Hi Guys,
I own an 8 month old German Shepherd pup that I've been training myself at home and, while she's been doing reasonably well, I feel as though there's plenty of room for improvement. I think a lot of the problem is that she doesn't have a very high food drive, while she's happy to work for treats she not that fussed about them( compared to my 12 yr old Border Collie and a Belgian Shepherd that I previously owned) She seems to be very easily distracted and I've noticed that when we are out walking she will rarely look at me.
I've read a little about Prey drive and decided to give it a try and am now waiting for some tugs toys to arrive from the k9pro shop and now i have a few questions that I was hoping someone could help me with
1. When she gets a good grip on the tug and I want her to release it is there a particular method/command that I should use? She has a stuffed toy that I use with her occasionally and she loves it but getting her to let go usually ends up with me having to physically remove it from her. I have taught her the "leave it" command where she won't take toy/treat until she's allowed but once she gets hold of the toy she doesn't want to give it up in a hurry.
2. Is it necessary to tether her when building drive or is that optional?
3.Do I need to remove all other toys from her back yard and should I still walk her while trying to build drive? She loves chewing up cardboard boxes and it has proved helpful in reducing the amount of destructive chewing and hole digging that I get and therefore I would be reluctant to stop giving them to her. She also likes to take a rope toy or the Border Collies ball and tease the other dog with it so they can play some chasy , it's something they both seem to enjoy and I would feel a bit mean taking them away.
4. Can I still use a check chain?
Any other advice/tips would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ant