My 17 month old Boerboel is no longer interested in Tug. I started teaching the rules at about 9 months when I got the DVD. Prior we had been playing the two hose game with Jutes and it was successful for a while then she wanted to retain the jutes and chew them. So we stopped the jutes for a bit then I got the tug DVD and saw what we were missing in engagement. So the rules were set pretty easily and she had some retention issues but it went well for several months. Her out is perfect. I have used leather, jute, cloth, and rope to avoid bias and she hit all of them. She preferred the ends of the tugs and the handles so I cut off the handles. She also focused on the tape or end wrap on the justes. She still targeted the ends. She seemed less interested in the non handle tugs so I bought longer ones since I thought there may not be enough room to strike when my hands are taking up more room on the tugs. But it was about the same. She is high food drive but maybe low prey drive?


She would then only would hit it when it was stationary and slightly above her head. My explosive presentations go unappreciated. She became less and less interested in the game and the tugs. We have stopped until I can figure out a plan to fix the foundation work and start over.

Anyone else ever have this problem? I would like to reintroduce the rules and the tugs and get back on track.

How do I build up prey drive for the tugs when she seems uninterested in them all together now?

jmo, I have seen several BB as they have become quiet popular of late.

a breeder explained that they generally were not selected for prey drive as it was counter productive to their main function as a PPD, they did not want them chasing rabbits and such around Africa when they are supposed to be by your side ready to defend you from a lion and such.

this theory seems consistent to every purebred I have seen, not many. I know people have crossed them to try get them to be more prey driven.

it seems you are going against the dogs genetics and it may lead you to disappointment.

I friend has one as a street dog and it is great, the guy also imported knpv dutch shepherds, his BB is a star around his very young family and lives in the house. his dutchies are all locked in kennels when not working.

his BB is good at it's job but he does not train it like a herder, a self-defeating proposition. he uses the dogs emotion, loyalty and protective instincts to train it. if he wants a game of fetch or tug he gets a dutchie out.

you may have to just give your dog an extended break and start again from scratch with a flirt pole for very short durations.

why do you need this dog to be in drive for a tug?

hope this helps.

As mentioned the Boerboel isn't a high drive dog.

The end targeting is normally from improper presentation on the handler's part. That should be covered in the Ellis DVD.

Are you using marker training?

How do you reward for the out?

Have you tried using a flirt pole to bring up her drive for the tug?