I know my pup had prey drive. She absolutely loves fetch. She is also interested in tug. I am watching power of training with tug. I noticed only older dogs are in that video and teething ends around 6 months. So do I just wait and play fetch as she is really reliable and I use the same method of OUT, mark and reward with throw. Or just continue to try and work tug. She isn't intense and doesn't latch on. I have reviewed and reviewed his video and my personal conclusion is that it is either the tugs or her teeth that keep her from really digging in. I don't want to hurt her training for later because I pushed her.

Typical sessions: chases tug and gets it shakes or pulls a time or two and the lets go. I re engage her. Repeat and then end on the best note I can. She gets excited in the game she just doesn't hold on or bite vigorously. She is around 10 weeks old. We are in a garage so not a lot of distractions either.

**ps I am trying to not let my hope of her being able to be trained in drive change based on all these super malinois I see who are better than she is at age 7 weeks. But I have faith in her.


thanks

She's 10 w/o - relax and enjoy your baby dog there is no reason she can't be trained in drive.

Dogs do get more intense as the mature. My youngster enjoyed playing a bit of tug as a baby dog. But food was his main love. So we had short exciting toy sessions that quit before he was ready and just used food for any training done with any sort of distraction. His drive and focus for toys really increased at 7-8 m/o. I just got more leather tugs because he now LOVES them.

My cattle dog wouldn't have much to do with even a rag at that age and now he grips decently for his breed. I wouldn't worry about it yet.

I don't know if I'd be using a tug at 10 weeks. I had a heck of a time trying to find one small and soft enough to not intimidate a young pup.

How is she on a rag or small ball?

Ditto the above posts.

When the pup is a little older then try a flirt pole.

There are a few dogs that can do tug work through the teething but I don't think there is any reason to do it.

She loves her chuck it ball. I throw about 5to 8 times and stop and then do again. Short sessions and she is crazy about it. Though I use the same marker system with out command. I.hold ball still in her mouth say out and as soon as she does mark YES and throw ball.

Thanks guys I was hoping it was some that comes along later.

At 10 wks old be sure and not ask for to much.

A puppy's attention span is zip and they can get bored quickly.

Always be sure to end on a hing note and not "try fro just one more".

That only lets them know that they can quit when they get bored.

 Quote: Bob Scott

At 10 wks old be sure and not ask for to much.

A puppy's attention span is zip and they can get bored quickly.

Always be sure to end on a hing note and not "try fro just one more".

Yes. If she isn't looking at me her nose is glued to the ground. We always try and end on a high note. Thanks

How often are you playing fetch? How far are you throwing the ball? I'm pretty conservative about fetch games until the growth plates are closed. Once a day like that is fine but I wouldn't do it multiple times a day.

Short maker sessions with targeting (paw targets, nose targets, rear end, ect) or basic ob are great to work on at that age. Just keep them at a minute or so and use super yummy treats!

thanks.

mostly once a day. If its twice it is just in the garage late at night only thrown 5 or so times and only about 20 or so feet. The main session is outside. Throw about 4 times and roughly about 50 ft and then were done. I will definitely shorten that distance just to keep her physically healthy (bones).

Great advice everyone and thanks. I will posts some pics of me and the pup to bio page soon.

regards

Hey, Daniel. Sorry I'm just catching up with this thread. We have started quite a few IPO pups in the last year, and I have some input you might find useful.

Instead of trying tug with the very young pup, we set him up for later by imprinting and building the prey drive. We also try to elicit some barks when in prey mode, but that may not apply to you. We imprint by doing lots of chasing a rag and a flirt. We try not to let them catch until the end of the game. We use a burlap rag because it has a more life (prey) like appearance, and is exciting for a young puppy. A puppy with ball drive will also love a flirt.

We do a few minutes of teasing and chasing. If the pup catches, we may give a slight tug, but usually we wait a second, and the pup will drop the rag. In that case, we immediately snatch the rag away and tease again, reinforcing the you-drop-it, you-lose-it notion. If the pup catches and wants to run off or thrash the rag, we take the rag away and redirect, returning to the game later. If the pup ;oses interest quickly, we may encourage some carrying and possessing of the rag.

We always, always try to end the play before the pup loses interest. We want him jumping on our legs for the rag when we put it away.

We don't usually teach an out until the tugging is established. A young puppy who retrieves may anticipate the out in expectation of a toss or a rebite, and release his grip. Older pups learn the difference and will stay engaged when biting.

You don't want any real tugging until after teething, but imprinting needs to start as early as possible. TD starts teasing his litters at 4-5 weeks.