ant Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) 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 Edited May 24, 2010 by ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) K9Pro has a comprehensive distance drive building package which a number of members of this forum have worked through/are working through. Lots of people seem to have found it worth while. Might be worth looking into . ETA. I am in a similar situation to you with my second dog who is a BC but who while likes treats didn't really turn herself inside out for treats but who has always been toy mad. In contrast my older 10 year old BC is food mad. I have been going about things my own way with the youngster and having reasonable success however she has a few nerve issues and I thought the training in drive stuff might be worth a go to help overcome some of that. Steve came over recently to give a workshop and Kenz is three weeks into the drive building module and I think its going well. Required a bit of change to the way I would normally do things but I wouldn't stop now. Edited May 24, 2010 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 K9Pro has a comprehensive distance drive building package which a number of members of this forum have worked through/are working through. Lots of people seem to have found it worth while. Might be worth looking into . Seems like a good idea but I don't think I can afford it at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 K9Pro has a comprehensive distance drive building package which a number of members of this forum have worked through/are working through. Lots of people seem to have found it worth while. Might be worth looking into . Seems like a good idea but I don't think I can afford it at the moment This thread might be a good place to start ;) Not sure if you've already read it? http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...c=43795&hl= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) huski all 42 pages of it. No kidding I reread that thread among some others after our workshop and found it all made much more sense . Here is another one that might provide some answers - http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=185863 Edited May 24, 2010 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinworx Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Ivan Balabanov has two DVD's that are very good. His Obedience without conflict DVD set is excellent and will set you on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Bronson Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 What are your plans for the dog Ant???, are you looking to trial or just working on general obedience??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) What are your plans for the dog Ant???, are you looking to trial or just working on general obedience??? Just looking to improve on her general obedience, she is ok at the moment and understands the commands I give her but she is often slow to react and/or is too busy looking around or sniffing the ground and doesn't seem to hear what I'm saying. Thanks to everyone for pointing me in the right direction Cheers Ant Edited May 24, 2010 by ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 I found an interesting article for anyone interested in getting started http://www.thedogathlete.com/playing-with-prey-drive/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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