4 Paws Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Hi, i own 2 german shepherds who basically have low to no play drive.One will occasionally fetch a ball and bring it back but loses interest quickly Just wondering how to go about getting a dog interested in play with things likes balls thanks julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I taught my dog to play ball..SHEESHH...i forgot to install a kill switch..so im no good at helping with that. But ...this is how i got her interested. I would bring out the ball, show it to her and I would play with it..speaking in an excited voice. I would rub it around her face and get her sooooo hyped up,then i would put the ball away. Not letting her get it... then the next time she sees the ball she is interested..I do all the hyper talk and messing with the ball and roll it to her,..and keep the hype up....in the middle of the game..stop and put the ball away. Only play for small periods at a time always hiding the ball and ending as she is still excited. So each time u get the ball out its fun time. didnt take long 4 mine to get this right..so start by throwin small distances and then as hyper as u can call her back. and use ur command "drop it" or watever u wish. I managed to train mine to throw it at me as well so i could hit it back with a tennis racket..soggy balls r gross..lol. I always gave a food reward for drop. Never tug o war her for it.. i would end the game if she didnt return the ball. Let me tell u...I CREATED A MONSTER..she would hunt for pieces of ball and throw them at me..lol..God bless her.. Hope this in some way helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Paws Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 thankyou,appreciate any tips! Should i get a specially designed dog ball(orbee?) or start off with a tennis ball? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah L Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) Hi,i own 2 german shepherds who basically have low to no play drive.One will occasionally fetch a ball and bring it back but loses interest quickly Just wondering how to go about getting a dog interested in play with things likes balls thanks julie Hi Julie......... Can I ask if you try and play with the dogs, with their toys together or separately? If you do it when they are together then one could be putting the other off, eg... one wont allow the other to get it or one takes it and wont give it back in case the other gets it and so on. If this is the case teach them separately how to play with their toys and you. Put one somewhere where it cannot see you play with the other. Start by tying a ball or dumbbell like toy on the end of a longish piece of strong string tied to the end of a stick. Use this to snake it along the ground and see if this gets the dog interested in following it and wanting to put its paws on it to stop it. If this happens praise your dog and keep playing with it snaking it a long the ground praising your dog every time they follow and try to stop it. Then finish with a treat reward and swap dogs and do the same again. Once both your dogs are happy to do this then you can, start to pick the ball or dumbbell up still on the string and stick and roll it with your hands to the end of the length of string, when the dogs goes after it praise the dog and say the dogs name with the word come and when the dog comes back to you offer a treat reward for the toy and throw it again. Do this with each dog separately as well until you can take the toy of the string and stick and throw it freely. When you bring both dogs back together then you need 2 toys and throw them in the opposite direction to each other at the same time. Recalling your dogs with their name and the word come to bring the toy back. Give both dogs a treat reward at the same time for bringing there toys back and throw them again. Hope this helps you :rolleyes: Also tug of war with each dog separately would be a good game to start after they are used to the throwing of their toys has been trained. Hey just realised this is my 100drth post YEY!!!!!!!!!!!! Edited August 12, 2007 by pinnacle dts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I used to buy cheap tennis balls cause i liked to hit them with the racket...but i guess its ur choice. whatever u wish for the toy to be?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Im pretty sure it was Steve Austin that told me how to train the ball game?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I never play tug with any of my dogs..always worries me they might decided to tug on somethin else that i DONT want..?? Again..i think it was steve austin that told me that,but again..dont quote me on it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah L Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I never play tug with any of my dogs..always worries me they might decided to tug on something else that i DONT want..?? Again..i think it was steve austin that told me that,but again..dont quote me on it!! This all depends on how you train your dogs overall. There is nothing wrong with playing tug games with dogs. Once you have achieved good success with other toy play tug is just another game to the dog and does not encourage it to tug on stuff you do not want. So how do you know that getting a dog to chase a ball will not encourage it to chase things you do not want. Maybe you should ask Steve Austin about tug games I know for a fact he does this with his own dogs. Also plenty of other people know how to do this as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I got little kids,just safer not to play those games at all.. I cant remember who told me..as i said dont quote me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Tug of war is never a good game to play with a dog. I am not sure who told you that. It has several adverse effects. The dog learns to compete against you, rather then work with you or for you. The dog becomes mouthy with objects when you are around. At any time the dog will try and take an object from you that he wants. They have a hard time understanding this is just a game and not a competition. We always tell our adopteres to never play tug of war with a dog. It can get scary very quickly when the dog decides he is tired of the game and just wants to win. Good luck in training your dog. Source(s): Animal rescuer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffo Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) Tug of war is never a good game to play with a dog. I am not sure who told you that. It has several adverse effects.The dog learns to compete against you, rather then work with you or for you. The dog becomes mouthy with objects when you are around. At any time the dog will try and take an object from you that he wants. They have a hard time understanding this is just a game and not a competition. We always tell our adopteres to never play tug of war with a dog. It can get scary very quickly when the dog decides he is tired of the game and just wants to win. Good luck in training your dog. are you joking? i totally disagree with you. Maybe with a rank aggressive dog, but even then i doubt whether tug would cause all the "adverse effects" you listed. A dog that knows and accepts you as the alpha will have no problems with this game at all. And no you dont have to win all the time either. It can be a fun game to play with your dog, i play it with mine all the time and it is not a matter o winning or losing. I just lose interest. She is definitely not mouthy with objects around me. She never competes against me, rather she PLAYS WITH me, she NEVER tries to take objects from me, EVER. So why is it that i dont have any of the problems that you listed with my dog? Edited August 12, 2007 by Rachelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I agree wholeheartedly with Pinnacle and Rachelle about playing Tug.Playing Tug is part of many good Trainers program. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 If it was me, I would use the orbee, because building drive using tug element as well will enhance the dogs excitement, while you are teasing him with it. If you plan to use the drive to train them, then definately the orbee. I would not include food rewards if its prey drive that you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAX Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Tug of war is never a good game to play with a dog. I am not sure who told you that. It has several adverse effects.The dog learns to compete against you, rather then work with you or for you. The dog will learn to do as I ask to get to play the tug game. The dog becomes mouthy with objects when you are around. The dog knows I start and finish all tug games. I own the toys and it's by invitation only. At any time the dog will try and take an object from you that he wants. The dog knows the the verbal cue to start the game, 'Yes, get it'. They have a hard time understanding this is just a game and not a competition. My dogs have never had trouble understanding the rules of play. We always tell our adopteres to never play tug of war with a dog. It can get scary very quickly when the dog decides he is tired of the game and just wants to win. That's a shame as it a such a valuable training tool. I agree that is not a game that young children should play with a dog. Good luck in training your dog. Source(s): Animal rescuer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Tug can be a great training tool! Only one of mine is a good consistent tugger. He knows when he can play and will let go when there is no slack on the tug - he knows that is how the game gets going again. It has come in handy for teaching commands and control in drive. Besides the good points listed, many working dogs get tug as a reward such as active response AQIS and customs dogs (Steve Austin, since he trains these dogs, DOES know the benefit of playing tug) - this is what keeps their motivation up for the search. I use food and toy rewards, depending on what I want to achieve at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I guess either training method will work for ball play however i feel the leash attatched means more training involved,or toy on string.. i didnt find it was needed to teach any of my dogs. I guess its up to u how u do it. With TUG-o WAR games. I have a 2 year old and 16wk old baby,i would prefer that TUGGING games were OFF limits at all times. I just feel its safer NOT to have this kind of game around them. I really cant remember now who told me this,either it was a trainer,or a training manual that suggested it...But IMO with small kids in the house its a big NO NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAX Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 L&L, If you saw my dogs playing tug you would change your thoughts on it I'm sure. It is very safe, more so than giving my hungry Dobermann treats.......lol, now that's dangerous. If I can ever get youtube happening I should post a clip of my dogs tugging and how we use it in training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Of course L&L whether you choose to use tug is up to you I probably wouldn't have young kids playing tug. Squeaky toys are also a favourite here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I have two dogs, with the first one I was told exactly by someone "smart"the same as you L&L - never to play tug games as he will become this that or the other. What rubbish......... years later I ahve learned that I could have used games like tug to train him if I knew how to play, it took me ages to get him to play as he was tought that he can never win etc. We got over the hurdle and he loved the games. With the second dog I played tug since she was a puppy, like PAX said - game is on my terms, starts and ends when I say so, tug is on when I say so. the dog loves it. She isnt mouthy, she doesnt compete with me at all, funny thing I often let her win the toy, she doesnt take any objects from me (well unless its liver LOL, but that is food) In my avatar there is my friends son playing tug with my dog. He is old enought to understand the rules and apply them, hence he and the dog get to play the game. I wouldnt let a young child play iwth my dogs at all, no matter what the game is. And haveing said that that would be any dog of any breed and any game. Young kids and dogs need to be supervised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 OK OK..im i just did a bit of research on it,and it seems maybe my theory,which i WAS told 15 years ago when my old girl was a pup,is outdated? From what i can gather it was a no no,but now can be used as a tool Still dont think i will encourage it with the little ones about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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