thank heavens someone decided to keep this thread alive (thanks saskia!).
now, your dog, at 10 months, is WAY farther along in the bitework than mine, but i think that's mostly due to exposure (if i get to training 1x/mo, that's about it). fantastic vids, BTW--keep 'em coming!!
anyway, at what point does one start pushing a dog into defense (oh, i'm not sure i'm even making sense to myself :?: )--when they're well-based and solid in the prey (but not TOO solid, ie "locked"), and how does one tell that??? maybe i'm asking too much that can't really be answered on a forum. gotta see the dog work, etc.
but i tend to agree w/d frost: prey drive really *should* equal not only chasing prey, but also killing it--that's the basic instinct. i have a mutt that WILL NOT quit once she's on prey; this includes chewing tree roots, heaving rocks, being a ditch-witch. whatever it takes to get the varmint.
how does one go from that extreme in real life to the sport dog? just a good TD (and at least a competent handler)? but how do you tell when it's time to work the defense in to prevent *prey-locked*?
hope everyone has a thankful thanksgiving, BTW. \

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