My 3 1/2 month old GSD pup has no focus!! I have been starting her in drive work, but she only wants a given article for a few minutes before getting bored & looking for something new. The only toy she'll focus on for any length of time is a P. Butter filled kong! (She's VERY food motivated!). Any ideas??

Granted she's not top work/sport lines;and I won't be devestated if she's not successful in schutzhund or protection, but I think she's capable of doing it, & I figure working with her is good experience for me! I've only done puppy bite work with one other dog,who is still one of the highest drive dogs I've ever met (she's Australian Shepherd & Border Collie, but she was made for this work - I wish I'd been able to train her to competition level!) and that was 5 years ago - I've been out of the whole scene for a while now due to life changes.

I know I need the videos - they sound great, and I'm going to order them asas, but in the meantime any advice on keeping my pup focused is greatly appreciated!

14 weeks is a baby...a few minutes is enough...a couple of sessions of a couple minutes each is enough for one this age!

Well that's good - obviously I don't want to push her too hard, but since she isn't ideal drives, I do want to imprint her as much as is reasonable. We'll just continue to keep it short & sweet. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One thing you can do with a pup that age is some simple beginner obedience exercises, like "sit-stay", walking on loose lead, but first and most importantly the foundation for any type of work you want to do with her in the future is attention training. Cup her face in your hands and say "Look at Me". This is a domination thing that dogs do (glare at each other) so she may be reluctant at first. Praise her for even the slightest glance AND MAKE SURE SHE LOOKS AWAY FIRST...don't let her stare you down..you are the "Alpha" here. Build up from that first glance ( this will come easier once she realizes it isn't a challenge) to a few minutes. Then add the command "Pay Attention...Look At Me"..Once you train her on these two phrases any future work that requires her attention to be on you will come easily by you giving the "Pay Attention" command..
Hope this helps a little..."Look at me" and "Pay attention" are the basis for all teaching because without the dog's focus on you...you can't teach her anything. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />