Hi Mara
I think he will follow me ok when i have the toy, but i mean if i give it to him and want him to bring it right back to me to play again, he doesn't come all the way. When i say pull, i don't mean in a correction way, i just mean a gentle pull of encouragement in my direction. Hoping im making some sense.

Cheers

Ok got it. But pulling him is still kind of counter productive. A natural reaction when you pull is for him to pull back - away from you.

I wouldn't be working on that yet. Give him a few weeks of just playing with you and building the desire to play with you.

I'd also teach a retrieve separate of the tug sessions

now your into the crux of it brian , how to get him comfortable enough that he has no issues sharing the tug with you , when HE has it .

some dogs ( retrievers lol ) will have no issues bringing the object right in , but BC's tend to be a bit more sensitive with respect to spatial awareness . . . their space vs your space and the invisible line that determines that boundary . . . how to get them to cross it . i'm working through it right now with my own young BC , henry .

the backchaining the others have alluded to is one way to break down that barrier .

you might also try playing him in a narrow hallway , closed at the opposite end so that he has nowhere else to go but to engage with you . i've also spent time with the dog in his ex-pen and small rooms where there is nothing else but to play with me .

also " come " is usually used as a obedience command . you can use it here , but you will probably then use something else for his formal recall . every little change in activity , environment presents a different picture that the dog operates in , and you have to be specific in what your command is , what it means , and what your expectation of the dogs performance will be . . . in this instance , don't say " come " if what you really mean is " fetch ".

and your use of the line is correct . . . it is not used to drag him in , but rather to encourage him and to prevent him from bugging out .

one last point , now that he he starting to " get it " , be cognizant of the " rules " you are putting on the game . there will be a fine line where he may determine you are asking too much of him ( at this time ) to make the game worthwhile , and you could see his enthusiasm to play the game ( the way you want ) begin to wane . . . it has to be fun for him to want to play .

Thanks Guys, points taken on board

"Hi Betty, he doesn't always eat his food straight away, may be 10 mins etc before he will eat it, i suppose i was happier with this, as when he came he couldn't eat it fast enough. Not sure if i am doing this right."



Do you walk away and leave him? You don't hover, do you?

Hi Connie

hes fed in the kitchen his bowls are in the corner, sometimes we are there and sometimes not, just depends.

Thanks
Brian

The little tinker has just snapped at my daughter, marking her wrist, not bad, but a little nasty when she tried to get an item she made back off the dog after he ran under the table, i got it back by swapping it for a treat. But his gaurding of items he should not have does worry me. She did try to swap him for a treat, but got her hand to close.

Things he can have, he will readily give up.

Its a pain, because he is doing so well and then he does this.

My daughter is fine and not overly concerned, pretty mature for an 11 year old.

Lock him up. He's telling you that he's not ready for free run of the house or easy access to things you don't want him to have.

JMO.

ETA; We've been focusing on training and let the management issues slip. Connie was afraid that would happen. Pack structure dvd would be just as important as training videos at this point.

Edited by Duane Hull (09/25/2012 12:13 PM)
Edit reason: eta

Wait until he gets her in the face, and if this follows the likely path, thats whats coming.

He can't have access to things he can't have. The toys are taken away except for training. Feed him on a schedule, leave him to eat it and if he doesnt, pick it up till the next meal time. You, not your daughter.Bribing him with treats won't teach him to respect your family.

Sorry Brian, its a long thread so I didnt take the time to go back over everything, but I'm sure better management would have been mentioned somewhere. How about a drag line and a crate? Has that been posted?

Thanks guys, i will started getting back to controlling him more.

What would you guys do, if he did this?