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Newb V Dad.

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  TateTN 
#1 ·
Hello!

I grew up with Labs in SW Oklahoma, but that was more than 18 years ago. Most of my adult life I've spent on the road, have since got off of that train, have a family and two kids and we're finally ready to pull the trigger.

I honestly feel like I did before I had my first boy, Smith (5). I'm excited and apprehensive all at the same time, ha!

I thought I knew a lot about dogs; after all, we raised labs, farm life, etc. Now that I'm getting this little girl in December, I'm realizing I'm probably not as prepared as I thought I was. That being said, I have a lot of questions, but the main thing I want to accomplish is setting her up for success on the front end with proper training. Can I do it on my own? I believe that I can, but what-say-you? Also what are some def. must haves and things I really don't need?

Thank you all!

Tate, Franklin TN.
 
#2 ·
Patience, and keeping them happy during training. Both of those will get you a long ways. If you don't have that, none of the othervtools will matter.
 
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#4 ·
What type of training are you planning for him? Some tools are universal, and others fit different venues.
 
#5 ·
@ TateTN - While I took Jaxson to puppy class, and other training. I was simply shown what to do, then I had to go home and put in the work aka I did it myself versus sending him off. I get compliments frequently about how well he listens and comments on his training. I guess that means we did ok. I love that dog so it made working with him effortless. Before I go off on a tangent about my dog, let me make my point ;-) ....Yes, you can totally train the dog yourself and get good results.

As TexasRed mentioned patience and making it fun really helps. Goofing with him/her, throwing the ball, then going to instructions. Then time to rest and relax, do it 2 times per day and you should see results. Your background with Lab training will be useful.

Good luck! They're probably the most amazing dog on the planet :)
 
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#6 ·
I've found that "training" is more for us than them...it's our inexperience and anxiety that gets in the way, they're pretty smart and figure it out for themselves if you're clear, patient, consistent, loving, and respectful. So, I suppose the answer to your question resides in how well you're attuned in general, and how confident you are in your basic abilities to recognize and respond to their needs as individuals and not just a "pet". The rest we can help with.
 
#7 ·
@gingerling - Sooooooo true! It's a lot of 'training the trainer'. To be consistent on commands all the time takes practice, over and over. I still mess up and give the wrong command at times. Cesar Millan says "I rehabilitate dogs and I train people" :big-grin
 
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#8 ·
Thank you all for the great suggestions. To answer @texasred questions, I don't really know what "type" of training I'm doing, other than crate training and basic commands :) I'm a newb, remember?!

Venue? My house! haha.

Yea, so all of that Lab experience growing up on a farm is very different from what I'm wanting to do now. They were very segregated from the home, but that's just the way it was in that context. It makes me a little sad looking back on that now. So, crate training, etc. is brand new to me, including a dog in my house all of the time, so essentially, I feel like I'm starting from scratch.

I do love to do my research on anything I'm going to spend time on, but the reason I'm here is because there seems to be a bunch of noise on how to do this and that, so I thought coming to a Vizsla page might be a great place to start. Cheers.
 
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