# Boot camp



## doglover (Aug 4, 2009)

Has anyone ever sent their V away to "boot camp"? Was it worth it? Did it change your dogs personality? What age was you V when they went? Clyde is 6 mo old and I am considering sending him away for 8 weeks when he turns 8-9 mo old. Not sure that I can part with him that long but I am getting frustrated. Seem like it's 1 step forward...5 steps back. He is a very dominant, strong willed, hard headed boy. Not like some other meak sensitive V's I have met.


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## Lisa (Feb 18, 2009)

Your Clyde sounds an awful lot like my Catan. We had a disasterous class Monday night. He disrupted the whole thing. He was determined to play the whole time with the other dogs. Now he's gone and injured his paw again so we're probably looking at another six weeks of no running. I'm dreading this.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

What is boot camp? and what is the intended end result? In two months time a Vizsla can be lead trained, introduced to birds, and possibly begin the steadying to wing phase with a pro trainer. 
I'm not implying that you have Clyde trained to hunt, but two months with a pro trainer may be worth looking into. A well trained bird dog will exhibit most of the behaviors that a person would find desirable.
I would be very hesitant to send a dog to a "Boot Camp", unless I knew an awful lot about it.
I'm not being smug here, so please don't see it as such, but training a dog is only half the process. The owner has to be" trained", or in reality taught, to a certain extent also. The same dog under two different hands can be like nite and day. It's important that whatever process, and or techniques, a trainer utilizes are reinforced when the dog returns to it's owner, or it was time and $$$ wasted.

What is Clyde doing that is frustrating you?


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## jas (Mar 31, 2009)

I wouldn't go near a boot camp unless i was with the dog, I believe that as you are training your dog you are creating a strong bond between yourselves.


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## doglover (Aug 4, 2009)

I wrote my post on a day where I was at my wits end. Clyde is now 6 mo old and has gained I swear 15 lbs in the past two weeks alone. I think with this growth spurt his testosterone is raging around his body. Everything he would do right before he will no longer so. He just looks at me as if he is saying "make me!" I no longer plan to send him to "boot camp" but he is going to be getting some serious boot camping at home. If it kills me he will be trained!!!! He is a VERY DOMINANT male and my husband does not want him neutered until he is older. 
I have found when he is playing with other dogs (even one on one because we stopped going to dog parks) he is very aggressive. He does not go so far as to attack but he starts by playing and then he jumps on the other dogs neck and starts trying to thrash his head while the scruff the the other dogs neck is in his mouth. He seems to sense which dogs will allow this and which wont. The other day he did it to a Rottweiler. I think other dogs tolerate it because they sense he is a puppy but I wish that they would turn around and bite him. I have tried putting him down when he does this but as soon as I let him up he immediately runs back and starts all over again. People will say 'oh it's OK he is just being a puppy." but I do not feel like it is OK. I think that people are only excusing him to be kind. How do I teach him to play nice?


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## Islander (May 2, 2009)

We have not experienced any type of aggressive behavior with Ziva now at a little over 5 months..... however, just as a note... this morning while in Ziva's 4th Saturday of Puppy Classes... the trainer did address aggressive behavior in the pups. There is a 4 1/2 month old French Mastiff in our class and she is constantly lunging, snarling and growling at the other dogs and the owner has experience that behavior at home as well. The trainer today noted this type of behavior needed to be addressed now and not to excuse it or allow anyone else to excuse it as .... oh she's just a puppy... she stated it would just escalate becoming more difficult to stop as the pup matured. So even though we thankfully have not had any problems like this with Ziva just wanted to pass along what was discussed in class today.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Dog Lover

I've had three males prior to the two females I have now. So prior to the "girlz" my experience for the past 20+ years has been with male V's. They were real rock and rollers and knocked the beejesus out of each other, and yes, they could be **** on other dogs. The girls have been a pleasant surprise in contrast.

This sentence is for your husband : 
If you have no intention of campaigning Clyde and spending the thousands of $$$ required to do so, if his papers aren't impecable, with multiple generations of champions, Field, Show and Bench. If his conformation is less than perfect. Then there is no reason to delay getting Clyde neutered. If he has no future as a breeding sire, neuter him and be done with it. Get the hormones and testosterone out of the equation, and see what issues are still there. Neutering a male dog is no cure all, or panacea, but before he starts all of marking and roaming tendencies, nip it in the bud.

I have a dominant female at this time. She's from a real high powered gun dog line, and she can be **** on wheels. She's a hunting dog first and a pet second, she can't be any other way, so I have an idea what you're dealing with. It took close to 6 weeks just to get her to stop biting me.

Clyde will come along, he's just at an age where he's beginning to assert his independence and dominance. The jumping and neck grabbiing are a dog play thing to establish position. Had the Rottie wanted to, it could have switched the tables very quickly an Clyde, bit it didn't. Still though, you have cause to be concerned because the day he is corrected it could be a very expensive lesson for you also.

Keep working with him. Keep working him at the heel. Work at all the basic obedience commands. Keep him on a long lead at the park, and every time he starts that stuff move him in another direction firmly and quickly. I know that you want to cut him loose, but he's not ready yet. At minimum he should be on a check cord.

He's going to "get it" someday, just be patient with him but very firm. Don't give him a command unless you are in position to enforce it,and make sure every command given is obeyed and enforced, even if just for a moment, then released. Make it black and white with no slack. Don't let him start to make decisions for himself, he's not ready.


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## doglover (Aug 4, 2009)

Thank you Gunnr.

That was exactly what I needed to hear. Appreciate your wisdom!

Clyde's mom


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Stick with him. He sounds like one heckuva dog! I've always preferred the hard ones to the softies. The development you'll see in the next 6 months will be like nite and day.
Right now he just has a lot of unbridled energy and enthusiasm, and he's just looking to bust loose. Keep him focused and find him something to do. Don't be afraid to take a step backwards in training, sometimes to solve an issue you have to take the dog back to a known condition, and start again. Something was missed, and you may never find out what it was, but if you take him back to basics with a focus on the current issues, it may help you identify his weak areas. 
In horse talk, he has holes in his ground manners. ( I have an retired thoroughbred race horse, and every now and then we have to play bull in the ring when his manners begin to slip a bit. Take some of the things Clyde is doing and give him 1100lbs of body weight at 16hh, and it can get interesting really quick.  )

Clyde is going to be a go getter his whole life, but I believe in a year or so you're going to have a pretty amazing life long companion.


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## doglover (Aug 4, 2009)

Gunnr, 
You are to sweet! Now I am excited again! Thanks for all the kind words and positive reinforcement. It's just what I needed to get over this hurdle.

Thanks Again!
Anna


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