Quote:
Originally Posted by GalomyOak
I don't know so much if it really matters if people have had positive or negative experiences. Each CSV is so different in personality.
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I agree, I think every dog is unique and you also need to adapt your methods to what works better with your pup. That's why I think one of the keys to deal with dogs in general is to be open-minded and good at reading them.
Nevertheless, I guess collecting other people's experiences may be helpful.
Mine for example was never a destroyer, he never did any damage, even if he lives indoor and is free to roam around the house when he is alone... but generally he is so tired when I leave him at home that all he wants to do is sleep.
About "training", I wouldn't know since I never did that seriously (only for fun)... personally, I only cared about "education". I ask very "little" to my dog (to be able to walk at heel, with or without a leash on, to stop when I say to stop and to come when I call him) but I tried to make his response to those few requests reliable in more and more difficult situations.
What I noticed with him is that he does not care much for rewards in general. I don't use coercion because I don't like the concept, but even if I did it would not work with him (those few times I had to "force" him to do or not to do something, for emergency, it did more damage than good). He needs to be "convinced" that when you ask him to do something, that's always the best, wiser and more advantageous thing to do. In a few words, that's what makes him "reliable".
About socialization, when I got him at 60 days he was already very self confident and curious, so I didn't have much problem. He did go through a phase (around 7 to 12 months) when he was less confident and more guarded, but never "fearful", and this phase didn't last long. What I noticed about him, which is something that helped me a lot, is that if he encounters something new he never saw before he is "cautious", but he takes him about 10 seconds to decide that strange thing is not a danger and he relaxes quickly... also, if something or someone suddenly scares him or even hurts him or something "traumatic" happens, he will not bear any psychological "scar" or hard feelings, he recovers pretty quickly from such incidents and he quickly forgets about them. I guess this reduced the impact of any mistakes I may have made while socializing him during his growth.