I've been working my guy for some time on bitework. We've overcome many problems, most of which I set the foundation for. I'm working on him striking and gripping with a fuller mouth currently, which he's taking to very easily. He stands calmly in my arms, and will hold onto the tug calmly while fighting, even when in a "front" position holding the tug.

However his carry is very chewy. And for the life of me I can't change it. As soon as I release the tug, I call him to my arms, then when I release him, he'll chew, even while running and I'm popping the leash. The only time he'll carry and not chew is if he's running off the field or to some other spot of the field. It's like any kind of on leash running, or "during session" running makes him chew.

Even if when he wins, and he lays down with it, he'll drop it on his paws and leave it, until I show interest, when he'll pick it up and hold it (albeit in the front of the mouth). So no chewing then.

He also likes to slip the tug to the front of his mouth during the fight after setting the good grip.

Any ideas on these two would be wicked helpful.

i don't mean to pee in your wheaties bro and i hate to give bad news but you may never be able to stop it. a large majority of bite work is genetic and if he has a mouthy carry it may be genetic. i could be wrong so don't get to upset yet. there are some really smart people on here that me be able to find away to counter the problem.

No one has anything more constructive than "pee-ing on my wheaties?"

Got to be some ideas floatin around out there.

I got the same exact problem, my 17 month old pupper wants to shake the snot out of the sleeve instead of carrying it. when our club reforms I'll try to address that problem, if we can fix it I'll post it

This will open up a can of worms but if your dog is full and calm while on the grip why sweat what he does when the tug is released or the sleeve is slipped? As long as the goofy stuff doesn't tranfer over while on the man I'd find another battle to choose. I've yet to see a trial where the sleeve is slipped and graded on how calm they carry and hold.

HOW DARE YOU!!!!...j/k

You know I was thinking the same thing. But carrying and holding seem to be integral to the Ber. Flinks method of doing things that I've been trying to follow. Plus I'll be damned if I'm gonna let my dog keep training when I know he has a problem that needs fixing.

Right now I'm trying running in circles on lead without the tug, so he relaxes about that activity. Except he's already figured out if he stays right on my leg he wont have to run, he just turns with me...too smart for his own good.

I'm also trying to not pop the leash when he runs. It seemed to work slightly last night. Just anything to remove stress from the act of running.

I'll keep everyone posted on his progress. Still open to suggestion.

ok, back up a bit and consider why trainers and handlers have the dog carry the sleeve or tug in the first place. it helps to relax them and clear the head. or at least its supposed to. making a grip and perhaps a little fight for the sleeve does put a pretty fair amount of stress on the dog. the "running with the sleeve" is intended to relieve this before the re-engagement. after the dog has cleared his head, the handler will either ask him to "out" or take the dog back to the helper with sleeve still in his mouth. depending on the age and level of the dog. certainly, if the running has an adverse effect on the dog, discontinue doing it. taking the dog into your arms has much the same calming effect plus you have the opportunity to control what the dog is doing with his mouth. you can keep a bit of pressure on the grip or place your hand under the chin to keep the dog from chewing. i guess, do what ever works, but don't keep running the dog around in circles if he continues to chew the sleeve/tug. the more you do that, the more ingrained it will become. yes, grips are genetic but that applies more to the depth or shallowness of the grip. JMO, but more often than not, the chewiness comes from training issues and very often it has to do with training the "Out."

I see your point. It does make sense.

At this point I wouldn't mind more ways for him to calm down. When he's very excited he still tries to chew even in my arms, so it would be nice to get him to mentally calm down a bit more.

I swear sometimes while running he'll hold it, but I'm not sure how to reward that versus the other. So it's goin...

I have a young female that fits this profile. Some things I consider are that she's high energy and a little hectic with everything she does, and she's young. From the time I first had her at 5 mos. I've constantly worked on calming...no petting until she's sitting calmly, she doesn't get to eat until she sits or downs or comes to heel with focus..calmly, in obedience we work on calmly holding her ball, I keep the commands calm. I don't know if your dog's temperament is the same, but calm is on the frontline of all we do, and as she is given time to mature she is improving. She'll be 2 the end of November, and this really is young yet. As the others said, if he's calm in your arms, you don't need to run. Keep your praise and stroking calm.
Sue

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This will open up a can of worms but if your dog is full and calm while on the grip why sweat what he does when the tug is released or the sleeve is slipped? As long as the goofy stuff doesn't tranfer over while on the man I'd find another battle to choose. I've yet to see a trial where the sleeve is slipped and graded on how calm they carry and hold.

I agree. if the grip on the sleeve is good while you or the helper are engaging the dog, don't sweat the carry.

My old female Elka NEVER and I mean NEVER would carry the sleeve. I trained her from a 7 week old pup and I worked on that til I was blue in the face.... Guess what? She always V'd bitework in trials and twice got 100 in SchH 3 Protection...

It took my helper at the time to say "HEY, let's worry about something else " I decided at that point to quit obsessing about it and it made training a lot more fun for me and my dog <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />