We are on about a week of training using the Flinks method and i have a few questions.
My first question is if it is ok to play using the flinks method as a reward at the end of a track. Normaly at the end of a track he either has a large food drop or a favorite toy as a reward. if it is his favorite toy, he finds it at the end of the track and we play retrieve or tug. If we play using the flinks method, should the ball on a string (we only use that particular toy for the flinks training)be at the end of the track or should I pull it out of my pocket? or is it even appropriate to even do this at the end of a track? Also how do I transition since he is on a tracking harness and a long line since we are to have a 15 ft lead or so when doing the flink method.
Another question is that when I drop the ball for him, he prefers to let it drop to the ground rather than catching it as it drops. Once it hits the ground he pounces on it. He does occasionaly catch the ball as it drops out of my hand. The ball we are currently using is a small ball (about 2 1/2 inches rubber ball, identical to the ones seen on the tape). Prior we were using a small kong. These small kongs are a little heavy so we went to the small ball and I thought that would resolve the issue. He is intense in play and stays with me as long as the prey item is in motion. Does it matter if he allows the ball to drop to the ground and not catch it when falling from my hand?
Someone also mentioned a flinks puppy selection test on another subject area. Where can i read a copy of the test?

A problem with leaving the ball on the track is that when he sees it he will rush through the end to get to it. One way to make him catch it is if it drops to the ground pick it up before he gets to it. This will teach him that I better catch it if I want it. You can find Bernard's Puppy Test Here. Good luck.

in most cases he is glued to the track that he does not look ahead and tracks all the way to the end. others i have had would look for flags or markers indicating the track and would always look up every so often and look for indicators of the track, be it a flag or whatever but this guy is glued to the track. This may of course change if I change the terrain type (for now we are working in short grass). what i don't want to happen is for him to start looking at me and checking to see if I have a toy. Is playing using the Flinks method even a good idea as a reward for a good track?
Thanks for the link on the puppy test. it looks similar to what my GSD's breeder uses. he scored mostly 2's and 1's on her test and would appear that would also be true of Flinks' puppy test.

If what you say is true and he is glued to the track then yes leave it at the end of the track. The faster the reward is given for a given response the stronger the association between response and reward will be created. The Flinks method of training focuses on building drive and focus. The end of a successful track is not the time to teach either but to reward. Reiterating what I said previously you want the dog to associate the successful completion of the track with the reward not going into drive or focus.

Hammer + Nail + Head = Vince P.

Originally posted by Vince P.:
One way to make him catch it is if it drops to the ground pick it up before he gets to it. This will teach him that I better catch it if I want it. just tried that and he nailled my hand and the ball. I guess I am not fast enough. Should I perhaps use a longer cord?

I do not see the urgency of having him catch the ball. Give him a bite command while holding the string and then let go. Am I missing something?

Philippe,
I had the same problem with the catching the ball portion for about 2 weeks with my puppy. Now he will catch it from under my chin or just about anywhere. If he does miss it you can do one of two things; a) step on the ball and grab the leash so that he can not bite your hand while you pick it up, Or b) again grab the leash and just hold the dog back but put the dog back into drive before giving the ball.

Try throwing a softer ball for him to catch, Uncle Richard <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> suggested that to me and it did help. I did it with a stuffed ball until he shredded it to pieces.(phone rang) Another thing is to toss treats, you may not want to do this if you are trying to teach the dog to take treats nicely though, it is quite counter-productive to that. At any rate it does seem to help with the eye-mouth coordination

Vince,
If he is dealing with a dog that is just starting the focus work he is probably not at the point where he can dangle the ball in front of the dogs nose for the bite, and trust me a jumping biting dog is not safe around "the girls" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I almost lost a chunk of one during one training session, needless to say that one ended in a hurry. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I now have him catching the ball as it drops fairly consistently. The mistake was mine not his. I changed the position of where the ball is when I drop it. I found that if I drop it from directly above his muzzle he will catch the ball each time. prior I was dropping the ball further in front of him (about a foot). Another mistake on my part was having him further away from me than what I saw on the video. I imagine that in time he will also catch the ball no matter from where and how it is dropped. Thanks guys and gals for your help