BelgianPup

Underdog training has trained me to teach my puppy... :cool: I too am hoping to do competitive obedience and agility and through a combination of private and group sessions I'm now comfortable with a training style that suits my puppy. (A Belgian Shepherd with a whole lot of atitude.) I plan on starting at a 'trialling' club within the next month. (And continuing with underdog 'cos I've learnt so much and it's such good fun!)

It was mentioned before but either gating an area or crating is great. We have puppy gates up (pup has not yet worked out she may be able to jump them...) to confine her to the lounge area when she is inside. People leave their belongings here at their own peril... She has her toys here. Most of the time she will opt for her toys rather than our items if we accidentally leave them in her 'area.' Granted she is younger than Harry. You could also try rawhide chews (hours of fun chewing) there is a brand available from the supermarket that is for 'persistent' chewers (sorry can't remember the name.) What sought of dog is he? Friends of ours have 2 staffies - they buy their dog toys from Bunnings - 2 by 4 chunks of wood; keeps the dogs happy for hours!

THank you for adding this link! Very useful

We were told not to walk the puppy (a Belgian pup) off our property until 1 week after she'd had her 2nd shot but were encouraged by both the breeder and our vet to 'walk' her in the house and backyard to get her used to the lead as well as play sessions in the yard. Not to mention taking her to visit friends and family and socialising with other animals (that we knew were vaccinated.) I had thought that she would be having quite long brisk walks at a fairly young age being a active working breed, however, we were told and I've read that as a large breed puppy this would in fact cause too much stress on her growing joints and bones which would lead to problems later in life. It's now 1 week after her second shot and we go for very shot daily walks... down our drive to the letterbox, sometimes a little way down the street. No more than 10minutes. We are attempting to teach her to walk on a loose leash as well as heel. She has plenty of play time at home.

They are all just gorgeous! Introducing Holly... Name: Anoblir & Grandbelge Gabrielle (Holly) Sex: Female Date of birth: 31 Oct 2007 Age: 10 weeks Colour: black with little bits of white Breed: Belgian Shepherd Groenendael Hobbies: playing with the cat, playing with water Loves: the cat, smooches and any human interaction Hate: not eating what the cat's eating This is Holly's pics around 8 weeks old.

Thank you we'll give that a go

Our belgian puppy is 10 weeks old (she's had her 2nd vacc, early I know but it just worked out that way - vet's suggestion) we take her for little walks down our driveway. She's stopped chewing the lead cos everything in the wide world is so exciting but as she's grown more confident she's started pulling on the lead. We encourage her to walk beside us (verbally and w treats) for some of her 'walk' (lol tis very short and she's not allowed to sniff any really interesting doggy places) and then let her go where she likes (within reason) for some of the walk. Is this something we should be correcting now given that she will be the size of a german shepherd when fully grown? If so, any suggestions? or our we simply expecting to much from her at this stage? We'd likefor her to work on a loose leash sniffing etc as well as walking ('heeling') beside us. Thank you in advance

Have you tried raw hide chews? You can get them from the super market, lots of different brands but there's one for 'persistent chewers.' It comes in a range of sizes. Tasy and stick like... our pup adores them. Good luck

Congratulations - not only on your success but on your perserverence! May you, your family and Turtle live a happy, healthy and harmonious life together

Jojo, fantastic that you are researching your dog so thoroughly before you get it! I'm acquiring a new puppy soon after xmas... so will pass on some advice I have recieved: - Make a list of all the things you want your dog to do (commands etc) - Make a list of all the expectations you have of your dog (be calm w kids, not climb on furniture etc) - A list of what you can give the dog (exercise, grooming, training, mental stimulation etc) I have just done the Eukanuba quiz mentioned by Redii and found it very helpful. Also as you have probably realised by now so much of a dog's personality & behaviour is dependent on its experiences in early life. So while a golden retriever may have a greater potential and reputation as a 'good' family pet a golden that has bad experiences with kids early on and is not socialised or trained would be less desirable than a well socialised and trained pit bull. I guess the point is that your dog is what you make of it to a large extent. The RSPCA national and state websites have some great advice and info. about choosing and caring for your pet regardless of breed. RSPCA and some breed clubs have mature dogs available for adoption - temperament accessed etc that may fit in well with your family and needs. (Some 'rescue' dogs are surrendered because owners can no longer care for them but these dogs have family experience, basic training and are house broken. Also older dogs - I think over 1yr - are cheaper than puppies at RSPCA if my memory serves me correctly.) The best thing I've found is to keep asking questions and reading up DOL has already helped me out so much! Hope this helps Cute golden retriever story.... My OH was about 2-3 when his sister was born. One nice sunny day OH's mum set him up outside with his paints and easel while she was busy with his little sis inside (she could see him partially through a window) Paddy their golden retriever went outside with OH to enjoy the sun. OH's mum called through the wire door 'What are you doing?' OH responded, 'Painting the dog.' Mum replied 'That's nice.' A few minutes later she came outside to admire his portrait of Paddy... only to find that OH had indeed been painting the dog - one side of Paddy was completely blue!!! Paddy calm and long suffereing as he was had simply stood in the sunshine while OH proceeded to paint him!

Thanks kelpiechick Lablover - thanks for the praise - always nice to recieve a pat

Thanks Sidoney... have just looked the book up on Amazon and it looks very useful - a good common sense approach adn easy to understand for first time puppy owners... I will be asking Santa for one definetly!

Thanks Jules I will keep this in mind (I think it may clash with my vets...)

Thanks all Arya I will check out that DVD... May have to have a word to Santa :D I can see that I'll have to do lots of travelling to different clubs before my pup's fully vaccinated Thank you once again for all the advice

Bull Dust... I'll preface this by saying I have no experience in hand raising pups... A friend had a bull breed pup and from a young age (7weeks - when they got him) he would growl and grizzle when ever he was patted or cuddled... we soon learnt that this was his way of showing that he liked the attention! Sort of like a cat purring... Whenever he was put down he would ask to be cuddled again and the growling would start up when the cuddles did. She doesn't just have an odd way of showing pleasure? (I know its a long shot... just an idea which granted may be totally off the mark!)

Thanks all for the advice and stories, hope others have found it as useful as I have. Just heard from teh breeder that the pup met their cat for the first time today. he strolled into the puppy area to check them out - the pups were too busy playing with their toys to notice! So I think for the first few encounters I'll make sure there's some interesting toys to distract her from our cat if need be!

Thank you all. The advice has been very helpful! I'm looking forward to heading out to comps and checking out dogs and handlers :rolleyes: Could anyone recommend an Obedience club in eastern/sth eastern Melb, Vic that does comp Ob/agi?

I'm getting a Belgian Pup for xmas. I would like to do competitive obedience and agility in the future. I thought I had a basic understanding of how to train a dog effectively but the more I read the more confused I become! (I'm not a first time dog owner... just a first time puppy owner with no experience in competitive comp/agi training) I assumed that I would go with reward based training but have read a few things (here and elsewhere) suggesting that 'drive training' would be far better for a dog intended to work at comp level. Part of my problem is that terms seem to mean different things to different people! Are reward training and drive training mutually exclusive? Are they the same thing? Where does positive/negative/balanced fit in? Are training methods used for a family pet deferent to those used for competition dogs? I know this has been a controversial topic... IN a nut shell what are the different training styles - pros and cons and what would be best for a comp Ob/agi dog? (I realise that a lot depends on the dog's personality etc am looking for general info.) EDIT: Thank you everyone for the advice! Tis most useful. What exactly is the difference between methods used to train a 'pet' and those used to train a competition dog (obedience/agi)? If I am with a club that trains CCD, CD, CDX, UD, UDX (I understand that many clubs train to CCD standard but not necessarily with a view to trialling) surely the standard required to meet those levels would be sufficent for successful competition? Thanks in advance.... :rolleyes:

we already have a 6yr old male (desexed) cat - he is very laid back and before we had him he lived with 2 small dogs but we don't know if he's had 'puppy' experience. He is friendly towards other animals (unfortunately his friendly overtures to my brother's 12 month kitty resulted in kitty yowling and carrying on and becoming very angry with everyone - our cat conducted himself very calmly and cautiosuly once it become apparent Kitty didn't understand the friendly approach.) The puppy will be restricted to the kitchen/family room while the cat will be allowed free range of the house - we will also get him a cat climbing pole with platform that is higher than adult belgian height! I have introduced grown up dogs to adult cats before - in this instance our family cat (who is no longer with us) put the family dogs quickly in their place and all three animals lived in mutual respect of each other rather than joyous friendship. (Or at least the dogs were very companionable with each other and respectful of the cat!) The process then was allow the dogs into the house when the cat was in another room, then dogs out and cat in room so they all got each other's scent, then meeting with dog on lead and cat free to escape. Then supervised off leash encounters. Both dogs were taught never to chase or bail up the cat. Should we let them sniff through the back door (wire) before we even bring the pup into the house? I am concerned that our cat being an entirely different temperament to my childhood cat may not fair as well... Basically what are some of the options for introducing a bouncy large female pup of 8weeks (she'll be German Sheperd size for those unfamiliar with Belgians) to a large and laid back adult male cat? What have your experiences been? Any suggestions for developing good 'cat manners' in puppies?

Thank you all for your great advice!

I have read your thread with interest. (I will be getting a puppy for xmas so am reading up on all things puppy) Please let us know how it all goes with the trainer.

Thank you Settlvr. They would want 1 litter, after which I could desex her. It would be entirely my choice as to whether she went to a show/obedience comp or stayed home.

I have booked a pup. Iinitially the pup was intended as a pet (i couldn't afford showdog prices and primarily wanted a pet anyway!) however the breeder has told me that my pup is very promising and asked if I would consider leaving her intact for 12 months to see how she develops with a view to showing her and possibly breeding her (if she comes up to breeding quality.) the breeder has been fantastic in answering all my questions and has explained that they will pay all costs associated with showing the dog and breeding. They have offered as much support as I would need to show the dog (assuming that she continues her promising development) and stressed that their goal is for all their dogs to be happy and well adjusted no matter whether they are pets, performance or showdogs so it would be entirely up to me how often she was shown and if I showed her or asked them to etc. I am wondering if this is a usual clause to have in a contract of sale?(I am new to the world of Pedigreee dogs, having grown up with two delightful cross-breeds who adopted us!) And if other people have had similar experiences or could comment on the situation? I had intended the pup to be primarily a pet dog (therefore desexed) with a view to undertaking competitive obedience and agility in the future. I am interested in showing but had assumed that the cost of a show pup would preclude me from that activity. This way my pup's price is fixed at pet price but I have the option of showing with support from the breeder. I am also unfamiliar with what to expect from a bitch in season. So basically I guess I'm looking to get some feedback about ToS and showing/breeding. Thanks in advance