that stage its all fun and games and the puppy always wins. This way you bring out the prey drive so that when its time to put a little pressure on the dog there is a nice balance of drives. Putting a dog into full defense creates an unstable dog.

 

[DanL]

Just like showdawgs says, it's all about building drive and confidence. I've watched one of the pups at our club who started like this (except with tugs), but working thru clatter sticks and other noisemakers, all to build his confidence. He's barely 10 months old and has already been switched over to the full bite suit. They still put very little defensive pressure on him, and he's hitting the suit like a freight train, launching himself more like a Mal than a GSD. He's got no fear since he's always won every "fight" with the decoy.

 

[corgipower]

As was said, it's good to start that young and build confidence. It really is just a game of tug with an oversized chew toy.

I do have one question...is that pup for sale?!! I want...

 

[Siam Crown]

the younger the better

The younger you start with it the better it is. It have nothing to do with making your dog aggressive but you have to train it like a play. The more you play the more they want to play. We start with 5 weeks old puppies and build them up until one year. For us it is very, very important that the dogs don’t show any aggressive things. If you need some advice feel free to contact me on skype k9.alex

 

[Sch3Dana]

Now I don't knwo much (anything) about sports/work that involves bitework, but I thought the idea was to get a dog older before you started bitework, so you knew its temperment?

The idea of puppy training / socialization is to shape the temperament. Most of the serious sport and police trainers that I know are doing a lot with their young pups to build drive to bite and reduce or shape the response to threat. Waiting until they are older means you lose that most important learning time when the pup is young. Maybe he'll still want to work if the genetics are good, but the right early training increases the chances significantly.

 

[Siam Crown]

The idea of puppy training / socialization is to shape the temperament. Most of the serious sport and police trainers that I know are doing a lot with their young pups to build drive to bite and reduce or shape the response to threat. Waiting until they are older means you lose that most important learning time when the pup is young. Maybe he'll still want to work if the genetics are good, but the right early training increases the chances significantly.

Totally right.

 

[DanL]

Siam, I tried to send you a PM but you don't have them enabled. With your KNPV background, I have a resource you might be interested in. Send me a PM and I'll give it to you.

 

[Siam Crown]

I was just browsing youtube and found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCABZdtLDa8&feature=related

Now I don't knwo much (anything) about sports/work that involves bitework, but I thought the idea was to get a dog older before you started bitework, so you knew its temperment? Would this be risking having a dog grow up agression issues or would this type of training be used to increase confidence in a pup?

That’s a very nice clip but the people on it do not really know what they are doing. They are training the puppy to be aggressive on people in a very young age. When this pup is 6 months old he will bite everything also children. Then after the dog bites a child or someone everybody will say how could that happen. The dog will putt to sleep because of this kind of people. What is wrong about that? You should train the pup on the cover of a biting suit or on a thing to play with, that they don’t make the connection in biting normal people but only a decoy. They make two mistakes, the pup will be very aggressive to civilians and the pup will never be social. The second mistake they make is that the dog is not biting proper and biting over to different places because of the plastic tank with stones inside. With young pups you have to be really careful and start very slowly with that kind of things to get a solid bite. I start with that at one year and far from the dog and slowly closer. , the same with shooting when biting.