Re: Puppy imprinting

I have watched this conversation with interest. Being a neophyte, I have found it entertaining and highly informative.

Q - I was wondering how one would imprint a young pup with the intention of titling to Ring III. Would this differ from imprinting for other dog sports or patrol work? If so, what are the reasons for the different techniques? Also, at what age would serious bite work begin, or is that breed specific? I hope I am not asking dumb questions. Thanks.

A - First of all there are no dumb questions. To imprint a puppy you must expose him to everything and it must have a positive result. The puppy should know that it's environment, all situations, all sounds, all people are of no consequence. I start puppies immediately in bite work on a rag. He is introduced to articles at this time also, little by little. Remember that everything subjected to the puppy is on a graduated scale to allow him to understand at his pace. I expose him to all type of surfaces to climb and walk on. I introduce him to slanted plywood for climbing. When a puppy is unsure of a situation, allow him the time to understand and become comfortable. This may take two minutes or it may take two days. Don't force the issue. Allow the puppy to understand at his pace. Once a puppy learns to overcome his insecurities you will find him overcoming issues quicker and quicker because he is learning how to cope. As I have talked about before, in bite work we start immediately with focusing the puppy on the decoy and not the rag. Again, this is done on a graduated scale. But our overall goal is the "joy of the bite" and "joy of the fight". Not the joy of the toy. This is an overview and I have been fairly general on this question but this should give you a feel of the approach.

Regards

Bob