Training a dog with no drive

blackcob

blackcob

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Some Friday night ponderings following a training session today...

I started doing agility with Dax because she'd advanced beyond the basic group classes we'd been doing (I know, miracle! :eek:) and I was hoping for something to occupy her body and mind during the summer until we can take up the cani-x/bikejoring/scootering again in the winter season.

To all intents and purposes she's doing really well; she can tackle all of the equipment with confidence, do a full course and spends the whole session off the lead. However, she just doesn't seem to have any drive for it - she goes around the course at her own speed, a sedate trot, and last week finished a course at a walk (foot-perfect but teeth-grittingly slow!).

Now obviously I was never expecting collie-like speed and enthusiasm (:p) but it's getting to the point where we're trying to teach the dogs to be 'pushed' out onto obstacles, to be able to stand and have the dog run on, and she's just drawing a blank - I have to be running alongside to egg her on all the time.

If she's not been fed that day then high-value food works to an extent, very little interest in toys despite purchasing scented rabbit fur ball-on-a-ropes etc. but nothing really gets her excited at all. She will sometimes get a shift on in harness but still nowhere near the point of obsession like most huskies.

Is this the point where we have to accept that she won't progress any further in agility? :(
 
I should add that Ricoh is proving to be the exact opposite - he is a massive foodie, a big fan of squeaky tennis balls and throws his weight into the harness. He joins the socialisation class next week; I ought to take earplugs for everyone. :o
 
I know I shouldn't but.......hahahaha!!!:D:D:D

Its obviously not her thing - my two are the same Max will spend hours jumping the x country and show jumps:rolleyes: Sweep has always just looked at you as if you are barking.....:rolleyes: his motivation is strictly limited to sticks and tennis balls on his terms:rolleyes::D:D:D
 
OK kind of silly question but does she just not have drive or has it been squashed by her previous owners?

Abe is very similar but i suddenly thought that he has drive for herding stock but all other forms of drive have been squashed in him by his previous owner and we are now having to drag it back out of him.
 
You are so mean, slinky. :p

I think a lot of it is the sibe no-nonsense attitude - for example, she loves the tunnel if it's straight or on a loose curve but if it's curved right round, so the entrance and exit are right next to each other, she loses all impetus for it. You can see her thinking "hang on, what's the point of going all the way round just to come out in the same place, I'll just sit by the exit and wait to be told where to go next."

She's not stoopid but it makes her appear very lazy. :p
 
Sending half of Dex's OVER OVER OVER overenthusiastic to Dax.......

Dex "whyz do we'z have to walk down diz uther side of the A frame, whenz launching off dee top is shedz loadz faster?"
 
If any squashing has been done it's been by me Katielou, she'd pretty much never left the back garden in her previous home and as such I had to teach her to walk on a lead. She used to pull like a demon. Despite being very strict about collar = slack lead and harness = allowed to pull she tends to keep a slack line on anything these days.

She seems to enjoy the session anyway but I'd just love to see her belting round with a bit of enthusiasm!

It's early days as yet for them as a pair in harness but I can already see that Ricoh will bring out the drive to pull as they make it a competition between them, now if only they'd stop scrapping in the lines we might get somewhere with that... :o
 
lexiedhb said:
Dex "whyz do we'z have to walk down diz uther side of the A frame, whenz launching off dee top is shedz loadz faster?"
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LOL! :D Dax tiptoes ever so carefully off everything, I have no worries about teaching contacts at least. It's the ones who launch themselves off the see-saw that make me wince, it comes down with a hell of a bang. :eek:

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blackcob said:
LOL! :D Dax tiptoes ever so carefully off everything, I have no worries about teaching contacts at least. It's the ones who launch themselves off the see-saw that make me wince, it comes down with a hell of a bang. :eek:

281666_2239468624102_1169616200_2766738_7940816_n.jpg
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Oh love her- ickle tippy toes! Dex is actually fine- until he notices the other class legging it about after dumb bells- que "LAUNCH" unfortunately still attached to me and the lead!! :D Not that I need two working shoulders you understand!! :rolleyes:
 
Well, huskies do what they want, when they want. One of mine likes to have a small swim, then he's had enough. One husky likes to do agility type things for maybe 2 minutes. My collie however will happily jump over things all day long at full pelt and swim after a ball as well. It's just the breed - sounds normal to me!!
I'd never try and train a husky not to pull, even on a lead. But of course we don't show our dogs. Can't be doing with the politics! We don't need a judge to tell us our dogs are nice, at least in races the clock decides! Ours all pull like trains on the lead, and I'm delighted our 7 month old pups are already doing so. We use a walking belt and it's good exercise!!
Scrapping in the lines? Try a staggered line. Have Ricoh on a slightly longer line. You can also try attaching a long line to the collar (lunge line works well) and holding it....jerk it hard if that dog tries to scrap. We absolutely will not stand for things like this! You really need to check this behaviour firmly, even if that means stopping them and giving him a real telling off. You don't need to use a neckline.
 
Most of our walks are done on the belt with harnesses on but I really value the distinction between that and loose-lead walking on collars, can't be doing with a dog that pulls when I don't want it to! It's rare that I ever have to walk them in civilisation, thankfully. :p

I have a staggered line for the bike but it's that shiny polyester rope stuff and horrible to use with the belt, I will have a go in the morning at tying a loop in the bungee leads and just keep one up front (probably Ricoh, speed demon that he is) for their run.

I do come down on them like a ton of bricks for scrapping, I had both of them by their scruffs yesterday having ground to a halt for the third time, again I think I need to keep them in closer (within booting range :rolleyes:) for a while until they get it out of their system. Once they're settled in they run beautifully together, for all that they look a mismatched pair they go stride for stride. Trying to persuade OH to either run or bike ahead of me to give them something to chase ahem, focus on but he is allergic to exercise so that will have to wait for the group training later in the year. Don't want to try them both on the bike yet until I've knocked it on the head, he's proving to be fabulous on his own so far though, even if I am sick of the very early starts to beat the weather. :o
 
And yes, I probably should have gotten a collie if I were serious about agility. :p It's just that I expect them to be well-rounded pets as well as sled dogs and her obedience has improved tenfold since starting out.

Ricoh is just a thug. :o I'll keep slugging it out, they'll learn. Though you won't see us at Aviemore just yet. :D
 
Sounds like you are trying all that you can. Some huskies definately have a lot more drive than others. When we race we couldn't have all ours in the same team due to the speeds they are happy to run at. They all train together but that's pulling either a quad or very heavy passenger rig.

Aviemore - funnily despite living not to far from it, is one rally we won't be doing again. Various reasons, but I know plenty other experienced people who are just the same.

Oh - our collie also runs in harness :-)

We tend to give ours time off in the Summer, it's just too warm. We will be gradually starting again soon. I think they quite like a short break.
 
I've heard similar murmurings about Aviemore but it always springs to mind as it's really the only event that makes it into the public eye. We are seven hours away regardless so even if it were the best rally in the country... erm, no. :p

I have my own gripes with pretty much every regulatory body in the sport that I've encountered so far, SHCGB chief among them, and as such I'm sticking with Cani-x UK while we start out. I wanted to make an early start in the hope that we might be ready for their scooter classes this season but I think Ricoh's dog issues will preclude that for now, best to stay on foot just in case. :o I'd like to think Dax might be ready for the bikejor class on her own by December, we'll see how the group training goes later in the year.
 
"Work with the dog that you have".

I was told I would never be able to do anything with my dog.
I have an obedience title and a tracking title on him with no ball drive outside the home and very little food drive (I thought he had food drive until I got the pup :o he doesn't track, he HUNTS!).
He will never do protection work because I would have to get him defensive for that and it would not be fair on him. Sure, I could get him all riled up and he would look well cool, but he'd really be scared and nervous for his own safery and he would probably collapse under the pressure.
So that's it for him, he can be a pet now, he has nothing to prove.

Anyway, speech over :p have you tried running Ricoh ahead of her with someone else handling him? Little competition, mayhaps?
 
So that's it for him, he can be a pet now, he has nothing to prove.
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Y'know, reading that I actually feel a little bit bad because she has come so far and to be griping about not doing something that she clearly isn't wired for is so unfair on her. :o We were complimented on our 'excellent heelwork' the other day - I mean, seriously, this dog and heelwork, you could have knocked me over with a feather but she was right, she'd been glued to my leg for several minutes and I'd been tossing out commands in the sure knowledge that she'd just do it. She really doesn't have anything else to prove to me these days.

That said... they will both benefit from having something to focus on when running but my OH will have nothing to do with it (:rolleyes:) and I can't take Ricoh to the group training sessions until he's over his dog ishoos. I think either having two handlers and having the dogs chase each other or using the staggered line and chasing an experienced team would be hugely beneficial. Just got to get him over the dog thing - and finish teaching him right from left before I trust him up front on his own... :o
 
Oh don't get me wrong, I'll never stop training, but I had to do *something* to prove that we could both do it. The fact that her heelwork is that good - get an obedience/KCGC qualification - it doesn't have to be agility.

Re Ricoh, it's early doors re him and other dogs, see my ramble on CT's post about throwing Floofy in with a pack of bigger, badder dogs :o
 
Ah yes there's lots of 'politics'. This is why we keep ourselves to ourselves, avoid husky forums and just enjoy the different trails that rallies offer. The trophies are just a nice addition when you do well :-)
 
Ah, that is the value of people who 'know' your breed. :) Ricoh's banshee impression must seem terrifying to most people but we went out with my friend and her pack the other day (a 50kg+ mal x inuit, a malinois x GSD, a husky of the very thick set plush American show type that suzysparkle would probably pitch a fit at :p) and when she saw him lunging and howling she just laughed. They were at each other's throats for a good 60 seconds, sounding like they were killing each other, teeth flashing and fur flying everywhere and then bam, all done, hooning about like nothing had ever happened and not a drop of blood spilt for all that they were gunning for each other to start with.

It's the same in the house - my OH panics if they scrap over a treat or toy, starts yelling and trying to wade in there - give them a few seconds and they've sorted it themselves, it's all just noise and posturing, there's very few dogs that would stay and fight to the point of sustaining damage, it's pretty pointless from a survival point of view.
 
blackcob said:
Trying to persuade OH to either run or bike ahead of me to give them something to chase ahem, focus on but he is allergic to exercise so that will have to wait for the group training later in the year. Don't want to try them both on the bike yet until I've knocked it on the head, he's proving to be fabulous on his own so far though, even if I am sick of the very early starts to beat the weather. :o
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Just a suggestion, is there a local cycling group nearby, you could maybe see if someone would be willing to bike in front of you from a club?
(If I've picked this thread up entirely wrong then I apologise, no too up on training dogs for this)
 
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