I have a 12 month old GSD. We attend out local GSD club which is great from a training and socialisation perpspective.
I am looking for some advice that may be a little different to the normal about handling distractions. My dog is not aggressive but has dominant tendancies. By this i mean when we walk, he has to be out in front always. I have Ed's DVD's on drive and focus, basic obediance and dealing with donimant and aggressive dogs. Unfortunatley in the state that I live in here in Australia prong collars are illegal (not sure why, I think there were some inappropriate handling of them years ago). I use food and the toy and works to a low degree but I must keep feeding little by little literally to get his focus. I have the comp heeling DVD of Eds and find it fantastic, just wanting to see if there are any other 'tricks' of the trade that others have found successful.
When we walk and he gets in front, I will mix it up and turn and walk the other way and so forth. I am seeing some results but not to the degree I would like.
The main area i want to improve on is focus in class. With no disctrations, his focus and grip on the ball as per Flinks video is fantastic. Get other dogs around and he is virtually disintereted in the ball or focus 'game'. I try to add in little by little distractions at a time but not improving very well.
I am considering getting a second dog so he may get familiar with other dogs and lose interest in them at the club.
Any 'diiferent' options would be great.
Cheers

I am in NSW. Are you permitted E-collars in Victoria? Some people have found Cesar Millan helpful in dealing with this issue - just a thought!

Dale,
What type of training is your local GSD club doing?

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Thanks guys,
Brooke we are permitted e-collars in Vic, just wanted some ideas before i get to that stage. Cesar is very good and we watch frequently and his message of exercise, discipline, affection stands true. I think in my little guys case the distractions are enormously high that he wants to play more than anything. I know i need to become the best play toy he has to reduce the distractions is where i need to improve.

Randy we mainly do very basic obedience at the club. The instructors are great and i mainly use it for socialisation for the pup. He knows commands well, it is just the distractions. They have the sliding scale between pure motivational and escape training as Ed mentions frequently. I am finding Bernards schutzhund training a whole new training program and am finding success with it, just a little hard with distractions.

Also, occassionally i use a halti which i am having some results but would rather focus on his behaviour than on putting a 'band aid' on the situation.

Apart from expressively high voice, and outragously jumping around is there anything that you guys use to increase focus on you (food works well, but not when other dogs are around. They are much more interesting...) I maybe a little impatient. I traing him each night 2-3 times for about 5-10 minutes at a time.

Thanks
Dale

Dale,
Other dogs can be a annoyance to us all and if misery enjoys company you have plenty. I've been working my 20 month old GSD against distractions now seemingly forever, and other dogs can still upset a good session. As a for instantance, today. I'd arranged for two tracks to be laid in a local back off the road field. Yep, you guessed it, we arrive at the field and find some woman walking three dogs, loose for crying out loud. No big deal, we walk around for a while, she leaves. Okay, so we start tracking. Jeeez, we get to what should be the end...........No article! What the heck! My dog is casting around and I don't know, so I start cursing myself for not bringing a second piece of bait so she can find something and head back for a rest and do the other track. I'm pulling flags and she ranging. We're almost back to the start and she comes up with the bait! The only thing I can figure is that one of the other dogs picked up the glove and dropped it some where off the track. So now I'm wondering about the second track. Just about when we're ready to start, holy cow, a man and a dog show up! For crying out loud I use this place for weeks at a time with out seeing anybody, today it's like grand central station! My dog will not keep her nose down, she will not take her eyes off that other dog. Damn, the whole session today turned out to be a complete bust. You've got company my friend, you've got company.
To get back to the thread. Do you train only? Or do you mix play and work together? My self, with young dogs I'm always mixing up the play and work, and most of the work is disguised as play. From there I move the exercises more and more to straight forward work, slowly. But dogs get bored too, don't follow the same workout routine day in and day out. Most of the time I take my dog out I don't know what we're going to do until we get there, see how I feel, see how she feels. Sometimes we do nothing but walk, no pressures, no rules (beyond not pulling me around that is), just relax. When we work, there is always play after. And when we play there is always work exercises involved. Keep it light and easy......it's play. We enjoy our time together, always.
Your idea of getting another dog though I think will only multiply your problem. Not two fold, but three times over. Take care of one issue, and then if you feel up to it ask for more. Fair enough? Think about it.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Hey Randy,
Thanks for sharing mate. It is nice to know that others are sharing the same frustration. This is my first GSD and really don't know what pace we should be going at/ progressing and really what to expect. Ed's DVD's help me out enormously and with advice such as what you havr explained, it is getting easier. I have lived in a house with malamutes before and are very playing full but headstrong and the reason I chose a GSD was for obedience so I want to make sure I am doing it right and not just relying on the dog with the expectation that he will just do as i say because he is a GSD.

Thanks and I will persist with the 'magic' ball on a string. We are actually making great progress, just thought there maybe a few tips or short cuts. But as with everything I guess, persistence and hardwork will pay off in the end.

Cheers
Dale

Dale,
Building the drive in your dog is going to be a key issue for you when it comes to the distractions. Once you have that drive built up in the dog it's much easier. The toy has got to mean more to him then the dogs, it's as simple as that. Of course there will come a time when you'll have to use compulsion to help you but get that drive built up first.

Thanks Michael,
I have been working away with him for about 4-5 months with the exercises in the drive and focus DVD. We do this 2-3 times a day. In the yard or when we are alone on the field it is fine, his focus is fantastic but you're right I need to push on further and be persistent as when there is another dog around, all drive for the ball is lost.
Any other tips on making the ball mean the world to him?
Cheers
Dale

Dale,
My dogs drive for the ball started going sky high when she didn't see it so often. You might try making it disappear every once and a while. Bring it out every other or every third day. Try it for a couple of weeks.
Be sure to let us know how it works out.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

The advice Randy posted was the same advice that was given me when I posted about my dog being distracted by smells on the field. I would be trying to train him, just me and him alone on the field, and all he wanted to do was sniff the ground. He was in high drive but just for sniffing. It was mentioned that perhaps his tugs/toys were routine and although in our backyard he would do anything for them, in a less familiar place they didn't hold his interest.

That advice hit home and coupled with Ed Frawley's advice of keeping balls, tugs, and toys put away when not in use (I fail at that), I'm changing my ways