Something Other Than Forced Retrieve - Page 1

Without starting a big debate on the merits of teaching the forced retrieve, does anyone have other ways of teaching very possessive and dominant dogs how to retrieve WITHOUT using a forced retrieve?  Dogs will out on command to me, but if an object is thrown they will get it and keep it, only sometimes come to me and shove it near me, but don't want to give it unless I command the out even though they know they will get it back again.   (As opposed to my other dog that will bring the ball back until he drops dead and give it up without being asked so he can start the game again)  These are their natural behaviors right now and I have not taught the retrieve at all with them yet.  I did use Balabanov's the game to get them to out in the first place.  They are highly civil dogs but they are handler sensitive. 

If you are doing schutzhund:

You said:  "....but don't want to give it unless I command the out...."  Okay, that is what you want, you don't want the dog to drop the ball on his own, because you will eventually teach him to retrieve a dumbell, you want the dog to hold the dumbell with a good firm grip until you command him to out it, so you are ahead of the game there.

It sounds like you want a faster recall with the dumbell?   How old is your dog & what have you taught him so far?  When he does the recall out of the down, does he run fast, straight & does he sit in front of you??

Check out the "clicker retrieve" tab on www.bodeus.com --mary

Thanks for that link, I will look at it right now...

One pup is 10 months and one is 17.  They are doing well in protection and just started doing obedience (of course they knew all the basics , sitz, platz, etc from 12 weeks).

Maybe I am aniticapating a problem that will never happen, but these two just don't want to come back to me with their items like my other dog. Maybe obedience will overcome that as they come on the here (without having anything in thier mouth) and when recalled so the sitz very close and they ous when told so maybe that obedience will overcome their tendency to run off with their toy and want to keep it to themselves.  Its just that the other dog enjoys brining the toys to me for more play and they run off and want to keep the toy.  I have not forced the issue yet because we were working on the bitework before the obedience.  Maybe they won't even have a problem (I hope).

   

GASD4......OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I have just read and watched several of your videos and this is exactly what I was looking for!!!!  I am going to start shaping the behavior with a clicker (I knew I bought that for a reason after deciding that Balabanov positive methods work so much better on my dogs and even though only one person in our club uses clicker training) as soon as I get the right sized dumbell.  I watched the first several and will do this step by step following your videos and let you know how I am progressing.  THANK YOU...

And not to hijack my own thread, but Bodeus is amazing and so are you and your husband!  The AMAZING things that you have accomplished together from agility to the WUSV is a testement to the dog,, to you and positive training.  What a wonderful, full life you have had together.  That is the life that every German Shepherd should live and the life every good human wants to provide.  Letting the dog reach their full potential, giving them a life full of love, learning and bonding.  Amazing.  You are really wonderful and I know you feel blessed to have had Bodeus and he has been blessed with you as well. 

Thanks and glad it helped. Not me though!!!! I wish. Bodeus.com has helped a lot of dogs and trainers, I think.

Well thank you for letting me, and others, know about that site, as I had never run accross it before.  You are still an angel!

I did tell the author something similar not too long ago. :)

Pardon me but those retrieves are slow.  Holding the dog back by the collar and waving the dumbbell in front of the dog's face before you throw it are not allowed.  Even with the loading and the prey help, the retrieves are too slow to get an excellent score in a trial.  Now comes the crying.

Eventually this dog went to the WUSV, so he could not have been too slow.