Sounds good, Duane!

More progress last night at the club. We missed last week's club meeting due to work, so we hadn't done any bitework since my last post. I discussed what we wanted to work on with TD and a helper, and we decided to pick up where we left off last time, with me getting her engaged and then handing the sack off to a helper.

When I clipped her to the fence, she immediately lit up, but she was not focused on me. She seemed to be more interested in the others who were standing around. Instantly, I decided not to work her myself, but let the helper try. From the get-go, she stayed out front at the end of the line, focused on the agitator with little encouragement from me. She hit harder and more intently than she had previously.

The helper got three or four good bites, but both he and she were fading fast in the heat, so I took the sack. Sadie pretty much ignored me and kept turning back towards the helper, who was now off to the side. TD snatched the sack from my hands and she immediately turned her focus to him. He got two nice bites and ended on an extremely high note. I felt 10ft tall and bullet-proof when I led her off of the field.

Excellent!

Last night, we made the transition to the bite wedge, and Sadie took to it straightaway. Her striking force and grip improved immediately. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are now progressing steadily.

Way to go, Sadie!!!

Good job, Sadie!!!!

Since my last post, we have continued to work Sadie on the fence using the bite wedge. I have focused on improving her strike, targeting and grip. She has responded well. Last week, we removed her from the fence at the end of the session and did a short bite, and she wasn't fazed.

Encouraged by our progress, I spoke with TD before last night's session. I mentioned that I wanted to start considering working her off the fence. He said she was ready, so I clipped my 6' leash to her harness and took my position on the field.

The work was excellent, except for one poorly timed bite which the helper faulted himself for. She usually gets better after the first or second bite, and last night was no exception. She was targeting well, striking hard and deep, and holding on. We also tested her threshholds by increasing the pressure, and she stayed out front, full forward with a nice bark. We never did get to a point where she turned away, even under very heavy pressure. She seems to really love the fight.

The one down side is that she is way more focused on the agitator than the wedge. She seems to prefer working in defense to working in prey. We've been manipulating it as much as we can, and we've got her fighting to keep the sleeve, but when pulled away from the fight, she drops the item and returns to face the helper. She likes winning and killing the prey, but is not interested in possessing or guarding it.

She would pbly make a seamless transition to the sleeve at this point, but I would like to continue to work on targeting and grip. I like using the wedge for this, but my inexperience leaves me wondering if this is the right approach, and if I should go to a targeting sleeve and work on these things with that. My sense is that I should get the strike and grip more polished before changing equipment again.

Any input would be helpful.

Duane, I have nothing to offer other than to tell you what a great job you are doing with Sadie and to acknowledge all the hard work you have put in with her. She's come a long way from just being interested in chasing dragonflies and, thanks to you, is becoming an awesome dog. Very impressive. Great job to both of you!

Awesome job. Gives me a little bit of hope for Marco. We've been struggling with targeting and grip issues with him too. Grip has been a tiny bit better the last two sessions, but the biggest problem is pressure. He doesn't like it at all. Lets go and comes back to me so we stopped that and we're just keeping it fun for now. I'm doing his BH in October and that will likely be it for him unless he has a major turn around. I have a GSD puppy coming. Litter was born Monday. Anyway, don't mean to change the subject, just having similar issues. Great job getting her to this point.

Greg; Thanks. It wouldn't be possible without such a wonderful willing student. She's a joy to train.

Kory, thanks for the feedback. Fits right in with this thread. Have you and Marco done any tracking? You could still do that and OB with Marco to keep him working and training while you train the pup.

FWIW, IMVHO, Marco is showing avoidance and that may be affecting his grip. Part of improving grip, from what I've seen in my limited time, is building calm and confidence under personal pressure. A dog that plays tug intensely may not be as enthusiastic when he's pressured too much. If I were you, before writing Marco off, I'd figure out where his threshhold is. If you haven't already, see if your TD and helper (NOT YOU AND A BUDDY AT HOME) will chain him and add distance to the agitation. Ask them to crack a whip and yell from far away, then advance SLOWLY until find the distance where Marco turns or his bark changes. Work at that distance until he's comfortable.