Hi everyone,
I have a 9 month old working line GSD which I have been trying to build more play and prey drive with. I got him when he was 7 months and seemed to have much drive at the breeders. He has bonded very well with me and never wants to leave my side. I have him kenneled in the day when I am at work and with me most of the time when I am home. He sleeps in a dog crate at night in my room.
When I want to play with him at home he is non responsive, but when we go to the park or my training facility, he shows much more interest. My trainer says he has potential for Schutzhund
but I am having a hard time building him up. He says he mostly shows defense drive. Some people tell me that I shouldn't spend too much time with him and leave him more in his kennel or crate to build frustration.
First off welcome. Second, you will get varying responses in regards to the "only take the dog out of the crate to play and then put him back in" debate. If you have good genetics and are not looking to compete on the highest levels of the sport, you can still keep him out with you. What are you doing up to this point to build drive? I have gotten a LOT out of the Bernard Flinks building drive grip and focus DVD sold on this site by Leerburg. 15-20 minutes per night of building drive using the "game" that Bernard shows and Ed explains on the DVD really brought up my pup's drive and intensity. Not to mention, it really tires them out and makes for a happy relaxed puppy the rest of the night. Beyond that, one of the most common things people have trouble with early on is putting enough movement into the prey item to keep the dogs attention. You can do this by putting the rag/tug/bite pillow on a buggy whip and get them going that way, but the DVD demonstrates this to a tee. Good luck!
Thanks for the response John. My trainer says that he has it in him genetically, but my breeder didn't build a solid foundation as a young pup. For building drive I do use a buggy whip with either a tug or orbee ball at the end. I try to make the sessions as lively as possible. My dog just seems to turn it on and off as he pleases. Maybe it is just me getting impatient, especially when I see very high driven dogs at my trainers facility. As far as Schutzhund, I want to title him atleast SCH 1 but as my trainer says, "If you get him through SCH1, we get him through SCH3".
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9 month old GSD showing little prey / play drive
#149918 - 07/27/2007 01:46 PM 
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