Building Drive in a bitch - Page 1

Here's the long and short of it.

I have a bitch, 2 years old, showline, just had her for a couple of weeks.  I'm trying to figure out how to build a bit of prey drive in this dog.  Keeping her interest is difficult, if I can get it at all.

Works well for food, eager to try things.

I cannot get her to understand the game of tug...she only mouths, never really grips.

Suggestions (and "give up and get a working line" is not an option, sorry to disappoint )

I'm not sure how to get her to do something if it is not in her to do it.
You can keep her confined say an hour before you take her out to work with her, maybe longer.
Make the training fun.   Use moving toys maybe even use a helper.   See if there is anything that excites her.
I'm a country boy living in the woods, I would put the dog on a wild rabbit and see if she had any prey drive or not.
Thats what prey means to me.
See if she'll let you have the rabbit should she actually catch it.



If your talking about balls and tugs thats a whole different drive to my way of thinking.
Does she have anything, a toy or rug or bone that she is possessive about?
Some dogs just don't have any interest in it, you can't change some things.

I'm sure some of the Schutzhund trainers here can give you some advice, some may take the other road.
I don't train the same way.
You have to find a motivating technique for that particular dog and the tasks you want it to do.

That being said, you've only had the dog a short time, give it a little more.

Moons.

She likes to chase things (balls and what not), but she either won't use her mouth, or she doesn't understand how to use it.

She picks things up and carries them (parades them around all happy like), but the grip is extremely light.  I can't ell if she's unsure, or just extremely soft mouthed.

I couldn't send her after a rabbit....too gruesome for me, sorry :p

Thanks for the reply

The best thing is use a tug on a horsewhip about 6 feet long and make it like a rabbit jumping around and away from you she might not want to get it if it is to close to you and when she gets it yank it of of her and let her catch it again but be careful not to say anything  and  also not getting her tired. you can slowly build her drive with very short session .Also not to make it easy for her either frustration will build drive .

Just see if you can get her to take something away from you, praise her, egg her on and build from there.
Offer some resistance and gradually make her work for it.
The whip and tug is probably better than trapping a poor helpless rabbit and letting her have at it....LOL
That was partly humor.. partly not.
I doubt she would know what to do with a rabbit if she did catch one, rabbits can fight back and bite..
But thats all just nature.   Try to imitate nature with the tug.
What are you hoping to accomplish in the end if I may ask?

Overall I'm trying to get a good idea of what my bitch is, even if she is not the ideal of others.  Knowing things about HER through training will be able to tell me more about what to bring her too for breeding after her first one (I do not get to choose the stud).

I have ideals of my own, and while I realize they will take a long time to attain, I'm willing to put in the work.

Flirt pole?  That creates real fast, zippy movements most dogs cannot resist, and also puts some distance between you and her (for some dogs, even ones with drive, tugging is too confrontational at first).

I see,
Your evaluating this bitch for possible breeding.

A trotter was meant to trot, a thorough bred was meant to run.
Breeding the two together does not help either breed.

There are a few realities to consider.

You realize that changing the outward appearance wont change whats at the core and if your looking to evaluate you must take it at face value.

Whatever you can teach will not transfer in breeding.

If on the other hand your training brings out natural abilities then they were there all along.

I'm still not sure what your looking to do down the road but I wish you all the best.

Moons.

Who said anything about changing outward appearance?

I want dogs that can work and show, not one or the other.

I'm not foolish.  I know that what I teach won't transfer to breeding, but it certainly helps me down the road when I see what I need to build on and what I need to balance.

I like the AKC show ring...I also like the performance arenas.  Might be pretty damned hard, but nobody's going to tell me I can't do it.

That was just a figure of speech.
Your dog will either have what it takes or she wont.