Thanks guys,
Had a go at a few suggestions. I have left him with only 1 chew toy throughout the day and I bring the toys out and play and go away when we finish. In the yard the drive is still quite good and focus is good also, however tried at shepherd club yesterday and distractions of others is still there to a high degree. He really isnt interested in the toy at the club, even when we move away from other members. I put the ball away for a few days then brought it out in the yard and it was almost like we had to start all over again almost like 'I remember this game now...' after a few minutes. So we have have gone back to 2-3 times a day for 5-10 minutes a go and his drive for the ball has come up again in familiar surroundings.
I think the problem is not through persistance but the ball is only 80% of high value to him, not the '120% I will do anything to get it' scenario. When it gets to that level I dont think distractions will be an issue, its getting there...
I saw a documentary recently on training mine detection dogs in Iraq and they use a similar system to Finks and the dog needs to control his drive otherwise when he detects the mine, he may get excited and set it off. As a pup they put the dog in his crate and play with the ball and create the high value illusion and when he is at his peak, let him out to play with it. Over time the letting out of the crate is replaced with commands and looks to work quite well.
Any other tips on scaling the ball up the value chain? I think also I just need to be persistent and patient but anything I can learn and try on the way, all the better
Thanks again for your help guys
Dale