random thoughts
nerve bag pups and dogs are made , not born ……..
if you got a skittish dog in the house , never put the dog in any circumstance where their insecurity manifest itself around a pup you don't want acting like that , dogs learn from dogs better than they do people …….
"working " is a pretty vague term , dogs producing pups in a puppymill are working , a junkyard dog is working ……. I've known some puppymillers who marketed their pups based on the premise they "work" their dogs , guy bought a bite sleeve , or a tug ……. as blackshadow says , "working your lines" can be a very low bar ………
as far as "imprinting" pups , personally I think the only thing a breeder has to do with their pups is expose them to the most possible new stuff and situations as is possible , the more the better , and do it appropriately so as not to make an as mentioned "nerve bag" out of their pups …… an example i'd do is use a lawnmower at a distance with adult dogs around , i'd end up with a bunch of pups that were not noise sensitive , i'd have 8 week old pups i'd have to make move to cut the lawn …. i'd drop their pans every time I was going to feed them , i'd take them in the woods with their mom , dad , aunt , uncle , and let them do or go wherever they wanted with as little intervention as possible , let them lead , bold dogs teaching pups to be bold ….... milk jugs filled with rocks , balloons , plastic bags blowing around the yard ,ect…. as far as imprinting , the only imprinting i'd worry about is "imprinting" them to people , from the first second of their lives , and everyday they are here ....... I have never turned out a timid dog , not one ……….. I've heard about this "working" your dog crap so much it almost makes me nauseous .............
don't know about puppy test , but I would bring a tug , i'd like a pup I had to pry off it , i'd like pups that ran to me , i'd like a pup that got over a scare and forgot about it as soon as I distracted them with play …….. i'd do as blackshadow said in taking them out on their own , folks who would test my pups this way would be impressed as it would be far from the first time it had been done to them ................
my pups are left outside 24/7/365 , they are simple to housebreak , they pick up on the fact that inside is not outside real easy , keep them close to access to outside , and catch them a couple times , adult dogs do help ...... just as kennel raised pups prefer to use cement , I've had them that wouldn't use the grass , they prefer to go outside ....... just as paper trained pups prefer to use paper ....... I think the last time I housebroke a dog was 1992 ............ then I figured out they can housebreak themselves much easier