The video I did on Drive-Focus and Grip with Bernhard Flinks is one of the most popular training videos I have every produced. There is only so much so much information that can be included in a 2 hour training video. This web page is designed to answer question that trainers have on this method of training. If you have bought the video and have a question, let me know and I will answer them here.

1. I have a young dog that I have started in drive work. It is not ready for OUT training. How do I get the toy away?
   
   
2. My young dog jumps around when I try and bring her into my arms. She will sit for the focus but squirrel away when I try and get her into my arms.
   
   
3. Should I use a Prong collar in the drive building?
   
   
4. My dog bites my hand when I make drive.
   
   
5. Should I use the bite command while I am training drive with my young dog?
   
   
6. Can I do drive building work with my dog's favorite toy and play fetch with that same toy?
   
   
7. My 15 month old DDR pup loses interest in drive work after a few minutes. What can I do to build his drive up?
   
   
8. When I try the "Into My Arms" exercise, my dog tries to back up or lays down. How can I correct this?
   
   
9. My dog barks when I don't give him the ball when doing focus work. How do IO stop this?
   
   
10. I took my dog to a Schutzhund club and the trainer corrected my dog. He is now afraid of this person and will not perform at trials. What can I do?
    
    
11. My dog mugs me to get the toy when we do drive and focus work. How do I stop this?
    
    
12. When going around in circles for "Into My Arms," after the first time, my dog doesn't want to go in a circle anymore. Should I try a prong collar?
    
    
13. I have purchased 5 DVD's and wonder what order I should be using them in.
    
    
14. My dog does great with obedience work at home, but at the Schutzhund club she has a hard time paying attention to me. What do you suggest?
    
    
15. I am wondering if the Building Drive & Focus DVD is the right thing for me and my dog. What do you think?
    
    
16. My dog has a great toy drive, but we have a problem with her grip - she is very mouthy. What do recommend?
    

Building Drive & Focus $65.00+s&h

QUESTION about the Out:

I have a young dog that I have started in drive work. It is not ready for OUT training. How do I get the toy away?

ANSWER:

Use FOOD. This allows you to keep the training on a positive note. There is no pressure on the dog to take the toy and it doesn’t create stress for a young dog.

To Top

My young dog jumps around when I try and bring her into my arms. She will sit for the focus but squirrel away when I try and get her into my arms.

ANSWER:

The process of a dog coming into your arms is a factor of the bond between handler and dog. If you cannot get your dog to feel comfortable coming into your arm, then you are ahead of yourself trying to do focus work.

You need to spend more time grooming your dog and really loving the dog up. Show the dog that you care for it. Every time your dog is near you - stroke its side and give the soothing “THATS FINE.” The same goes when you groom the dog. Constantly tell it “THATS FINE” This process is accompanied by a slow stroking of the dogs side from behind the collar to the back elbow on the hind leg.

As you progress into the drive work its only necessary to bring the dog into your arms for 1/2 of a second. Just enough time to stroke its side one time, just enough time to say “THATS FINE” and let the dog run again or enough time to take up the string and play tug.

It is critical at this point that when you take the string in your hand you don’t try and jerk the ball out of the dogs mouth but rather take up the slack in the line and play tug. At this stage of training the goal is to teach the dog to come into your arms and feel comfortable being there. The goal is not to teach a firm grip. To try and YANK the ball out of the dogs mouth (like we will later on in training to improve the grip) only causes the young dog to feel nervous about coming into your arms because it thinks that you are going to try and take the toy away.

To Top

Large Tug

Should I use a Prong collar in the drive building?

ANSWER:

No - there should be no pain involved with the drive building phase of training. If the dog has a prong on - turn it around so the flat side is against the dog's neck.

To Top

My dog bites my hand when I try and make drive.

ANSWER:

The dog has not yet learned that the toys are YOUR TOYS and YOU give success when the dog does what YOU want. The dog still thinks that it’s his toy and he takes the toy when HE wants and not when YOU want.

This is demonstrated when you put the dog into a sit after drive. These dogs will jump for the toy. They have not learned to sit and focus. They need to learn that jumping brings no success. If necessary, have a second person handle the leash to give a correction when the dog starts to jump. It usually take 3 or 4 days of work to get the dog to understand this.

To Top

QUESTION about Drive Building:

Ed,

Training my pup for a patrol dog. Do you recommend when doing the drive exercise that I use the bite command when the dog is chasing the ball and when I reward him for focusing on it?

Rick

Answer:

Rick

A good question.

You should ONLY use the bite command when the dog if rewarded (drop the toy) out of a focus. You should not be using the bite command while you are making drive.

To Top

Orbee-Tuff Ball

QUESTION on Drive Building:

Hi Ed,

I purchased your video Training DRIVE, FOCUS, & GRIP with Bernard Flinks and my question is that my dog loves his ball on the string which I also use to play fetch with him. Normally he brings it back and drops the the ball. Should I be using this toy to do the training? would I not be able to play with him with this toy not until the training is over?

Thanks for your time.

ANSWER:

Good question.

1- All play with the dog should stop. From this point on - his play is his work. That’s the beauty of training in drive. The dog looks at drive work as play.

2- When you work this dog it needs to be on the 20 foot cotton line - ALL THE TIME so you have control of the dog all of the time.

3- Use the ball he likes. Then later in training transfer the work to the other prey items. I go into detail on this in PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR THE HELPER DVD.

To Top

Preparing Your Dog for the Helper $65.00+s&h

QUESTION on Drive Building:

Hi Ed,

My name is Brian, and I have a situation that I would like to have some feedback with a professional dog trainer. I will try to explain this the best I can, and keep it as short as possible. I have a 15 week old ddr. He has many good qualities. calm, good nerve, not fearful of anything or anyone, but his prey drive seems to be lacking somewhat, for example, today I was working on bite training, he done good for a couple minutes...some nice bites... then lost his interest. He would chase the rag around, but never did get a good bite after that. I put him back in his box for about 20 minutes or so, then tried again. He had very little interest. I feel this is my fault. I didn't do a great job of imprinting, but I did do imprinting. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the problem is that I let him have way too much fun with another dog, and my question is, did I ruin the dog, and is it too late to bring out the drive? I believe he had it in him, and I believe he had it in him when I bought him. Therefore, I'm looking for some advice and tips that I can do to bring out the drive. Another thing is he does great biting here at the house, but when I get him at the club he doesn't show so much interest. So with that said, I will close for now, and hope to here from you soon.

Thanks,
Brian

ANSWER on Building Drive:

There is a good possibility that the pup is starting to teethe and it hurts him to bite. They normally teethe around 16 weeks. Also the correct amount of time to work a pup in drive is 2 to 3 minutes.

There are 2 training videos I recommend to people who want to get started protection training their dogs.

Building Drive Focus and Grip

Preparing Your Dog for the Helper

Both tapes are based on the training methods of Bernhard Flinks. Bernhard is a German police K9 handler and top Schutzhund competitor.

The beauty of this training program is that the handler does all of the foundation work in protection training himself. Young dogs can start at 8 weeks and go to about 12 to 13 months of age before they ever bite a helper.

Older dogs receive the exact same training as young pup, they just proceed through the program at a faster pace. My DVDs teach handlers how to do prey drive work (through games) with their own dog.

Dogs learn the foundation that they will need when they eventually meet the helper for the first time. I compare this to a father teaching his child karate. When he practices with his child he is not fighting with him, he is simply teaching the child the mechanics of the moves. Through repetition the dog becomes confident of his ability to perform an exercise.

I always recommend starting with the Drive and Focus DVD. This is the first in the series.

The Drive and Focus DVD builds a relationship of trust and understanding with the dog. The video teaches dog owners how to build drive in their dog. Every dog inherits a genetic level of drive, this varies from dog to dog. The training in this video shows how to bring a dog up to its genetic level of drive. The video also teaches the dog to demonstrate self control while in drive.

If you think of it, when a dog can demonstrate self control when he is in drive, this is in effect working under extreme distraction. This is the foundation of obedience training.

To become a competitive Schutzhund dog, Police Service dog, Personal Protection dog or Competition Obedience dog requires the dog to learn to control its drive. The later video series will train the dog that heeling, sit, down and come are drive commands and not compulsion commands.

Through this training we also show how to work at building a calm solid grip from day one. A solid grip represents good nerves and a clear mind. It represents a dog that is comfortable with his surroundings. If a dog can’t grip calmly and firmly in the presence of his handler he definitely is not going to grip properly when he is on a helper. We also teach the dog in the first steps of the OUT command.

It takes 3 to 5 weeks to work through the training in this video. When the dog has finished he is ready to move into the training in the second video. (Preparing Your Dog for the Helper).

QUESTION on Into My Arms:

I have this DVD and am having difficulty with the beginning part. When I try the Into My Arms part of the exercise my 12 month old dog either tries to back up out of my arms or lays down. I am persisting with it but wondered if you have any other ideas either regarding this behavior or how to correct it. At the moment he is mouthing the toy and often lets go when he lays down so we start the game again.

Thanks,
Mark

ANSWER:

First thanks for your business.

This problem you have is not that uncommon.

What I do is separate the INTO THE ARM training from drive work for awhile.

I make it a separate obedience exercise and do the training away from the training fields – I start it on leash in my home. Teach the dog the command into my arm. I make it come and I hold it – no corrections.

In the beginning I don’t make her hold it long – a second or two. Then mark the behavior. If she squirms and acts stupid I hold her until she relaxes. The instant she relaxes I let her go.

Then I will gradually increase the time in the arm. When I can get it up to 10 seconds or so I will take her outside on leash – do this in your front yard then on walks. Mix it up – when she does it in other places – go back and add it to the drive building. When you do this – DON’T DO THE OUT right away. Let her come to your arm – hold her for a second – then play tug with it again. Guide her into your arm while still playing tug and hold her – then tug again. If she is at all hinky – let her carry the ball off the field and have her out it when she gets to the crate.

Hope this helps.

QUESTION:

Dear Mr.Ed,

I bought the DVD 'drive and focus' and it works fantastic I have only a small problem, I'm at the focus part and hold the ball above his head for 3 sec. later 5 sec. and so on and he is doing great now I try to keep the ball longer than 5 sec. He tries to jump and I do exactly as shown on the DVD I just lift my arm higher he starts to bark and bark, I think by giving him the ball would only mean to him 'ok, I bark and I get the ball' and not to give him that idea I must stop play training, I keep the ball and leave him in the backyard after half an hour I try again the same thing happens, how can I tackle this problem? Thanks.

ANSWER:

Then it's time to correct the dog. The correction strength depends on the temperament of the dog. A simple "NO or QUIET" may be enough, with some dogs it may be a prong collar correction.

If you correct too hard the dog's drive goes away. Not hard enough and he continues to bark.

The reward comes the second after he stops barking.

QUESTION:

Hi, Mr. Ed
First of all thank you for your reply and second CONGRATULATIONS about your website we really need more people with the knowledge you posses in this field.

Before I proceed I find it appropriate to introduce myself and believe it's a good and polite way to give you a picture with whom you communicating. As you already know my name is Angela I'm greek grew up in Germany moved back with my parents to Greece when I was 17 after 2 years met my husband who was living in New York and came to Greece as well,we got married had 3 kids and we decided to come to Australia-Melbourne.

I always wanted to have a Doberman was never allowed as my parents thought a dog can't live in a apartment,when I saw that here in Australia all the houses have gardens etc. I said "now i will get a Doberman," because of not knowing much about dogs I started reading books to learn as much as I could about them before I buy one. I accidentally came across a guy who's bitch had a litter of 17 and he gave me one pup,I started the old fashion obedience training, enrolled in a Doberman Club and after 2 years my dog was no where near obedient and gave up training blaming my dog eg. it was not in his genes. However he was loved and as a pet he was ok. He died at the age of 14. Before I made a step to purchase a second Dobe I wanted to investigate further to find more out about the breeders and then about the pedigree of the future pup and came across VON FORELL. I was told that he has the best dogs etc. So I got my pup Sire: BLITZKRIEGER BARON DAM: VONFORELL FARO, it took me 14 months to get the pedigree papers (that's another long story). I enrolled in the schutzhund club called southern cross K-9 and my trainer, president and judge is John Mcdonald, we started with the prong collar to train the dog learned quick and he was doing ok. Now and then the trainer was handling him to teach and to show me what I was doing wrong this made my dog scared of John (trainer) because when he was correcting him the dog could feel the correction when it was my turn to correct the dog couldn't feel a thing, for the dog to come to me after a recall with John nearby he was making a detour to come to me just to avoid John. This was a problem when I competed for BH we failed, because John was on that trial the judge and at the long down the dog got up and sat next to me so I failed of course. So we changed to the e-collar to fix the down problem (still its a problem) the worst part is whilst at the down position he cries non stop e-collar or no e-collar many times other members yell at him"SHUT UP!"at the next trial I was sure that we do alright the judge came from the U.S.A. in the meantime the dog was showing big improvements (so I thought at the time) and the result was that he behaved like a dog that never had training done, he didn't even know what "SIT" meant. I was told he got away the first time, he did it again and it was the same ground and he remembered that he got away unpunished. I gave myself and the dog a break from training and did a lot of thinking instead and reading at your website I came to the conclusion that he became collar wise (collar on! no problems, collar off! who cares) and that I posses only 50% the title of the Alpha dog.To finish off, I think I need to start from scratch again and here I need your assistance please. Which DVD should I buy first and from where to start and finish? I leave it up to your advice. Just to remind you of the problems which are: not heeling correctly, not focusing, crying at down (leaking), collar wise.

But it's not all that bad, he has a strong drive and loves bite work. (I'm always optimistic). Thank you for your time and hope to hear soon from you!

Regards,
Angela

ANSWER:

It is 4 to 5 times harder to fix a problem than it is to train an exercise correctly the first time.

There are a number of things that jump out at me in this email.

1- Jumping right into a prong collar is not always the right thing to do on a soft dog. Many do not need this.

I recommend that you visit my web site and read a training article I
recently wrote titled THE THEORY OF CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING.

Allowing another person to take your dog and correct it is a crazy thing to do. When you don't know you should not be blamed. This trainer should know and he needs a lot more experience himself. Essentially this screwed your dog and it was uncalled for. I would cut my arm off before I would ever hand my leash to another trainer. I don't even handle or train Cindy's dogs and we live together.

If I can't instruct a person on how to handle the training and correction in a manner that they can follow my instructions - I will not work with that person.

I can't tell you that your dog is salvageable. All you can do is go back and start from square one with drive building. You need to build drive and build trust in this dog. That's done in my DVD on Building Drive and Focus.

When that's done you need to work into the PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR THE
HELPER.

In the mean time you need to learn to work with marker training (clickers).
Motivational training is the only thing that is going to help this dog.
When you take her through that and she completely understands it you will
have to work your way into corrections - but those corrections need to
fit the dog's temperament and distraction level at the moment of the
correction.

QUESTION:

I have used you dvd,training in drive and focus ,how do you get the dog it quit trying to mug you and take the toy? I can hold the toy in front of him and tell him to leave it and he will but when he knows it is in my vest it is a different story! Do I start with baby steps and work up to it? I am, age 67, 5 feet tall, first dog, with a 95 lb male German Shep. He is a good obedience dog but this drive work presents a challenge!

ANSWER:

This is a respect issue. I guess I compare it to dogs who bite the hand of the owner when going after the ball - that is a respect issue too.

The dog needs to learn that this ball is YOUR BALL and he only plays with it when you say it's OK TO PLAY.

I would teach this with a remote collar and low level stimulation. It will cure the problem right away and it will not diminish the drive of the dog.

I did a DVD REMOTE COLLAR TRAINING FOR THE PET OWNER. This shows how to do the foundation collar work.

Then when that's done and you have done some on leash training with the collar, you simply set the collar to low level (his working level which you determine - its explained in detail in the DVD) and when he does this you simply say NO and nick him. Problem solved.

I use a Dogtra 1900NCP on my personal dog.

Cindy (my other half) used Dogtra 200NCP on her dogs. It's a little smaller in size than the 1900.

There are less expensive collars on the market but I don't believe there are better collars.

I prefer the 1900 because it has a digital read out on the transmitter that goes from 1 to 127. This allows very precise control. I am raising a GSD right now and he started wearing the collar at 4 months. I would never own a dog again without using a remote collar.

Frankly a woman your size working a large dog should learn to use the remote collar.

Question:

Mr. Frawley,

I know your probably get 100s of e-mails daily but I have a question. I Bought your building drive and focus dvd last week I just started day 3 of training, my pup is 8 months and has never been worked or played with much-- his drive when playing with me is ok... But in the past when my 17 yr old son has played with him he goes into high drive, since I have started training my son has not played with the pup.It seems to me that the pup looks at me as the discipline man of the house and my son as the play toy, the pup will play with me,but not as hard as it does with him. What should I do? and how long should I play ball with him at a time? and how do you leave the pup high and dry? or is the pup still a little young to expect high drive?

Thank you in advance,
Matt

Answer:

First of all, you dog is giving you some very valuable feedback here.  Your son is more fun to play with than you are. Unless you want your son to continue to work with your dog, then I would make sure all the play comes from you and I would observe how your son interacts with the dog and try to emulate that.  Sometimes handlers ‘go through the motions’ but they really don’t put their feelings into it and they forget to HAVE FUN!

You only play with the dog a couple of minutes at a time, and quit before his drive dissipates. Steal the toy away when he is really wanting it, or trade him for a piece of food. 8 months old is not too young to expect high drive but with proper play you can build the drive your dog already has.  I have a 7 month old pup that I play with 2 or 3 times a day, for only about 2 minutes at a time.  His drive seems to increase with each session because I always keep it fun and I always end with him wanting more.

Don’t fall into the “one more time” trap that so many trainers do.  Quit when the dog is showing you the drive you want, don’t wait for him to get tired or lose interest.  If you have only been doing this work for a week, then you are just starting and I think you will be surprised at how his drive increases as you proceed.

Question:

Hi Ed,
When going around in circles for "Into My Arms," after the first time, my dog doesn't want to go in a circle anymore, so he lays down and tries to chew the tug. Then I take it away from him. Should I put a prong collar on him when he lays down and have him come and go around in a circle then come "Into my arms"? He has a flat buckle on now and when I pop the leash it doesn't get his attention at all.

Answer:

The risk you run with this is creating a really chewy grip or the dog spitting out the tug when you pop the prong. You want to the dog to WANT to do this, I wouldn't use a real correction at this point.

I would do 3 things.

1) Run faster and stop and take the dog into your arms quickly at first, before he can get a chance to lie down. Maybe after only a few steps, don't try to complete a whole circle right now.

2) Attach a line to the tug, if he does lay down I would jerk the tug away and start again.

3) Practice "into my arms" without a toy, do this a lot. The dog should want to come close to you. If he doesn't, it tells me he isn't comfortable with this yet. Back up your training.

Question:

I have purchased five DVDs, a soft sleeve, a medium bite bar, an orbee ball, soft jute bite bar, and a 2" aggitation collar w/handle. I have seen your drive and focus and am having little success with his drive and gripping the ball once in his mouth. He mouths and releases the ball. I am having success once he gets the ball and runs in a circle he'll come into my arms as the DVD states. It is the mouthing and gripping. It has been three consecutive days three times a day 5 minutes at a time.  Am I expecting too much too soon? I've tried to stop him from mouthing by telling him; nine and attempting to run in a circle quicker  I've also conducted the test on which drive toy he prefers; it is the ball over the bite bar. But every time he gets it in his mouth he won't grip it.  I'll pull it out of his mouth with ease with no yanking.  

In which chronological order of DVD should I use these DVDs.

1. Drive & focus 101E-D
2. Preparing your dog for the helper
3. First steps of defense 101D-D
4. First steps of bite training101B-D
5. E-Collar For pet 318-D

Thank you for your time and efforts in the matter,
Benny

Answer:

You don’t mention how old your dog is, but 3 days of doing the work is barely getting started. It may take WEEKS or longer depending on the dog. Five minutes may be too long, I would cut the sessions down to 2 or 3 minutes and leave the dog REALLY wanting more. I think you are expecting too much, too soon.

You can use the DVDs in this order:

Building Drive and Focus
Preparing your dog for the helper
First steps of bite training
First steps of defense

The Ecollar DVD can be used anytime, I would suggest you start watching and studying it now.  The work you do with the collar will be done separately from the drive work anyway, so it can be done simultaneously (in between drive sessions for example).

How old is your dog? 

Question:

Hello, I have a 13 month old female GSD and I belong to a local Schutzhund club, recently they started obedience class with the younger dogs. I have your video on Basic Obedience and Building Drive and Focus and many more, my problem is she is distracted in the obedience class by other dogs, at home and alone her drive and focus is great. In your video Basic Obedience you say you don't care for these classes because they are crank and pull, should I discontinue these classes and work more on her drive and focus and any suggestions how she can overcome this problem.

Thank You.

Answer:

I think you are rushing the distractions too much. If she is great at home, then move to an area outside of your normal training area and work there, then move to different areas with low level distraction. A class full of dogs is a very high level distraction and many young dogs would not be able to focus in that environment at first. Once she can give you excellent focus with mid level distractions, maybe train in an area where there is one other dog at a distance and gradually move closer.

Make sure your dog is really wanting to engage with you with no distraction all the time before you add more.

I want my young dogs to play with me ANYWHERE, ANYTIME and with ANY THING (ball, tug, towel, plastic bottle, pine cone, etc...)

When my dog can do this I am ready to add more difficulty.

Question:

I have a question concerning your video on building drive and focus. I was watching your video on electronic collar training and it mentions using this video. I was reading about it on your website and it sounds like it is meant for younger dogs. My dog is almost 2 1/2 yrs. old.

I have worked with him since I brought him home as a 7 1/2 wk old pup and he is an amazing family pet. By the way, he's a neutered male Rotty. I've owned Rotty's exclusively for the last 25 years and love the breed. Too bad they get such a bad rep. I work with him everyday in obedience using food as reward along with markers, either a "yes" or a clicker. As a matter of fact, I guess he's worked with all day in our normal living together and interaction. He absultley loves this and you can see it in his eyes. I haven't had any intentions of anything other than keeping him a family pet with outstanding obedience, and we track some for fun. Is there anything in the video on building drive and focus with Bernard Finks that we can benefit from? He loves going thru the obedience work but I'm afraid of it getting stale and boring and am looking for something new to keep his and my "interest" up. I have several of your videos including, Basic Obedience, Puppy 8 wks to 8 mos and just recently got electronic collar training and the pack structure videos. We have always used a pack structure type of training and I guess it's referred to as NILIF, nothing in life is free. I'm sure you've heard of it. I ordered your video just to make sure we haven't missed anything. I got the electronic collar video because he get's so excited when neighbors come over, if my wife has him on a leash, he'll drag his way over to them and pull her right along. (He loves everyone) Anyway, sorry for being so long. Let me know about the drive and focus video or any other suggestions you may have for a continuing training program for a pet.

By the way, awesome videos and website. I've learned alot.

Thanks,
Barry

Answer:

The Drive & Focus video is for any age dog, from puppies to adult. If your dog has prey drive using this video will help increase the intensity and it's also a great way to play with your dog and build a stronger bond in the process. If your dog has minimal prey drive, the exercises in the D&F video will help build it up.

I hope I answered your questions, thanks for your business. We appreciate it.

Cindy

Question:

Hi Cindy,

My name is Annette. I recently got a 8 week old ( now 14 weeks ) Dobernamm pup. I plan on doing schuzhund with her. I am brand new to schuzhund. I became interested in the sport after watching a few trials and seeing a couple videos of her mother doing protection work.

The breeder had the pups evacuated before she sent them to their new homes, to make sure the right pup would be going to the right homes, as some new owners wanted ob and two of us wanted working pups, and a couple of others to do different things.

I purchased a few of your DVDs before Lacey came home. Your puppy 8 weeks to 8 months, how to raise a working puppy, establishing pack structure, and building drive a focus.

So, here is my concern. Lacey has extreme prey drive and even focus for her play toys. She is way more toy driven than food driven. So getting her and keeping her in drive is no problem. The problem is her grip. She is very mouthy. She doesn't drop the toy but she mouths it alot. I have been doing the exercises that are in your dvd. I try to run her faster in a circle. I but her in to my arms very often, but she still mouths.
Even when I tug with her she mouths. Is this maybe due to the fact that she is so young? Do you think she will grow out of this?

I have been going to private lessons with the helper of the club I will be joining. He says this is a genetic trait. Is that true? This puppy's parent are both titled schH1 and two grand parents are schH3. Her grandmother on the mom side has schH1, FR1, French Ring Brevet, and Mondio Ring titles (she is the first dobe to ever title in schH, FR and MR ).

Anyway,I know that shutzhund requires a calm firm grip. So how do I get Lacey to not be so mouthy with her toy? Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Annette

Answer:

Hi Annette,

Your trainer is right, gripping behavior is genetic. You can ruin a good grip by bad training but it’s very hard to change a genetically shallow or chewy grip and then it’s very situational. When under stress dogs always go back to their genetically programmed behaviors.

I would be aware that she could be beginning to lose her baby teeth and this can cause discomfort and chewing. I don’t play tug with puppies during the teething stage, to prevent a negative experience associated with tugging.

All you can do is keep working with her (after teething) and promote a calm grip as much as you can. Depending on what you are using to work grip, you may want to switch to a tug or if you are using a small tug, use a larger tug that she can really clamp down on . I have found that a lot of dogs will mouth on a ball but have a great grip on a tug.

Experiment and see what you come up with.

Cindy