Anyone have any thoughts on the differences on training Rottweilers vs. German Shepherds or Malinois? All I have done in the past were group obedience classes some good, some not.I've belonged to clubs in the past and done sheep herding and carting with them. Most of what I do now I've picked up here. I cant imagine that there arent a lot of people training Rottweilers the way Bernhard Flinks does things. When it comes to obedience including Schutzhund, is there really breed specific training?

Actually, Bernhard does mention a slightly different method of training for some types of dogs in Ed's "Training the Motivational Retrieve with Bernhard Flinks" DVD.

Bernhard prefers to reward the dog by tossing it a ball, but he also demonstrates a modified reward technique on dogs that prefer to fight and tug with their handler.

He does mention that rotts in particular seem to prefer this form of a reward (fighting over a tug rather than having a ball tossed to them like most prey-driven shepherds).

You can watch the DVD for Bernhard's (and Ed's) detailed explanation on the matter as well as a demonstration of this "modified" technique by Bernhard.
He does go on to say that the ball reward works best for dogs that are "clear in the head" and that often the dogs that prefer the tugging reward are not as clear in their heads


Edited to clarify that this isn't necessarily breed specific - Ed and Bernhard just mention that rotts generally have a tendency to prefer this fighting with a tug approach.
Bernhard explains on that DVD how to figure out which approach to take with a particular dog. Great DVD, I highly recommend it!
Who knows, your rott may be an exception and actually prefer the ball-on-a-string reward

I personally like the tug. Some dogs like to bite more than they like a ball. It depends on the dog more than the breed.

He fits the tendency. He'll retrieve a ball on a string but he loves the tug. Thanks Yuko.

Glad I could help Steve.

The way to figure out which reward method to go with - as explained on that DVD - is the following: you toss a small tug to the dog, let him chase it down and see what he does next.

If he carries it around, then use method 1 (reward by tossing a ball on a string). If on the other hand, the dog brings the tug back to you and shoves it into your leg to get you to play tug with him, then go with method 2 (playing tug with the dog).

Love your photo, by the way!
Gorgeous happy-looking rott... he's completely oblivious to the crying infant next to him, too funny

Thanks Yuko, method 2 for Andy. No doubt. He'll spit the ball out when he brings it back. Steve

I dont believe there are breed specific methods of training, rots for the most part are thick headed meaning it may take longer to get them to under stand. doing everything the same every time is important, stay with the basics for as long as you need, dont be in a hurry. I havent seen any PSA rots, I have seen several schutzhund rots. I think for the most part they are a nice breed and very capable. Dont be in a hurry and your dog will do very well.

 Quote: Lance_Wright

I dont believe there are breed specific methods of training, rots for the most part are thick headed meaning it may take longer to get them to under stand. doing everything the same every time is important, stay with the basics for as long as you need, dont be in a hurry. I havent seen any PSA rots, I have seen several schutzhund rots. I think for the most part they are a nice breed and very capable. Dont be in a hurry and your dog will do very well.

Here are a couple Rotties from PSA

http://www.psak9.org/excel%20sheets/psaTrialReport_071606_quakertown.htm

http://www.psak9.org/excel%20sheets/psaTrialReport_061006_lehi.htm

nice. thanks for that imformation.

Thanks Lance. I think I did try to rush. He was so focused and did everything with such drive as a puppy I thought it was my training but in hindsight it wasnt. When he got a little older he just started going through the motions. Now I've back tracked and basically started all over and he's doing great again and I'm really enjoying training with him again.