Brad I think you misunderstood my post. I wasn't trying to say that "Snatching the toy away during a chewing grip is not meant to be a game of tug for the dog". What I said was " Most dogs look at the tugging as "the game". All of these games you play are in prey drive though and they are in essence a game. I think Ed's words were "a rough game of tug". Perhaps I should be clearer when I write?

John,

Welcome to the board.

Would you please correct your profile to show your first and last names as two words?

Thanks. The forum rule is that we all post with our real names, so although it might seem picky, it's best that we follow that rule, which applies to all.

And back to the Flinks DVD discussion.....

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Would you please correct your profile to show your first and last names as two words?

Hey Connie,

I've tried to do that several times, but I can't find anywhere that lets me to do that. I think others have had the same problem. BTW, I think the initial entry of one's name (when registering) is where this happens. I vaguely recall entering my name correctly, then being mystified when itmergedintooneword.

Thanks,

AnitaGard

 Quote: AnitaGard

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Would you please correct your profile to show your first and last names as two words?

Hey Connie,

I've tried to do that several times, but I can't find anywhere that lets me to do that. I think others have had the same problem. BTW, I think the initial entry of one's name (when registering) is where this happens. I vaguely recall entering my name correctly, then being mystified when itmergedintooneword.

Thanks,

AnitaGard

Thanks! I will check that out. :>

Yours is pretty clear, actually, with the two capitals.

 Quote: johndoran

hi michael and brad
but what do we do if the dog is chewing and we go the snatch the tug away but the dog manages to hold onto the tug even though it is still chewy ? do we carry on drive building the dog or perhaps we run the dog around and start again ?


many thanks again john

John,

If you play tug when his reflexes beat you then you are actually teaching the dog to have a better poor grip (if that makes any sense).

What he will do is grip hard with just his canines or whatever he has in the toy. As long as you have pressure on the toy he won't adjust his grip because, as in the wild if he has his canines in a struggling prey item the dog wont chance losing that prey by adjusting the grip. Only when the prey relaxes or is defeated will he grab it full mouth.

If he beats you, (and it happens to everyone) then I would let go of the string and present another toy. When he drops the one he currently has you can immediately go into the drive building sequence again. As you do this, move away from the dropped toy so he doesn't lose focus.

If the dog is coming along OK then this might be a good time to do the snout clamp with him. Relax your pressure on the string and when he full mouths the toy, clamp the snout and play tug.

Howard

howard

chees for the excellent reply

regards john

Michael, after reading your comment I re-read your previous post and I think I did in fact misunderstand your original point, sorry dude.

Howard, how does your technique of presenting a second toy relate to the "two-toy-game"? I remember it being mentioned that this was a no-no.

Presenting the second toy will be a rare occurrance as long as you keep the dog from beating you when you snatch the toy away. Its nice to have the backup toy just in case. If the dog beats you then just casually bring out the other and carry on. No need to make a big deal of it, just stay fluid so the dog doesn't think anything special is going on.

I know exactly what you mean when you mention using the two toy game. In doing that game it is a constant trading of toys which can bring a hectic grip. Rarely trading toys when Doing the Flinks method should not be cause for concern because you are not conditioning the dog, merely adapting to a Faux Pas on your part.

If a handler has no coordination or timing, and he continually gets beat by the dog, then letting the dog out on the line again and bringing him back to your arms may actually cause more harm than good. The dog doesn't want to come into the arms because he knows that the bumbling person on the end of the line is going to try and steal his toy again. In his mind it is better to be away from the human thief than be close and worry about losing his toy.

My line of thought may be off but that is what I've witnessed by new handlers who can't seem to get the drill right.

Howard

No no, Howard; I think you're line of thought is bang on. It makes perfect sense (you're a good writer!). Anyhow, I now see this technique for what it is: a tool from the "trainer's-tool-box" used to overcome a hurdle in training (caused by whatever reason) and that it is better not to mention such techniques unless they are needed. The reason being that novice trainers tend to rely too much on the "tricks" to bring out success in their dogs and it can be confusing when one is told do A but not B unless B is done this way for this reason etc...