I have a 8 month old f gsd which I have had since she was 4 months old.
She isnt all that much interested in playing and I can get her to go after a tug for a few minutes and then she couldnt be bothered much beyond that.
A ball on the string shell chaser if I throw it a few times and then that gets boring to her also. When she does go to retrieve the ball she doesnt go after it in any sort of hurry.
I have had 5 other gsd's in my lifetime and they were all crazy for playing and its frustrating not being able to get her to do the same.
I have all of Ed's dvds and really try working her but she doesnt seem too interested.
I keep the sessions short and try and stop before she gets bored but it doesnt always work out that way.
In my house I am the only one who handles the dog, feeds her, grooms her etc etc.
She is always on the end of a leash or in her crate and Ive managed to keep her out of trouble so corrections have been to a miinimum. I have done everything not to be a disciplinarian aas I would like to be able to get some protection out of her both for my own self and for my work truck.
I bought her from John Henkel in Ct. Her father is Olex von Wilhendorf SchH3 and her mother is from Italy and is a SchH2.
All in all she is well mannered and everyone comments how well she behaves for being a puppy. I wouldnt want to get rid of her but it is frustrating that I cant get more of a response from her and I wonder how this will effect our training as she gets older.
When we are out in the woods or on the field and she sees a squirrel or birds or anythiing that moves for that matter she really goes for it. at home we have a cat and she doesnt want any part of him and if she had it her way shed kill it or so it seems. When Ive held her back her whole body tenses up and she wants to go super bad.
If I could only direct this same motivation for the object I want her to go after Id be a happy puppy owner.
Is the fact that she would run a mile to chase down a fleeing animal the same as prey drive for a ball or tug?
Is the fact that I cant get her to play with what I want her to a handler error or is it the dog? In another post I read something about a sleeper and that it could come out later...just wondering if this is really so or if I am wasting my time trying to get her to do what i want.
I have her with me a good part of the day as I am a contractor and take her to work with me. She either stays in the truck on a long lead or is with me.
Any help would be appreciated. When I got her I was seriously thinking about getting a dog from Ed but all that tlak about working dogs had my wife intimdated with the kids at home so I went with a show line with parents that were of high caliber and did well when doing work on the field.
Well I hope you guys can give me a hand ...if this forum dont have an answer then there probably isnt an answer!

There are a couple of things that I wanted to comment on. First, if you were looking for a protection dog you really should have stayed away from show lines. In my club, we have both working and show lines and there is a big difference in the level of drive in the two. I know that some may get offended at this and I am not saying that show dogs cant do protection, but from what I've seen and heard from the trainers at the club, most aren't any good at it.
If you have Ed's video you can try reviewingthe building drive and focus video or switching the prey object to something she likes more. Last thing I will say is that they make car/truck alarms and these are probably a better idea than sticking a dog in your truck.

My 4 month old working lines is pretty much the same...loses interest in toys quickly, but will chase a cat to no end. I was given some advice and told to keep play sessions short and intense, maybe less than 2 minutes, then put him away in a crate after. Always leave him wanting. Maybe tease him once in a while without giving a bite. Play with two balls instead of one in order to keep things moving (and again, play for a very very short amount of time). Play with the other dogs in front of him to get him excited over the toys (but don't let him get it). Choose the items he likes first, before progressing to what I like. It's worked so far, he's already exploded in drive for the short amount we play. I'm hoping it gets further than that as it does seem he has some potential.

My personal feeling is she is really comfortable sitting and moving about with you all day, if you are fairly active she is getting quite a lot of visual stimulation, I would crate her for 2/3 hrs before, I played with her, try using a kong stuffed with food, if she has food drive easy to test,I stuff my kong with raw mince freeze it and if she has food drive she should start showing some real interest in it..you will see fairly quickly whether she is interested or not.
The fact that you keep her on a leash may be restricting her a crate is always a better choice, also if you are the
pack leader she maybe hesitant to engage with you, Puppies hardly ever engage with pack leaders for play, but choose other puppies of there own pack rank so maybe keeping the lead off for longer periods may help, she may be feeling intimidated, "subtle pressure" of the lead sounds funny, I know just try it see if it improves otherwise she just may not have very high prey drive.

Hi Chris, have you tried different toys, games, etc. Do you make it fun for the pup? I know that different items bring out different levels of drive with my dogs, maybe you need to find the right item that sets her off. how about a short session in the morning right out of the crate. Whats the breeder say about it?, good luck, AL

Thanks for all the quick replies.
Let me just make a couple of things more clear.
I dont really have the dog sitting in a truck all day waiting for someone to break in.
My truck ( a 14' Utilimaster work truck ) is actually more like a wood shop on wheels then just a shell of a truck.
I dont have the dog sitting on the front seat of a truck all day long. In the back of the truck I made an area just for her with a bed which i located over the cab so that she can go lay down, feel safe and not be under foot. She actauly seems to like being in the truck better then she likes the house and sometimes when we get home she looks at me like, "do i have to come in?"
The cab of the truck and the body of the truck are connected so she has the freedom to move about on a long lead and the back doors stay open all day, everyday !
The only time the truck really needs to be watched is when Im at the local Home Depot or somewhere else like that.
As for car alarms...I grew up im Chico, Ca where there was no need for a car alarm and if you had one it would have kept the meanest, baddest guy in that town out of the vehicle. Now I live on the east coast, Long Island to be exact. Car alarms are a waste of money out here!! You hear them going off all the time and no one looks twice. As a matter of fact if you hear an alarm your probably best off looking the other way because if whoever is stealing over atthe other car sees you looking then you might be next. Actually it might not be quite THAT bad but alarms do go off all the time and no one looks twice.
My buddy last summer in the same business with an alarm had his tools stolen about a year ago. It happened in the 15 minutes that he was in the store. He called the cops to report it, when the cops came they told him that now he needs to be REAL careful because the guys that stole his stuff know that he needs these tools to work and so they know he will go out and replace them. Meaning that the thiefs no if they come back in a couple of weeks they know that all those tools will now be NEW tools for the stealing. That being said, Ill take my chances with FEEDING my alarm as opposed to SETTING it.
As for the show line vs working dog that I chose, like I said, the wife wasnt crazy about a working dog here with the kids and I couldnt reduce her fears when every picture of working dogs out there are dogs showing teeth and hanging from sleeves.
Things are really not that bad other than she is sort of lazy when she wants to be. Like I said...if I could only take that drive for a fleeing animal and direct it to what I want her to go nuts over then everything will be ok.
As for reviewing the dvds ...it hasnt come out of the player and I watch it all the time...in fact the puppy sits and watches too and gets very involved when she hears a dog bark on the screen or even if she sees alot of action. Im wondering if I put the tv in front of the crate and just play the dvd on a conitinous loop if shell start to get the hang of this stuff that way <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
So I just wanted to clarify a couple of things so it drew a clearer pic.
As for the laeash thing...well when we're in the woods I take the leash off, when we are walking in the streets I keep the leash on. In the house there is a leash on her otherwise I would have dead cats if she had it her way.
Theres a good chance after all these years that the wife loves the cats more than me so coming home to dead cats would not be a good thing for me.
Thats my story ...Happy Holidays everybody although Im with the sherriff in Maricopa Arizona and believe we shouldnt feel bad saying Merry Christmas, so.....
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What I've done to build drive in my dog is dog fishing. I tie a biscuit or other food piece to the end of a fishing line, cast it out and let him chase, which he does. It worked for my lazy dog and it's pretty funny to watch. If your dog is motivated by small animals you can instead of biscuits or food, use a rabbit tail, rabbit leg, piece of deer skin or something furry, and cast it out. Chicken or turkey wings may work as well. You just have to be careful that the dog doesn't grab the line in her mouth because she can get cut. Usually if you attach it right they won't but you have to watch. When the 'dog fish' bites you real in, pulling it out of their mouth if possible to start the chase again. If you have a surf caster you could probably use twine instead of fishing line but the cast won't be as smooth or far.

I guess you were too polite to answer last time if you liked Long Island, lol. If nothing else it's exciting <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> If you move farther east it's nicer, more spacious and people aren't as 'hard.' lol. LI is a very unique place. Merry Christmas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

To clarify, you remove the hook and tie the line when attaching the 'bait.'

Some dogs are picky about what they like to chase at first. You might try a real leather chamois (not synthetic).
You can get them in the auto section at any walmart or the like. I just roll them up like a towel and tape the ends and you hae a tug, or if you tie it to a leash, then a toss toy.
We had a dog that had what you would call high ball drive, and when I tried the chamois, the high drive went through the roof. He loved the smell and texture.
It has also worked on low drive dogs I have worked with, they all seem to love it.
One thing that I like is that as it gets wet it gets slippery, so when doing bite work it teaches them to bite deep and hard and grip. If they get lazy and/or mouthy and try to chew it, then it slips right out of their mouth so they loose the prey.