Question for all of the experts out there....


First, a little background:




I got a beautiful GSD pup at the beginning of May...  Long boring story how I got her, but she is now almost 6 months old. Her mom and Dad are both working K-9s, both of which are German imports.




After receiving her, I decided I wanted to do the basic training commands in German...  So, I gathered a list of German commands, and practiced up..  Started working on the sit, stay, down, etc...  She caught on really quick, and I've enjoyed working with her.  This is where I need to add that this is the first dog I've had as an adult..  I haven't had the time to dedicate to a dog, but have some flexibility in my work schedule now..  Grew up on the farm with border collies that were free range...  No formal training, just lovable hounds for the most part.




So the wife insists that I take her for training, and buys a puppy 1/2 package from the local Petco 25 miles over in the nearest big town..




The trainer girl is nice enough, but shit, I think I can watch youtube videos and train a dog just as well if not better than this girl...  The dog already knew pretty much everything that they've taught so far..  I've had to teach her the german commands, and she's always saying "she knows what we'll be covering next week".  She's always saying "in the book it says....."  It's been a waste of time, except for the fact that it's served a purpose of socialization, as we have no close neighbors, and limited social contact.




So my question is:  Am I being realistic that I can watch youtube videos to move on further with her training?  I'm the first to admit that it's been a hell of a learning experience for me, and I'm amazed at her intelligence.




Is there some training videos online or DVD's that I should look at, or should I seek professional guidance?




I'm on the road a lot for work, and want her to be protective over my wife and girls, but yet know when friends come over that it's ok..  I don't want to do a disservice to the dog, but don't want to shell out a ton of money for bullshit "rollover and shake" tricks.




Thoughts?




And for a pic:

I am definitely not an expert, but I am in the same boat as you.  I am currently in the process of training my doberman starting with basic obedience commands.  

I have never done the pet store training, but I have gone to local trainers in the past with very little success.  

I definitely think you can do it on your own.  I have avoided frustration so far by having the mindset that my dog isn't failing.... I am.  If she isn't getting something I need to work the problem and find a new way to present it to her.  

Youtube has been a good resource for basic things.  I am not knowledgable enough to really recommend any.  I am looking forward to other responses myself.  

I have been successful so far, but where I am hoping to go is a lot more difficult than what I have been doing.  

Good luck!

This is exactly what I was trying to say, and you summed it up perfectly..  

 

Good luck to you guys as well!

Sometimes it's more about training the trainer.



I took our last dog to a personal trainer. She was very stubborn and had developed a couple of bad habits. The trainer spent as much time training me as she did training our dog.



Sounds like you're both doing okay.

Smart wife!

Bad choice! The PetSmartCo training is pretty terrible. The socialization is spotty, it can be bad or good depending on the class make-up and how the trainer runs it.



It all depends on how well you want to train. Remember that it is dog and owner training, not just dog training. If all you want is just "good enough", and you have an "easy" dog, it might be OK. But the problem is that training is 90% owner training and only 10% dog training. More than anything else, going to a professional trainer teaches you how to train, and then in turn you train the dog. There is a phenomenal amount of technique and timing associated with training. You won't get this stuff without someone looking over your shoulder and correcting you. And not all techniques are good for all dogs. Having a pro observe your efforts allows for selection of techniques that you might not even know about because you were only looking at one DVD, etc.

And then there are the very tangible benefits of training in a social setting. This teaches your dog to be calm and controllable around distractions, primarily other dogs. You can't do this very effectively on your own. Indeed, I am suffering from this very problem right now. I'm a pretty good trainer, not that I'm going to hang my shingle out as one, but I put a lot of obedience blue ribbons on my last dog. Now I live in the sticks and am not able to go to training 2 or 3 times a week. Quite frankly, my dogs suck in public. I'm so torn up over this that I've been thinking about trying to form a local training "club" where I can get other dog owners to come over to my place (I have plenty of room) and we do group heeling and basic stuff, just to have the opportunity.

Finally, when looking for a dog trainer, try to find one that specializes in working breeds, like your GSD. Look for someone that offers balanced training, not just positive-only training. And, most importantly, go observe (without your dog) their basic and advanced group classes. Any legit trainer will let you come and observe to see if they offer what you want. If they won't let you observe then they are hiding something. Then pick the one that impresses you as the best. After that they will want you to pay for some basic one on one obedience most likely, then you'll be "qualified" to attend the group classes where the learning really starts.

At any rate, good on ya' for wanting to train your dog up right! An obedient dog is a happy dog as the lines of communications are clear. And you can take obedient dogs places you can't take untrained ones. If you do decide to obtain formal instruction please do keep us posted on how that is working out for you.

Leerburg, look up videos by Michael Ellis.  Dog training is 50% training the dog, and 50% training the handler, be sure to video tape your sessions and as you become more knowledgable you will catch yourself doing stuff that you had no clue you were doing that is either effecting your training in a positive or negative manner.