Won't Share Her Prize!

[paulsmithy83 567]

 

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

Would you recommend tug games with a dog that you want to retrieve and pass something to you? :-)

Training the leave command very easy when playing tug. No different to the police dogs doing arm work

[AirgunGuy 362]

 

 

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

Would you recommend tug games with a dog that you want to retrieve and pass something to you? :-)

Training the leave command very easy when playing tug. No different to the police dogs doing arm work

Yes but we're not talking about police dogs that are trained to bite hard and hold...we're talking about working dogs that we want to be soft mouthed and to get something back that isn't a bag of mince :-)

[paulsmithy83 567]

All mine retrieve live to hand mate no piss assing about straight in to my feet. always played tug with them at home. loads of training can be done whilst playing games with dogs in drive. makes em more responsive also i find. Just right way to do it suppose. Soon as rabbit brought back say leave instant and they release into hand. Very easy way tbh.

Mine all been so called natural retrieves anyway as all mine got mint recall it there best asset so when been pups and caught one whistle and there running back rabbit in tow, now as adults its just second nature. Never had a dog not retrieve and all but one has been live to hand. Even me plodders retrieve lol

[AirgunGuy 362]

When I got my GSP bitch as a pup I was advised if I was gonna train her to retrieve etc then never to play tug with her though I can understand now that it could be used for the "leave" command. Great thing forums...always learning ;-)

[paulsmithy83 567]

Loads of command are easy taught via tug mate , leave, hold, fetch , find . You will animal very responsive when in drive and can teach many a thing for the field.

[birddog 1,354]

i think ps83 hit it on the head.....all his dogs retrieve and they all have mint recall.......no recall = no retrieve........the tug / play, will / can reinforce loads but need that recall

[skycat 6,173]

 

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

Would you recommend tug games with a dog that you want to retrieve and pass something to you? :-)

 

Yes: you put the correct rules in place and the dog doesn't tug unless you say it can. It is a relatively simple game to learn, and one which ensures dogs retrieve what they catch as they have been conditioned to feel good about being up close and in contact with you in prey drive. This might sound fanciful if you haven't heard about things like drive etc, but it really does work: providing you establish the rules of the game first: this is very important. It is not just playing tug of war: it is a structured and easy to learn process which satisfies the dog completely. If the dog has learned that being with you, engaging with you whilst in prey drive, then it will retrieve its catches.

[skycat 6,173]

 

 

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

Would you recommend tug games with a dog that you want to retrieve and pass something to you? :-)

Training the leave command very easy when playing tug. No different to the police dogs doing arm work

 

In protection dog circles they call it 'capping the drive'. In other words, the dog 'gives' when it is told to because you have already established that giving up the tug is simply a break in the game, not the end of its fun. When you transfer this to the field, the dog gives up its catch willingly because it knows there will be more stuff to catch and retrieve later.

[paulsmithy83 567]

My point exactly skycat very well described tho. I know what I want to say just not to good at writing it up lol

[Casso 1,261]

A bite item or tug item is just a training tool , it's a system used by service dogs trainers , sport dog trainers , and others who use dogs with a drive to make contact with whatever the prey is or was ,

 

In other words a dog raised in a purely positive manner and introduced to a bite item through its owner as a way of expressing its drive can be programmed to override its natural inclinations

 

One crystal clear example of this is seen in the herding breeds many of which have forsaken their original intended purpose to pursue an artificial prey item namely a bite item , all their training is based on this item , recall , heeling , retrieving , the whole lot

It's just creating a drive in the dog to take instruction to get to what he believes is a prey item,

 

If 100years ago you had said to a shepherd working his malinois in Europe to round up his sheep that in the future the breed would forsake his herding instinct to prey on a hand held tug item he would have told you you're crazy but thats the reality of it , dogs are an open book and can be influence greatly once we understand that Drive is a drive to make contact and we can influence what they perceive to be a prey item.

[beast 1,884]

there is lots of good advice here, but i would just add that the worst thing you can do is get cross or shout at the dog, you will mess up both the retrieve and the recall. be patient, shes just a pup, i've had this with a couple of mine and they get better with experience