December 14, 2012

My real question is what tug is the best for a smaller dog and are there any special training techniques for working such a small slow developing dog?

Full Question:
Cindy,

We have a very small female puppy (~12 lbs @10 weeks) and are working with her to encourage prey drive as a start for protection. She seems to have good prey drive for moving objects (compared to my last dog and my friend's GSDs) and is crazy for the leather bite rag. I want to take it slow with her development since my last dog was damaged by a well respected trainer starting defense work too early (this is just my opinion and suggestions from other working breeders of this type of dog, also as Michael Ellis and Ed say in the videos some dogs are not meant for protection).

My real question is what tug is the best for a smaller dog and are there any special training techniques for working such a small slow developing dog?

I am leaning toward the puppy tug, fleece tug and synthetic puppy tug.

Thanks
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
The tugs you list would be a good assortment to start a pup. I like my puppies to bite a wide variety of surfaces so they don't develop equipment bias.

I believe the video you already have is what I would follow: The Foundation of Puppy Bite Work. The size of the pup isn't that big of an issue as long as you keep in mind that your physical size may inadvertently overpower her... My Malinois Rush wasn't really any bigger at 10 weeks old than your pup.

You may also want to check out Teaching Protection Skills Without a Decoy DVD. I hope this helps.

Cindy Rhodes

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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