Quote: joseph eubank

Well barbara I have noticed over the past couple of weeks just watching her that she has a strong prey drive with two things a ball and my g/f dads golden retriever. They are inseperable when they are outside together. Constantly wrestling and when the golden retriever is walking around my gsd will lay down like she is trying to hide then just run after her to play. Then with the ball she is totally at a daze with it. I just want to know how can I harness that in other areas.

Joey,
Don't take this the wrong way, but the drive that has canines competing for the same object is not "ball drive" in the OB sense of the word - it's a totally different drive, and it has very limited utility ( frustration training, and that only works on a small sub-set of dogs ).

As Konnie said, you will want to begin using the ball as the reward, if that is what "turns on" your dog.

Check out this link to a video by Michael Ellis. If you can get any of his videos, you will find them a huge help!

http://leerburg.com/playem.htm?name=flv/4-19-10-news2.flv

One other thought... the more fun your pup has with other dogs, the less he will look to your for fun. I'm not saying to never let him play with other dogs, but would recommend that YOU are the center of his life before doing so. jmho.

 Quote: will rambeau

Joey,
Don't take this the wrong way, but the drive that has canines competing for the same object is not "ball drive" in the OB sense of the word - it's a totally different drive, and it has very limited utility ( frustration training, and that only works on a small sub-set of dogs ).

Will - I took his post to mean the dog likes to play with a ball, but also likes playing with the Golden...two separate things. Maybe Joey can clarify what he means. If it's competition for or play with the ball with the Golden, I agree with you 100%.

 Quote: Konnie Hein

Will - I took his post to mean the dog likes to play with a ball, but also likes playing with the Golden...two separate things. Maybe Joey can clarify what he means.

That is how I took it as well. Thank goodness the rest of you are here because I didn't catch the other option.

Well, here's to Joey checking back in and straightening us out!

 Quote: Konnie Hein

Hi Joseph:
You can use the ball (preferably a ball on a string to prevent an accidental swallowing/choking) as your reward in marker training instead of food if that's what your dog prefers.

Joey, I can't tell from your posts if you have any of these, but there are a couple of good videos that would get you started in building focus and drivethis DVD will show you how to use a ball on a string)
Builidng Drive and Focus

Again, I'm not clear if you are using marker training, but if you expect to get the focus and snappy obedience that you are seeing with other dogs, you MUST incorporate marker training into your training regimen. Here's a great place to start:
Marker Training DVD

If you are already using marker training, then make the investment in this DVD, which features Michael Ellis. The techniques that he outlines here will help you build a very strong bond with your dog. Your pup is only 7 months old, and you've only had him for a couple of months, so you should be concentrating on developing a strong bond with your pup first, IMO.
Michale Ellis, power of training dogs w/ food

A couple of things about training with food; train when your dog is hungry, and use really good treats, like bits of grilled chicken breast or steak, pieces of string cheese, or whatever floats your pup's boat. The higher value the food is, the more focus your pup will give you. Keep your training sessions very short and fun (like 5 minutes at a pop) and always end on a postive note.

There is no competition between the dogs. I just meant when finding out when her prey drive is at its highest is when she has her ball or is chasing and playing with the golden retriever. He focus is so on that nobody can break her eye off of it. I just wondered how I might be able to transfer this sort of drive and motivation in other areas to help better her training.

Well here also is a tid bit of info on her and how she is. We've had her since May 10th and at that time she had no training what so ever. She just turned 5 months when we adopted her. Now I've been able to teach her basic obedience commands. Sit, lay, wait, easy walk, run, out, get it, and toy. Right now I am working on her distance in which the command is given and the time in which she has to do it. When watching the videos online I see alot of the gsd's when told a command the dont break it well she breaks it lol unless i tell her wait. Other than that she does great in doing it and all have their own hand signal. I can not speak a word and just do the sign and she will do what I put my hand to do. I am currently working on pull with her when tugging and when trowing a string toy in front of her i am teaching to bite and release. I know that I can do all the training i just feel i am missing the part hey he is my daddy/boss i do what he says and right then and there and don't break from it unless told to and don't break my focus. Its so hard to put into words. If you have any more questions just ask.

Joseph,

Take your time with this dog and really put your focus on developing a relationship with her. The more you focus on 'how' to develop your relationship the more successful you will be. Capture her heart first and own it for a while before you start in with compulsion. Relationship is where the rubber meets the road and is found in the living of it. So how do you relate?
Inflection, tone, body language and much more speak to your dog loudly and she can read you like a book.

I am in love with being a gsd owner. There are things that she does that I've never seen with any of the dogs that I've had growing up or among friends dogs. For instance when out she does nothing but look at me. Say if I take her to work with me and I walk away from behind the counter where she is, she keeps her main focus all on me the whole day. And also when she is in the yard and feels like she is testing her boundaries with what she might be able to get away with she looks for me to see if I will catch her in the act like "hey am i going to get into trouble if i do this". Its so cute and I am consumed by it. I knew taking on a dog was going to be fun and a learning experience but never thought it turn out to be this great and everything else between.