Welcome, Derek!

There's so much going on here, and you have received such good answers, that I just want to ask two questions: How does the school agreeing to allow a therapy dog to accompany the child to the school translate to that dog being able to "go with him everywhere"? That would be a service dog, and I understand that you do not mean service dog, but therapy dog.


Who is Kim?



PS

"On another note I have a 11 week old Dutch Shepherd male who's an absolute animal! He's amazing, easily trained and is a fiend for the puppy sleeves."

This is really a separate thread. I hope you will start it.

Welcome, Derek.

Let me apologize for being a little cranky. I should know better than to post at 2 a.m.

As you can see from the thread I linked, there is a lot of helpful info on this webboard about bringing the drive out in your dog, IF it is in the dog. I would not give up on her. You have a lot to learn about protection work and training in drive, and bouncing from one prospect to the next will teach you little. I accepted the challenge my dog presented me, and I have learned WAY more than I would have if I'd had a cookie cutter working line dog. Enjoy working with the dogs you already have and take them as far as you can, and the dutchie you have may pay off.

I have yet to view the BF video in your OP, but have heard it is excellent, and a friend has promised to loan it to me. Don't pass up an opportunity to view that video or any of the videos that Leerburg offers. They can only help. Learn as much as you can from as many sources as possible.

Another tip; If you click on a members name, you will go to their profile, and from there you can view all of their posts. This will help you feel more comfortable with the people that are offering advice/opinions. This is a good forum, but you will get honest opinions when you ask a question. Don't expect to hear only what you want to hear.

Again, welcome.

 Quote: Derek Dreger

but even her food drive lacks... she will not chase the food and one miss and she loses interest immediately.

The best way to bring out food drive is to interrupt her feeding schedule. Let her miss some meals until she shows interest in the food rewards. You already seem familiar with the dynamic presentation, which you will need after you develop the food drive. I wouldn't worry about that type of presentation until you develop the food drive further. Right now, you want her to be hungry and accept the food readily when offered.

Another thing that will help; once she will accept food as a reward, feed her entire meal during training sessions. This will drive home the knowledge that she must do as asked in order to be fed. NILIF= Nothing In Life Is Free. That is a key principle in the training you find referenced on this webboard.

These tips can be found in clips in the "free videos" section of this website.

Its a good video, but you arent going to build something that isnt there. The phrase Drive Building is used by everyone, but its more in the context of teaching the dog what to do with the drive. If she has no prey drive, there's nothing you can do, thats just the way its going to be.

I'd stick to the obedience training you're doing and hopefully the interaction with you will have enough value to her that you'll both enjoy it.

Sounds like the puppy will give you a better shot at what you want.

 Quote: steve strom

Its a good video, but you arent going to build something that isnt there. The phrase Drive Building is used by everyone, but its more in the context of teaching the dog what to do with the drive. If she has no prey drive, there's nothing you can do, thats just the way its going to be.

I'd stick to the obedience training you're doing and hopefully the interaction with you will have enough value to her that you'll both enjoy it.

Sounds like the puppy will give you a better shot at what you want.

In fact, I have also read (by Armin Winkler) the phrase "drive promoting" in order to avoid implying "creating."