i think its a good idea to have help when training but not to have someone do it for you only because whos to say that the dog is going to respond to you also you can have more of a chance to bond with them + learn with them eg what they respond to best

I asked for opinions, as I really can't make my mind up.

Thats the bit I don't like the look of... why bother getting a dog if you don't have the time??

Personally, I'd rather train my own dog but...

I guess the reason he does it is because he enjoys puppy ownership but can't have that many dogs. A great way of getting your puppy fix and not having too many dogs to cope with.

I like the fact that they only have 2 for sale... shows they don't take too many on at a time.

People who don't have the time/can't be bothered to train their dogs, usually just leave them to do their own thing, resulting in bad mannered dogs out in society. These dogs give all dogs a bad name so I guess it's the lesser of the two evils to provide people with well trained dogs so that you don't have bad dogs running around in society.

HOWEVER - the training MUST CONTINUE. They are only 4 months old - shocking that they have started agility... and they are yet to go through their awkward phase. Training, as far as I'm concerned never stops and surely these dogs, that have been given so much time and energy for the first 4 months of their life, will get bored if their new owners see them as 'pre-trained' and don't bother...

Personally, I'm glad I went through it all with Takara myself and if I didn't have time to put into a dog, I wouldn't get one. BUT if it's the lesser of the two evils then although it may not be great, it's better than what it could be.

I'm not sure I believe it can work. As I see it, training is an ongoing thing. When you teach a dog to do something, you have to keep reminding them that it's worth their while to do it when asked. If the new owner doesn't keep up the work, then surely the pup will gradually lose the motivation to follow requests...?

Anyway, as others have said, it's a shame to give that bonding experience over to somebody else.

I think is fine to geta dog that has some training experiance, makes for an easier start for you. In my opinion it won't lessen the bond you will develop with your dog at all.
Much better this than an unsocialised dog running around. But then if you are willing to pay £400+ for a dog you may well be more inclinded to want to train it anyway.

The bit that worries me is the fact taht the two for sale are only 4 mths old and have started agility work.... what would that entail exactly? They sound too young for agility to me...

sorry, just can't past the fact that he is offering 'fully trained dogs' at only 4 months old and also the agility bit.
they have literally only just left their mothers for goodness sake, how on earth can you fully train one at 4 months!!!

The way I read it was the agility involves the tunnel and jump which is probably a couple of inches at most. He does also say that the training needs to be ongoing.
I prefer to train my own with my own peculiar methods but rather this than a dog that's got rid of because the owner couldn't cope with the early training.

mmm, interesting. Something else to ad to the debate - what about the people who take on rescue dogs because they don't want to go through the puppy stage? How about the relationship you get with a rescue dog. Just because you've not had a dog from a pup, doesn't necessariy mean the bond will lessen.

However, it just seems to "easy" for me. I think I'm on the fence with Kirsty on this one. I can't see anything seriously wrong, but it doesn't really sit right with me.

Helen

Hmm that is a very good point actually. I have heard a number of times people suggesting a prospective new dog owner to consider a rescue dog to avoid the hard work of a puppy.

I am really playing Devil's Advocate here as, like Helen, I can't see a problem with it in theory, it just unsettles me a bit - but not sure why!