My GSD is a natural retriever. However, that is a prey game. I wanted to teach him to take anything I tell him to, when I tell him to. There are a ton of force methods. I always did the ear pinch in the past.
Now it's motivational. When I'm sitting quietly on a chair (cause I'm lazy). I have the dumbell in one hand and treats in the other. I give the command \"take it\". At first, I treat for nothing more then a look at the dumbell. As the dog understands what I want, it becomes a nose touch, a simple mouthing, taking it in his mouth, and finally, calmly holding it.
Again, he's a natural; retriever but, on a given day, he may not be in the mood to fetch. ( :roll: doubtful) He STILL has t take it when I say so.
A few more hints. I NEVER jump at full height during training. It's not that he can't, I just don't want to put the pressure on his joints. Shoulder height at best.
Learn where your dog's best take off point is. A video taken from the side is a huge help in figuring that out. Horse folks have this down pat.
On the a-frame. Some dogs will have a tendancy to jump from the top insted of running down it. Start the a-frame low. When the dog is comming back over, get up close to it so he will come DOWN to you instead of jumping off to you. Get the individual behaviors correct before you put them all together.
Other than \"Look what my dog can do\" ther is no reason to train at full height.
Now it's motivational. When I'm sitting quietly on a chair (cause I'm lazy). I have the dumbell in one hand and treats in the other. I give the command \"take it\". At first, I treat for nothing more then a look at the dumbell. As the dog understands what I want, it becomes a nose touch, a simple mouthing, taking it in his mouth, and finally, calmly holding it.
Again, he's a natural; retriever but, on a given day, he may not be in the mood to fetch. ( :roll: doubtful) He STILL has t take it when I say so.
A few more hints. I NEVER jump at full height during training. It's not that he can't, I just don't want to put the pressure on his joints. Shoulder height at best.
Learn where your dog's best take off point is. A video taken from the side is a huge help in figuring that out. Horse folks have this down pat.
On the a-frame. Some dogs will have a tendancy to jump from the top insted of running down it. Start the a-frame low. When the dog is comming back over, get up close to it so he will come DOWN to you instead of jumping off to you. Get the individual behaviors correct before you put them all together.
Other than \"Look what my dog can do\" ther is no reason to train at full height.