Nekhbet Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 well maybe he's more a pet then a performance dog. Medical problems especially in already low drive dogs can just crash their drive through the floor. Give him a break, love him for who he is and see if he perks up in you lay off for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trifecta Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Have you tried having both dogs present at the training session & when Diesel becomes bored, tying him up & getting the other dog out? I was advised to do this for my Belgian who is becoming heartily sick of heel work. We are trying for our CD, but our heel work was better & more focussed in beginners! There is also a book by Dawn Jecs titled "Choose to Heel" - I have not read it but was recommended it last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 . We are trialling him on some new antihistamines. He was better on the ones from the vet (Iramine) and we are trialling Polaramine because it is cheaper but he was much brighter and more energetic on Iramine. That could be your problem. POLARAMINE SIDE EFFECTS: May cause drowsiness, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite Give him time to adjust to the polaramine which may take a while or go back to the iramine which seems to not make dogs drowsy. My vet sells me iramine in bottles of 100 which works out a bit cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hi Kavik Have sensed your frustration over many posts in the past. I am a believer in finding a trait in a dog that I want rather than to have to start from scratch and hope. Of course you do need to develope drive, but trying to manufacture it is hit and miss, particular when trying to develop drive well after puppyhood. I was in the same situation once with a Bull Terrier. I had one that was a multiple trial winner, and the next one was hopeless lazy git. I persevered with him and got marginal improvement, but as disappointing as he was in the ring, he was a great pet and made me laugh endlessly. He died quite young and I am glad that I didn't end up compromising our bond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatelina Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 It makes no difference if I don't feed him or feed him less or feed him when training - he still won't work, he will just lose weight.He is not distracted by smells, he doesn't want to run off somewhere, he doesn't want to play, he doesn't want to do ANYTHING Wow...sounds like he's on valium. hehehe.. Sorry I can't offer any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) . We are trialling him on some new antihistamines. He was better on the ones from the vet (Iramine) and we are trialling Polaramine because it is cheaper but he was much brighter and more energetic on Iramine. That could be your problem. POLARAMINE SIDE EFFECTS: May cause drowsiness, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite Give him time to adjust to the polaramine which may take a while or go back to the iramine which seems to not make dogs drowsy. My vet sells me iramine in bottles of 100 which works out a bit cheaper. The vet said Iramine also might make him drowsy, but it didn't I also heard that the effects of drowsiness aren't as bad in dogs as they are in people. Also I did some calculations between Iramine, Polaramine and Phenergan to see which one works out cheaper and Polaramine was th cheapest, so we tried that after a trial of Iramine. The Iramine seems to work better, he scratches and chews himself less on it too. OH will hit the roof though if I suggest keeping him on it all the time. Even when not on antihistamines, he is the same. He perks up when on medication that makes him hungry though. Edited June 4, 2009 by Kavik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Have you tried having both dogs present at the training session & when Diesel becomes bored, tying him up & getting the other dog out? I was advised to do this for my Belgian who is becoming heartily sick of heel work. We are trying for our CD, but our heel work was better & more focussed in beginners!There is also a book by Dawn Jecs titled "Choose to Heel" - I have not read it but was recommended it last week. Yep - he will bark when he watches the other dogs working but it doesn't seem to improve his performance when it is his turn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I'll swap with you!! Evie has WAY too much drive for me- I wish she was a couch potato! Now if we could only work out how to stop her and Zoe killing each other... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 You're on :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 With his health problems, and medications- his body chemistry will be a bit skewed. he quite possibly WON'T be operating at 100%- and his brain may well be not accepting of learning. If he's good at home, and generally well behaved, why can't you leave him at that? Was he bought so you could do advanced training stuff? or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 My plan when I got him as a pup was to do competition obedience. I got all 3 dogs with the aim of competing Zoe is dog aggressive so couldn't compete Diesel has health problems and no motivation Kaos I can compete with :rolleyes: Reminder to self: Only go to registered breeders, research and ask questions and get one with plenty of drive and (fingers crossed!) good luck in the health department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Sorry to hear Kavik. Its hard when they can't do what you intended them to do- i haven't had the experience with a dog but certainly did with a horse and it was a nightmare- ended up rehoming- bit different with horses though. I would have loved to have done agility with Dexter, think he would have been super but his HD and ED won't let us :rolleyes: So we do other fun things instead. Does Diesel ever get excited about anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Not really :rolleyes: He likes visiting OH's parents and wandering around their house and following OH around, but nothing useful that I could do with him. For a while he was a bit excited about tracking, but wasn't so much the last time I tried, maybe I'll give that another fun go, harder in winter with the darkness though, and they are now developing the block I was using for training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 things wont always go to plan - I have a working dog where I thought there was nothing more then a lazy pet, and a prospective worker with heaps of drive and enthusiasm but without the physical capability due to poor health. remember push him too much and he wont want to work at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milzi09 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Could Diesel be stressed by the training you are trying to do? Some dogs have this problem and just shut down eg. walk off, not pay any attention, do nothing. My newest girl will start stressing out after two or three reps of a very easy behaviour like 'sit' and just lie down and pretend to sleep and offer no behaviour at all! Now I just do two reps of everything and finish. Slowly she has started wanting more and more - all of her own accord. Does Diesel show any stress signs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 He does show avoidance. Is getting worse too :rolleyes: I think I'll just let him be. He doesn't want to do it. It's not like he is out of control, just not interested. Just means I get to concentrate on the others more (mainly Kaos, as Zoe is 9 1/2 and dog aggro, I mosly only do some experimental stuff with Zoe, atm trying out running through a pvc box in case I want to try running contacts with next dog) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigsaw Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 It does sound as if his medical problems are contributing to his lack of drive. For my two cents just love him as he is and look back on some of the lessons he may have taught you :rolleyes: ! And/or leave him be for a few weeks, change your training place, schedule completely and try something new someplace new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Im pretty sure that you wont want to do this, but as for training methods there is motivational and there is avoidance. I spoke to a great and a VERY sucessfull trainer and competitor in sch recently and she told me - if the dog has no motivators you either get another dog or you go into training in avoidance. We were talking about sch at the time, but this would apply to your situation too. She is however extremly experienced and I had seen how she trains, the avoidance trained dogs look happy too. Its not something I would be able to do tho. I had to just give up on training Rex, it was not for the reason you have, I just let Rex be and I enjoy him as a total pet. Love my boy with all my heart, regardless of competitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poocow Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Kavik :rolleyes: Sounds like he just doesn't have much drive. The only thing Top is good at is lure coursing. I gave up trying to train him in agility as he is just too stupid. Where does one purchase a new brain from? Darcy on the other hand just loves to work, I'm really hoping my next cocker pup will have a similar drive. My only problem with Darcy is he has some back issues which can put a dampener on agility sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I take Polarmine at night to go sleepies. I guess some dogs are just not competition dogs. My border Brock is very not typical of a border. He is super soft which makes training interesting. I still do agility with him as he seems to enjoy the outing. He is even a bit funny about going for walks. But he is the most lovely pet and is a firm favorite at dog school as he is such a smooch and is friends with everyone. I have never purchased any dog to do sports. I have borders as they are my fav breed so figure I need to keep them busy. If they don't want to do a sport then I don't push it. I am more interested in training too then competing. I would be happy to never go to a comp. But I love lessons, clinics etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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