Question in Maturity - Page 1

Hi,

Im new to this board and enjoy reading up on different subjects.

I have a13 month old female, DDR blood, who we just adore. Great temperment. I work with my older female in PP (she is a czech/slovic cross) and she excells in this. Our DDR female shows no interest in rag work, tug work ect.

When we got her @ 3 months old, she showed nice prey drive, would chase the rag, ball, whatever. Also, the breeder did a great job with her socializing. She is a very confident gyp and has no enviormental issues.

I am hoping that she is just going throught a faze and that she will outgrow this. Last weekend we were at a training class with other pups being imprinted for rag/tug work. Again, she showed no interest in the decoy or rags/tugs. She has sat in and watched my older female work, along with other dogs work. Every few months we try her and its the same, no interest.

She is very alert and will watch people (sometimes even barks at strangers).

I would like to hear others experience with this.

Thank you in advance.

At 13 mo old she should definately be showing an interest in rag work but IMO should have been further along in her training by now and on a sleeve.  DDR dogs do mature at a slower pace but the drives are pretty much genetically there or not  beginning at the very early age.  She doesn't sound like from what you describe to be a high drive dog and may just have a low prey drive.  What has your TD commented on?

Thank you for your responce.

I havent taken her to my trainer for some months. (last weekends decoy was someone different). my main trainer was  having her watch the other dogs work in prey but i havent been taking her down with me lately and have been focusing on my older female.

last weekend was the 1st time she has gone anywere (for bitework) for about 3 months. he did get her to take a few bites but she was far more interested in the other pups. I will be going back to him this weekend and will get his honest opinion.

Iam fairly green to shepherds and doing PP so I cant help but wonder if I went wrong with not building a good enough foundation for her as a young pup. a mistake I will never make again.

I have read that the lines are slow to mature and I will give her some more time to she if she kicks in. if she doesnt, then she will be spayed and will make a great pet.

thanks again

holly

I have one girl that was almost 2-years before she showed interest in tug work of any kind.  True prey drive was there, just ask the cats and various birds.....  She's climbed trees after birds before and is the only one not allowed to go to the barn.  I got her an Air Kong (bigger tube shaped one) with a squeeky in it.  Now that got her interest going!  Since then she has shredded two shirts dragging me around by my sleeves, loves tugs, not so much balls except her jolly ball that she "kills". 

Maybe trying something reactive like that would help get her started.  And make sure your older girl isn't dominating and keeping her away from toys too.  (If you let them together that is)

I think with DDR dog's it varies. I had a pure DDR girl that at 2 months on up was into the work. My other girl wouldn't even start to focus just on basic obedience until she was 12 months old and she is 88.5% DDR. Some DDR dog's don't fully mature until their 36 months old. I knew of a person in Germany that wouldn't start training DDR dog's until they were in the range of 36 months of age. Every dog is different and will mature differently, as the same with their ears standing up at a certain age. That is JMHO

thanks for the replys....

she loves to chase cats....lol....its a pain. she also has a nice herding instinct. (we have pigs)

my other female is dominating so i have made more time with her alone. seems to be working great.

last night i took her down the river for a swim. brought one of those floating kongs. well boy she loved it. it was like looking at  different dog.

the other night while coming back from her prelims, we stopped at a store. my hubby, who is disabled went into the store and she was very alert, watching everyone. even barked a bit if they got too close to the van. someone held the door open as my hubby walked by and she lite right up. this is a new behavior for her.

thanks for the advice. it gives me a bit more confidence about her.....its much appreciated.

I know there are people that allow all their dogs to run together and "play".  I do not allow any of my females to be together, females can be so dominate it may keep a younger one from reaching their potential.  That could be part of your issue with your younger females drive.

I know it can be frustrating to problem solve some things when you're really new to the breed and training.  I myself am more afraid of doing something wrong that will ruin the dog so if there's something I'm not sure of or am concerned about I go straight to someone that knows the breed and has excelled in training dogs, working through problems and knows how to evaluate them thoroughly.  It may just be that you're doing something wrong and need someone more experienced to show you what to do differently to get the dog to work a little better for you???  I wouldn't give up on her yet.  In fact I'd put more effort into her right now.  The longer you let her sit around doing not much of nothing is not gonna make it easier for you. 

Animules,I made this mistake with Danka running with Zena.It really set her back.Danka has always been a slow maturer whereas Zena was mature early on.Zena within her litter was the Alfa female. To answer the original post.It is true that certain lines mature early on and others are late maturers. I cannot stress this enough.! With what you said about your trainer sitting her back and just watching is a good thing.Dont take premise with the other and throw away this one as pet.Give her time.Danka has bounced back at 4 even though I prefer Zena.She is willing to take pressure and is highly alert.I love how she tracks now and shows air scenting.Im not sure if she will ever be a protection dog and that is okay.