Hello, I have a 3 year old dog, I am trying to teach drive and eventually focus. (I have the flinks DVD)

I know he has the Prey drive. If I were to choose out of 10, about a 9/10.

The problem: He loves actual prey like cats, mice, rats, basically anything that is not a human or a dog. But couldn't care less about toys and balls.

The orbee ball I purchased with my building drive and focus DVD, does nothing for him, bite toys, tugs, balls, nothing, or very little.

The only thing that gets his prey going is small animals.

So how can I chanel this prey drive into say; a ball on a rope, or a tug?

Thank you for your input!

Know anybody with a sewing machine? Go to a fabric store and get some of that long furry material that looks almost real. Make a lure that is tug sized. 3"x8" in a rough oval shape.

Get a long horse whip - one of the cheap like 8' long ones - not the nice ones that screw together in the middle. Attach the lure to the tip of the whip.

Chuck that out in the grass and make some prey movements with it. I bet your dog will go for it right away. It's pretty magical

 Quote: tedefthymiadis

The problem: He loves actual prey like cats, mice, rats, basically anything that is not a human or a dog. But couldn't care less about toys and balls.
....
The only thing that gets his prey going is small animals.

MAN! can i relate to that !
i guess it would be out of the question to put a small animal on a 6 inch string lol (just kidding).

anyway, i'm glad to know i'm not the only one!
i'll be watching this thread along with the one i've got going on the same problem...good luck & wish me luck.

thanks for the input.

If I were to get him excited on the fake animal on the horse whip, how could I eventually change this prey item over to say a ball or tug?

Flinks says in the DVD, some dogs don't relaly go for the balls right away, so start off with something he is crazy about, and work up to it. (Or something to that degree)

thanks again

That's right. Use a size medium one-handle puppy tug next on the whip. Then the same tug on a string.

For bitework, get a medium regular tug. Then a large. Then a bite pillow. Then a soft bite bar or soft sleeve. Then a hard bite bar. You can do this without ever using a ball.

For OB, stick with the medium puppy tug. In heeling, tuck it under your arm or stick it in your back pocket. You can do this without ever using a ball. I really like the "pocket toy" tug that Leerburg sells. It's probably too firm for your dog, but it's easy to hide and handle for OB.

A few points from the video for you regarding your question; find an item your dog likes. This is a no brainer for you as you have already pointed this out yourself. Keep in mind that over time dogs sometimes change their preference; mine did. The horse whip is a good idea too, even though your dog is no longer a very young puppy. I've found that sometimes a dog will not play "this game" when the item is too close to the handler. Use the whip (or like object; I used a broom handle) and work on the "into my arms" exercise a lot. (Be strict on yourself as to how the into my arms is worked. Become very familiar with this portion of the video.) When the dog is comfortable bringing the prey item to you, loose the whip. My main piece of advise is move the item faster. One of the main handler errors pointed out is that the prey item is often not moved fast enough.

Review the beginning steps to drive building presented in the video again. At the stage you are at if you have already watched the entire video, then review what you need to work on RIGHT NOW so that you are thouroughly familiar with the material before attempting the training. If you try to go too far too fast then you will not make the same amout of progress as if you were to progress at a level your dog is able to; think of the later portions of the DVD as the goal you should be working toward. There is a ton of info presented and it can be a little overwhelming if you do not know what to look for and where in the content of the DVD it is found. Hands down this is the best piece of information I have in my library of reference material on dog training; study this video well.

Thanks, I really want to take it slow, and work on getting him excited, once I get to that point, I am having a problem when I take him into my arms, he would rather run around with the prey item, and mouth the hell out of it, since he thinks it's actually prey. (fake duck)

How can I get him to calm down once he is in my arms?

thanks

Well first off, I noticed in another thread dealing with D,F&G that Anne told the OP to hold off a little on the "into my arms" until drive has improved a bit. I think that is good advise.

But when you do get to that point in your training you have to proceed at the dog's pace. Follow the instructions on the tape, circle and then slow down as you say "into my arms" and bring the dog in for one second where you run your hand down his body (from collar to hind leg) and then run again.

Don't just watch but visually study how Bernhard Flinks did this and try to mimic his form and timing.

Do only 1 or 2 repetitions of this for each session over the following 2 or 3 days. Then GRADUALLY increase the duration. Think about how the dog's body feels in your stationary arm (the one not petting). If you do this right you will actually feel the tension relax. Now you probably won't feel this for the first week or two, don't worry, at the beginning the dog is learning to feel comfortable just approaching you while he has the prey item. Anyhow, when you feel the dog relax, that is time to run again. When the dog is your arms do not bring your petting hand past the collar. The goal is to teach the dog to be comfortable inside your personal space. If you pet him on the top of his head, infront of his eyes, or close to his mouth (where the prey item is) it can create stress in the dog (conflict for the item) and that is the exact opposite of what this training is meant to accomplish! If the dog is getting too mouthy you have progressed too quickly in your trainingand you need to either go back to just running or spend less time "in your arms" (even if it goes from one second to one-half second).

Right now this is pretty well all the information you need as this is stage you are at in your training. Not to say that other memebers won't have valuabel input for you, just that I don't want to boggle you down with too much to think about for the time being.

Do you keep your dog's favorite ball, tug, etc... available to him at all times. I made the mistake of leaving my dog's, I mean my, orbee ball available all the time and he wasn't always interested in playing. Once I kept it away and only brought it out when it was time to train/play, his drive level turned up a notch or two.

Even if you are not doing drive work the toys shold never be available at all times.