Great oppurtunity

[thek1d]

Hey everyone, I am new to the forum and have a question. I own an archery shop that I operate full time and I have Small Munsterlander pup on the way. I will have te rare oppurtunity to be with my dog all day long almost every day of the week. I want to take full advantage. I plan on lots of play time and basic obedience for the first few months and trying to encourage a high prey drive. Then move into more advanced training later. Is there anything in particular that you guys would recommend for someone who will get to spend that much time with their dog or are there any bad habits that I will need to try harder to avoid? The pup will be crate trained and will be in there some when we are busy or have groups of people shooting. I have had (shop) dogs in there before and safety for the dog has always been a top priority for me as people are shooting in our range. Those dogs learned quickly that the range was no place for them to play and I expect the same will be true for the SM. Any thoughts, advice, or words of wisdom would me much appreciated. Thanks.

[NEhomer]

We'll assume that by range shooting, you're referring to archery because of course, a bunch of gunfire is a no no. Sounds like you have a great opportunity to well socialize your pup. Bonding, socializing and basic obedience is where you'll start.

Good luck~

[Steve007]

Short (5 minutes) frequent obedience sessions with lots of praise and no corrections work well with a pup. You'll be be surprised what they can learn. Later on, somewhat longer sessions and mild corrections will be in order.

Pick a reinforcement word (same principle as the clicker people) -- I use "yes!"-- and stay with it.