techniques to improve my dogs grip? - Page 3

I teach bark and holds all the time with no sit in place :)

Sunsilver, you sure can teach a bark and hold without a sit. Not even closely
related to the sit.

The bite can be used as a reward for retrieves, for focused attention in obedience etc.
Can even be used as a reward when tracking. And yes, dogs with 
high fight drive are sadly a minority, but, you will also see that rewarding with a tug
in obedience can create chewy grips in very high drive (maybe not so balanced) dogs,
not at all uncommon in the Malinois. I'm talking about very advanced levels of training
though, if you get a chance to get out to a very active club, you can see this in person,
much easier than trying to explain. 
 

SS, the dog can and does learn the sit during hold and bark training. A dog which is sitting and staying in place because it was to told to sit /stay is not really doing a "hold", it's merely faking it. Same for the "guarding" before reattack. But there are plenty of fakers out there going through the motions and not really doing protection.
Putting a BH on some dogs before bite work is a good idea. But for others, with medium drives who need encouragement to "bite", BH first is likely to shut them down. It would be like applying the breaks before the vehicle is in motion.....non-productive. Another way is to think of teaching a colt to stop and stand before you teach forward movement...you likely end up with a balking colt.

This is a forum for people to learn about dogs and German Shepherds...You listen and learn...Some have intelligent things to offer and others just lurk and chirp once in awhile...To accept the Good and you disregard the Bad...It's simple...If you can't take the criticism then your in the wrong place...

We are supposed to be able to learn from one another...It doesn't always work that way...But I think of it as always Learning...Sometimes we learn what NOT to do or people NOT to listen to...But it's still learning...

As for your problem with a Full Grip...Maybe the best thing is to take a couple steps back and work your Obedience with a Tug...then work the dog and teach him to go FULL and to Stay FULL...It's the same technique as using a sleeve but sometimes with a dog like yours the "thought process" is different for the dog and his view point...

*Prey Drive creates Full Grips...

*Defense Drive creates more Frontal Grips...

It's the nature of training a dog...You must first understand what Drive your dog is working in and how and why he's doing it...Then understand what you're causing...Genetics does play a large roll in the grips...but you can modify the grips to a certain point...

"Slam" has a lot of very good things to say about training...But you have to understand what he's telling you...Sometimes it's not easy to understand theory without having actual hands-on experience...

~Bob~

↵Q-man nailed it here:

"Slam" has a lot of very good things to say about training... But you have to understand what he's telling you... Sometimes it's not easy to understand theory without having actual hands-on experience...

If you don't understand how body language can affect a dog, specifically a dog with issues already,
then once again, I'd say leave the bitework development to a skilled helper. You will be able to 
accomplish more in one training session with a truly good helper than you will by jacking around
with your own dog. 
 

thanks for comments, appreciate it and the varied approaches, have to read my first post, where did people get the idea i am agitating my own dog??????

i use a tug or ball or food as a reward for obed and when he was a pup i did some very occasional prey bites on a sleeve myself but i don't agitate my own dog???

as far as obed i am going back to food as he has the least drive for it, tug gets him too excited and ball just makes the dog lose it's little mind.

my most recent vid is not worth posting cos the stupid dog actually was biting pretty well, i pm'ed it to a member here who did not see a major problem specifiaclly with the bite, dam dog performed better for the camera, i will try catch a more representative clip of the problem, or maybe the dog is just progressing?

planning a training session with prison dog trainers who want alook at him this saturday, if all goes to plan i will record and post that no matter how good or bad it is. the session will be indicative as the dog has never seen a suit i mean literally and i think they will make him search indoors and bite off -leash on a suit, well that is the plan.

Rik hope i did not get you pissed, i am no expert, i am just another swinging dick nobody newb, not trying to sell or promote anything. i don't think i have ever posted to suggest otherwise? but please point out if i have. sure i have been around more practical working dogs than a lot of breed experts ever will but the training like most practical things is pretty basic.

i did say the dog had a 3/4 grip not a 1/4 grip or a 0/4 grip, the idiot just loves to bite, i only want to consider ways to make the bite fuller and calmer is all, and appreciate the comments. 

sunsilver, your dog has worn its teeth down to the gums??? WTF, sounds like AC should be called on you???


oh and apparently slam is right

slam is right and............

slam is right  :-)

VK, he's 11 years old, and for most of his life has liked to chew on rocks.   If there are no rocks available, he will go digging to find one.
He developed this habit because he spent the first 3 years of his life chained to his dog kennel on a piece of sandy ground. I guess it was a way of amusing himself. His original owner said he gave up buying him toys because he'd just destroy them.

He once dug up a rock that weighed 12 lbs. and put it inside his dog house!

As for his grip, whenever he takes a ball from me, he opens his mouth as wide as he can, and gets it as far back as it will go.

sounds horrible situation, poor ol fella. not judging, i guess you are one of the good guys....i hope.

I wouldn't be crying abuse just looking at the wear on teeth. It only takes one rock to ruin the teeth. I have a rock retriever, if I let him. Saw one roll when he was a pup, and from then on he'd want to pick them up. And you'd think those canine teeth were made of butter, how they were worn down to nubbins before I could remove all rocks from his reach. I think of getting those titanian tips put on, if it ever gets painful from a nerve exposure.

But at least you get the most important point:  Slam is right.