We got an 11wko working line dog (GSD) from a pretty "serious" breeder (mostly K9, S&R dogs, protection dogs, etc) who is now about 18wko. He is about to finish 3 weeks of a board and stay training program that includes e-collar work. We've done some lessons/demos with him during this time. We also have a 7yo GSD female rescue who has undergone same training (we have had her for about 3 years)

The "drive" difference between the two dogs is pretty crazy. If you have a dog that's ready to work and you give it a job to learn and master at a young age the foundation is really incredible. Our older dog is very obedient but it doesn't really go about it in the same way, not sure how to explain it better than that.

We purposefully did not do much training from 11wks - 16wks because we just wanted to bond with the puppy, have it bond with the older dog, and not create a "toxic" attitude towards training since we only sort of know what we are doing. It was pretty rough; waking up 4hrs into my night's sleep to let the puppy out to pee, having accidents around the house (never poop, thankfully), badgering our older dog constantly, etc. Horrible leash manners, walked and ran like it was drunk. A puppy is a puppy, it's a lot of work.

At least in our case, the breeder made us sign an agreement that we would not neuter for at least 11mo. Our vet told us at least a year, and we've had other owners mansplain to us that two years is ideal and vets don't know shit (fellow GSD/Malinois owners).

We have good friends who got a Tolling Retriever and he said it was the easiest puppy they've ever experienced. So YMMV.

This is Wolfgang

Puppies are tough for the first six months. The toilet training, crate training etc

We got a soft coated wheaten terrier a year ago and I was surprised how tough it was. It would wee anywhere and not settle at night unless we were with it. But eventually that passes, they learn their routine.

We did a couple of rounds of puppy classes, then obedience classes. He is not the best but sits, comes when we call him and isn't too naughty. Wheatens are often a show dog but we won't show him, just wanted a pet and they don't shed which is good.

I reckon if you joined some duck tolling retriever facebook groups you would get a lot of good info, but also arguments about what you should be feeding, how you should be training, when you should be spaying/neutering etc. As above poster said a lot of 'mansplaining', though normally from older aged women who seem to rule the showdog breeding area.

We neutered when our vet recommended it. If you are showing the dog though, I don't think you will be neutering/spaying until it retires? I believe a show dog has to be 'whole'

Huh?...

Uh?...

Let's see...

Both of the Pandemic Puppies have been up since 5:15 AM EST, and have been a bull full of energy. It has been a chore trying to keep them from barking and waking up my wife and second son, before they are fed at 7am.
The one 13-year old (female) dog isn't fazed by their antics, while the other dog (13-year old male who thinks he is an alpha) gets agitated when the Pandemic Pups are in his presence. It has been a chore this morning!

Regarding spay/neuter recommendations, I would recommend reading the research out of UC Davis and their longitudinal studies.

Here is a link with a general overview and the peer reviewed publications are listed at the end.

We’re on Day 4 with our yellow lab pup (8 weeks old) that we just picked up over the weekend. Right now focusing on bonding with the dog and working on some basic stuff, but it is a lot of work. We’ve also been taking her out around 3am per the breeder’s recommendation to help her get house-broken quicker; we’ve had a few in-house accidents (pee only). Since we can’t do puppy training classes due to the shutdown, we’ve been finding some good stuff online for what we can do from home.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

It's a lot of work and a lot of fun. We're on week 6 with our 14 week old Australian Shepherd. He knows sit, stay, come, leave it, down, and kind of how to walk on a leash if I have good treats. He walks off leash on trails and stays with us. Potty trained at about 11 weeks. Good in the crate. He's bonded with me but my boys (16,13) and wife have been incredible with him.

We're clicker training - look at Zak George and Kikopup on Youtube. This book has also been really helpful: Clicking with Your Dog: Step-by-Step in Pictures. I knew nothing about training a puppy before we started...so dive in and learn...and be patient. For example, this morning we were in the back yard and he refused to sit. Played a bit and all was fine.

But it is work. Constant watching him, dealing with biting, making sure he gets exercise, spending a lot of time training, messy house, etc. I'm 44 and expect this will likely be my last puppy...feels a lot like having a newborn! Totally worth it though.