Training

There are all different types of activities that dogs can be trained in. A couple that ours are Trained in are Obedience, Agility, Weight Pull, Tracking and hopefully Lure coursing/Racing soon.

Obedience

We start our pups in Training from the moment they're eyes open, temp testing and basic obedience. The first 4 months of a puppies life are the most Crucial months in their learning period. They can still easily learn after 4 months but its best to start them in that 4 month period.
Obedience is a great way for you to spend one on one time with your puppy, learning how to teach them certain commands and when to reward them etc. It helps to develop that special bond and teach your puppy who is boss. YOU ARE!! .
There are different levels of Obedience starting from puppy/beginner to Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4 and Grade 5. You can enter your dog in competitions through your local dog club once they've reached a satisfactory level.

Obedience training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. Obedience training ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit", "down", "come", and "stay", to high level competition within clubs such as the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club, where additional commands, accuracy and performance are scored and judged.Obedience implies compliance with the direction or command given by the handler. For a dog to be considered obedient rather than simply trained in obedience, it must respond reliably each time the command is given, by what is commonly known as its handler. A dog can go through Obedience training and not be obedient. If a dog is referred to as being Obedience Trained it should comply immediately with every command its handler gives. In the strictest sense an Obedience trained dog is an obedient dog.

Training a dog in obedience can be an ongoing and lengthy process depending on the dog, the methods used, and the skill and understanding of both the trainer and the handler. The level of obedience the handler wishes to achieve with the dog is also a major factor in the time involved, as is the commitment to training by the handler.

Obedience training is often a prerequisite for or component of other training.

The actual training of the dog can be done by anyone, the trainer, owner, or a friend. Typically the individual who is caring for and living with the dog participates and trains the dog, as they will be the one who will be giving the commands. The relationship and trust between the dog and handler are important for success.

Basic or beginner's obedience is typically a short course ranging from six to ten weeks, where it is demonstrated to the handler how to communicate with and train the dog in a few simple commands. With most methods the dog is trained one command at a time. Though there may or may not be a specific word attached to it, walking properly on a leash, or leash control, is often the first training required prior to learning other commands.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obedience_training

Agility

We recommend not to start any basic agility until 12 months old minimum. With this breed being a large breed their bones haven't finished developing until minimum 12 months old. Anything before that could cause the dog damage, but if you are involved in a dog club then sometimes they start puppy agility classes that are good for young puppies to participate in. Agility is a lot of fun for both you and your dog, its a great way to bond and helps stimulate the dogs mind after all they are a working type breed. You can enter your dog in competitions through your local dog club once they've reached a satisfactory level.

Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles.Consequently the handler's controls are limited to voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal and coordination of the handler.

In its simplest form, an agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles laid out by a judge in a design of his or her own choosing in an area of a specified size. The surface may be of grass, dirt, rubber, or special matting. Depending on the type of competition, the obstacles may be marked with numbers indicating the order in which they must be completed.

Courses are complicated enough that a dog could not complete them correctly without human direction. In competition, the handler must assess the course, decide on handling strategies, and direct the dog through the course, with precision and speed equally important. Many strategies exist to compensate for the inherent difference in human and dog speeds and the strengths and weaknesses of the various dogs and handlers.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_agility

Weightpull

This activity is great for breeds such the American Bulldog, it is fun and helps stimulate their minds. They can enter events against other breeds or the same breed. The idea of Weight pulling is the dog pulls a cart loaded with concrete weights and the owner coaxes the dog along to the finish line of a short distance.

Weight pulling is a dog sport involving a dog pulling a cart or sled loaded with weight a short distance across dirt/gravel, grass, carpet, or snow. It is a modern adaptation of freighting, in which dogs were used as freight animals to move cargo. Many breeds participate in this sport, with dogs being separated into classes by weight. Sled dog and pit bull breeds excel within their respective weight classes, having been historically bred to pull sleds and plows, respectively.The dog is hitched to the cart or sled with a specially constructed harness designed to spread the weight and minimize the chance of injury. Anders Hallgren, writing in the Chronicle in Hundsportmagazine in 2010, claimed that weight pulling dogs do frequently get serious muscle and joint injuries as a direct result of the strain brought on by the weight pulling.

Dog weight pulling competitions are sanctioned by various non-profit organizations. In North America the International Sled Dog Racing Association has sanctioned contests in association with their races. The International Weight Pulling Association was organized in 1984 to promote the heritage of the working dog.[4]

Common Weight Pulling Breeds: Alaskan Malamute, American Bulldog, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bernese Mountain Dog, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Bull Terrier, Cane Corso, Doberman Pinscher, Dogo Argentino (Argentinian Mastiff), Dogue de Bordeaux (French Mastiff), English Mastiff, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Neapolitan Mastiff, Old English Bulldog, Patterdale Terrier, Perro de Presa Canario, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Breeds as small as the Italian Greyhound, Beagle, and Shetland Sheepdog, to name just a few, have also enjoyed great success in the sport. Basically, any purebred or mixed breed dog willing to pull can do well.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_pulling

Tracking and Lure Coursing

Tracking is definitely a lot of fun. Training your dog to use their nose in all different kinds of ways is a great way to bond with the breed and the species. Participating in events is also a lot of fun watching them all group together like a pack and then pan out following the trail of the scent using simply their noses. A dogs nose is like their eyes to us. Its the first thing out of all their senses that opens up after they're born.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracking_%28dog%29

Lure Coursing/Racing
In lure coursing, dogs chase an artificial lure across a field, following a pattern that is meant to simulate live coursing. A typical lure course is between 600 and 1000 yards (548 to 914 meters) long. In Europe the course length can be over 1000 meters, and may incorporate some obstacles or jumps. The course must have a minimum number of turns in order to simulate prey (the jack-rabbit or hare) changing direction in a chase. The fields can be fenced or not. If a dog is lure focused they will typically follow the lure from start to finish and not run off course. Dogs with some considerable lure experience, termed "lure-wise", may try to anticipate or "cheat" by attempting to cut off the lure instead of trying to capture the lure using follow, speed and agility. Sight hounds generally have no need to be trained or enticed to chase the lure since the desire to chase is instinctual. However some breeds may require lure play at a very early age to encourage them to follow an artificial object with enthusiasm. Dogs must be at least one year old to compete; the hard fast turns are tough on a dog's developing joints and lure coursing before the age of one can cause joint problems later in life.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lure_coursing