hi all

from australia, i learned about drive building from a trainer over here. i have a 6 month old border collie. as pups (she has a sister) we used to run around the yard with a stick from the palm tree, they loved it, they chased us around with no problems. then my puppy got wind of the game, and say back and watched, waited until the tree got close to her and 'pounced' the other pup just goes nuts and will chase for hours.
Now with the drive building i learned from the the other trainer, it was almost exactly the same as bernards video with 2 exceptions. he had a circle of control, in which when the puppy won the prey item, you walked the puppy around in a circle until she dropped the item. I was to do this for 3 weeks to build her drive. (sorry if this is a long post)
i purchased an orbee ball, and used this. Maiya though just doesn't seem to be an orbi ball fan.
if i am running with the ball she will think i am the prey item and go for the ball as well, but she just doesn't seem interested.

I purchased a piece of wood with a chord on it, tied the ball to it and did the long pole thing to get her excited. a little stimulated but again not so much. in the video it says some dogs jus don't have the amount of prey drive. I thik i am just doing something wrong, becuase we also go to the park, and if a bird flies low then she is after it like a rocket chasing for at leas 30 to 40 sec until it flies up and she can't follow any more.

lastly, if her sister is playing with the ball with me, she is allabout getting the ball.

can i get a few hints on how to increase her affection for the ball? or should i just try a new toy altogether.

thanks heaps
bret

Hi Bret,
I was just sitting down to address a few issue of my own, and your post is very similiar to what I wanted to address.
My dog is from the shelter, GSD/bordercollie (?) not very toy oriented, but has high prey drive for live moving things, kids, dogs, wildlife.
I can get her drive up if I keep her on her leash, and kinda tease her with a stick, getting her to chase it, but keeping her slightly restrained, then I release her and she will chase and run for the stick. I keep the sessions short to keep her enthuasiam up. I have also found that since I have been doing alot of focus/marking work with her making eye contact with me...she seems more driven to play with me.
We have been taking agility classes primarily to build her confidence, and I think I am finally seeing the rewards, she just seem more confident to cut loose, and have fun.

I also work in short obedience sessions around the play, to mix it up, and she is more up and focused with the obedience, and it seems more fun for her that way.

I'm not a trainer, but this seems to work for my girl.

Ed's video's have helped me tremendously, I refer back to them often.

Linda

Do you keep your pups together, or seperate when you are not around?

From your post, it sounds like your dog has a bit of free time where she can entertain herself. If she can do fun satisfying things on her own (ie, chase a bird), then she doesn't have a very good reason to focus on you.

Also, remember that your dog is still a youngster, and doesn't have a long attention span.

I think I would first off curtail her freedom. Crate her when you are not with her. But give her several short (2-3 min) training sessions throughout the day. And plenty of exercise where you are in control (ie, on leash or in a fenced yard). Make yourself the center of her world - and a very interesting center.

You can also try other toys. But if she is free to entertain herself how she chooses, you probably won't get the desired results.

If you haven't gone through and listened to the podcasts here, I'd highly reccommend doing so! They are a wealth of great information. I'd start with "How to become your puppy's pack leader".

Good Luck!

Bret - I am sorry but success lies in the details and running in a circle until the pup drops the prey item is not close to what I show in my dvd. Thats going to bore the dog and take drive out of it not add drive.

Frustration builds drive - not monotony

I am happy to say that a new tug toy i purchased has given maiya the interest i was looking for. She loves the toy and we will play tug for ages, and if i let the toy go she will not just drop it and lose interest. I am hoping that after a couple of months when i decided to go back to prey drive training, this will be an integral step in establishing that high prey drive i know she has.

cheers
bret

I have a female ACD about 5 months old that I bought a Sigma Pseudo Scent for and I put the powder mixed with home made play dough, into a "kong", and she's addicted to it. Every time she wanted to play with the kids, or chase birds, or chew my couch.. I made a game out of it with the kong. Since then she carries it everywheres. I needed to get her attention off people and onto something else, so this is what I did. Otherwise she'd chase the kids and nip heels. This is a bad thing when kids come over. I'm not a police officer, my neighbor is for the city. He borrowed Sara for a day to "test" her where he knew the true scent would be... the ball stayed @ home. She was in the house 3 minutes till she found the "stash" hidden in a flour can in the cupboard. I truely believe most if not all "drives" can be re-directed into something productive. Any comments?