question about schH preparation

[Luvtails]

I have a 21month old bitch with a TON of ball drive. I play with her with a jolly ball on a rope and she bites into it and "kills" it. I took out a jute tug and she wouldn't bite it at first. She was excited to see it and ran at me at 100mph and hit it with her face but didn't open her mouth. I was actually surprised because of how she goes for the jolly ball. So, i tied it to a rope and drug it around until she started to bite it. I can now hold it and she will bite it and tug. Is this what I should continue with? I didn't have her when she was young so I didn't play alot of tug with her. I always let her win when she bites properly (Strong and firm in center).

Also, she doesn't really bark, she whines when really excited. (when I bring out the ball) Anything I should be doing to provoke her to bark? I know she will eventually have to bark and hold.

I am going to have her eval by a schH trainer but want to prepare her for the eval.

[IJF1]

The Flink's videos 'Drive, Focus and Grip' and 'Preparing your dog for the helper' give good advice on playing tug with your dog and getting a good grip foundation on your dog at home. Hopefully your trainer will not just evaluate your dog but give you advice on the best way to develop your dog's drive and grip.

As for getting a Rott to bark, this can be a bit of a challenge. IME frustration (teasing with a favourite toy) will eventually get you a bark. As soon as you get one bark BIG REWARD. You can then work on this over time to get more barks and even put it on cue ('speak' command).

[Maxxx]

This is what our trainer told us to do.... If she knows how to bark on command, hold the toy above your head and give the command to bark. The moment she does, release the toy and make a big fuss playing with her. Keep doing this until you can reliably phase out the command. It doesn't take that long. They'll do anything to get the toy, so that helps in the training. I'm sure there are other ways to get your girl to bark, but that's what I've been told

[Luvtails]

I started kicking the ball against the fence and she went nuts and finally barked (after alot of jumping and whining). I praised her and gave it to her. then when I just held it above my head she started barking. I used to yell at them to quiet so I guess I had a hand in silencing them. fortunately I didn't have her as a pup so she isn't trained to quiet. From what I was told, they all get together to work their dogs and I am supposed to go watch and then they will check her out. I met the trainer/helper awhile ago but didn't have the right dog(very weak nerves) This female is my first real prospect. I want to at least earn her BST, so we will need basic protection. would love to go for SchH 1.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Luvtails

I have a 21month old bitch with a TON of ball drive. I play with her with a jolly ball on a rope and she bites into it and "kills" it. I took out a jute tug and she wouldn't bite it at first. She was excited to see it and ran at me at 100mph and hit it with her face but didn't open her mouth. I was actually surprised because of how she goes for the jolly ball. So, i tied it to a rope and drug it around until she started to bite it. I can now hold it and she will bite it and tug. Is this what I should continue with? I didn't have her when she was young so I didn't play alot of tug with her. I always let her win when she bites properly (Strong and firm in center).

Also, she doesn't really bark, she whines when really excited. (when I bring out the ball) Anything I should be doing to provoke her to bark? I know she will eventually have to bark and hold.

I am going to have her eval by a schH trainer but want to prepare her for the eval.

My 2 cents is that IF the SchH trainer is a good one, then you shouldn't try to do anything at this point before the evaluation. Just take the dog and have it evaluated. A good training director will see what the dog has, no matter what you do at this point to prepare.

[lblax]

Originally Posted by Skip

My 2 cents is that IF the SchH trainer is a good one, then you shouldn't try to do anything at this point before the evaluation. Just take the dog and have it evaluated. A good training director will see what the dog has, no matter what you do at this point to prepare.

i agree with this although i do hope that the op means when she says sch. trainer really means sch.club get to a club and stay far away from trainers claiming that they will train your dog for sch.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by lblax

i agree with this although i do hope that the op means when she says sch. trainer really means sch.club get to a club and stay far away from trainers claiming that they will train your dog for sch.

...and I agree with this also. A schH club training director.

[Luvtails]

I am going next Saturday. he is the training director of a sch club. My concern was that I didn't raise her (probably better cause I have never raised a sch dog) so I wanted to prepare her as one would raise a sch dog. I didn't play tug with her as a pup and thankfully she has not lost her drive to work. I guess she will learn to bite a sleeve when it is time? I am playing tug with her now, but like I said she is 21months old. Not a young pup.

[Maxxx]

There are a couple of rescues in our club and they are doing great. Working towards their SchH 1. As long as the club director thinks she's got what it takes, a lot can be trained and developed.

Max didn't have that great a prey drive when our director first saw him (more interested in sniffing the floor than playing with the tug), but he showed me what to do to build it. The following Saturday, he was very impressed with Max's improvement. We've been working on it for about a month now and it just keeps building and building. Good Luck on Saturday! I'm sure she'll do great

[flyballmom]

Originally Posted by Luvtails

I am going next Saturday. he is the training director of a sch club. My concern was that I didn't raise her (probably better cause I have never raised a sch dog) so I wanted to prepare her as one would raise a sch dog. I didn't play tug with her as a pup and thankfully she has not lost her drive to work. I guess she will learn to bite a sleeve when it is time? I am playing tug with her now, but like I said she is 21months old. Not a young pup.

Good for you! Not sure if you've seen my other posts on the subject, but I didn't start training Blitz for the sport til she was 2 1/2. We had some stumbling blocks along the way (had nothing to do with playing tug or not, but all the control I put on her for other things)...but she earned her BST this past October and is just about ready to trial for her SchH1. Have fun!!!!