My new pitbull has an amazing prey drive toward my cats but pays no attention to a ball or tug toy. Is there anyway to move that drive to another item like a ball or tug so this great drive can be used in her training? any help wold be great. also would the building drive dvd be of use to me in this situation? thank you.
If the dog shows prey drive in other circumstances, but not when you bring out the ball or the tug, the problem isn't the object, it's the way you're using it.
Definitely get the Building Drive and Focus DVD; to answer your question, it will help immensely. You will learn to troubleshoot what it is you're not doing, and turn your dog on to the tug or ball.
More than likely, you aren't whipping the ball or tug quick enough to turn on the dog's prey drive, and/or you aren't making the dog miss often enough to build frustration (and as a result, drive).
Try attaching the ball to a long line and yanking it on the ground, the way you would tease a cat.
This is not really true. It could be that your not using the toy correctly however; some dogs have no drive for a toy and yet drive for other things, it depends on the dog. Helmut Raiser's book Der Schutzhund is a good book to read on understanding drives. Some people like to create a drive for everything a dog does. Helmut explains how drives are connected to behaviors that come out of maintaining and preserving it's own life. All the other stuff comes out of the 2 basic drives (defense and prey). E.G. ball (drive) is not really a drive because it comes out of prey drive. It is only a manifestation of prey drive.
If a dog has prey drive in one situation, for one prey object, but not for a ball or tug, the problem lies with the person manipulating the object, not with the dog's drives.
People make the mistake of thinking that drive is either there, or it isn't. That is usually not the case. Drive must be built and maintained.
A dog doesn't naturally see a ball or a tug as a prey object. It must be taught that they are prey objects, and this is the responsibility of the handler. If the dog has prey drive, it can be transitioned onto the ball or tug.
I failed to mention that this is a heavily debated subject, but I still would recommend the book by Helmut Raiser. Helmut is a German doctor who has participated in Schutzhund for many years and his book is a fairly simple short read. I think it can be found on the Leerburg website also.
Though the handler has his responsibility toward building prey drive (yes it can be built upon) it can't be created.
"If a dog has prey drive in one situation, for one prey object, but not for a ball or tug, the problem lies with the person manipulating the object, not with the dog's drives".
Though this could be true and quite often is, it is not true all the time. The key when talking about drives is to define and understand what that word means. Until then people are only talking two different languages.
thanks so much for the replies. I searched all night in the forums and have got some great ideas that I havent been using like tying an object to a rope and pulling it. I am going to try this in the next week and see how it goes. I hope I can transition her drive from the cats to something else because she is intense.
thanks for the book suggestion I will check it out. thanks again.
Sounds like a great idea. Don't allow your dog to grab the rope though. She will figure out very quickly that the easiest way to get the toy is by grabbing the string first. This will set your dog up for a poor biting technique later on. A small tug is commonly used for this type of prey work.
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