# Teaching a 1 year 1/2 Male to bite a bite wedge Linen material



## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

Hi All, 

My boy is great while biting certain types of tugs and small toys, but for some reason he seems intimdated by a bite wedge with the same material as a bite suit. My dog has great power, but it seems like I am not able to utilize it depending on the material I want him to bite. Is it a maturity thing? Would love to get your guy's input. 

Thanks so much.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

for my guy it was a confidence issue... he'd chase, he'd tug, then you pull out a puppy sleeve and he'd paw at it. it took awhile, but I eventually got him on it basically by eliminating other forms of tug and thru a back tie and frustration. ultimately he didn't have the drive for the sport, soft grips, little fight, etc, but it was a goal that we met and had fun with.

will your guy at least work on a jute tug? if not it could be the texture - which I got my boy used to by attaching strips and rolls of burlap to a flirt pole. because he was able to shred it, it was a different type of "win" and increased his interest a ton.


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

Fodder said:


> for my guy it was a confidence issue... he'd chase, he'd tug, then you pull out a puppy sleeve and he'd paw at it. it took awhile, but I eventually got him on it basically by eliminating other forms of tug and thru a back tie and frustration. ultimately he didn't have the drive for the sport, soft grips, little fight, etc, but it was a goal that we met and had fun with.
> 
> will your guy at least work on a jute tug? if not it could be the texture - which I got my boy used to by attaching strips and rolls of burlap to a flirt pole. because he was able to shred it, it was a different type of "win" and increased his interest a ton.


Thanks for your reply!  yes, Jute tugs he has fun with. He will tug with it in my opinion because it fits inside of his mouth. I think it may be a confidence issue as well. My issue with him is breaking through it. Bite suits, arm sleeves, etc is an issue. I admit that i need to get a bit more animated with him in a positive way and reward him, but not too well with it. I do have the flirt pole and he loves chasing it. That's where i get a bit lost on what to do.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

You have to kick him into a drive so high that he really doesn’t realize what he’s biting. So that either has to be prey or defense. I wouldn’t suggest going defensive with him yourself, but with a flirt pole, if the prey drive is there, you should be able to get him going to a point where he doesn’t even realize what he’s biting. Either back tie him or have someone else handle him and tease him using the wedge on the end of the flirt pole or a long line, it will be a lot like videos you might’ve seen of helpers working young puppies.

As a word of caution…some dogs are picky about the material they bite. A lot of times this is a nerve thing. They just get used to biting jute and then don’t like anything else. I’ve seen plenty of dogs have issues with other materials and even when they bite, they don’t bite as hard or are just hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

Also…if this is just for reward/play and not for a goal you might have in protection. I wouldn’t even bother and just use a toy he’s comfortable with. No matter what you do, if you’re looking for him to really love it, he won’t ever truly love biting that material. So if this is just for you to play with your dog in some way, just get the type of material he likes and don’t bother forcing something different into his mouth.


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## jaudlee (Mar 28, 2013)

interesting about the different materials, but I have an ongoing thread with lots of different opinions on bitework/PP while my dog is 2YO and is in a similar position as yours. MIght be worth a look!! http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ing/586066-help-my-dogs-drive-protection.html


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## Pirates Lair (Aug 9, 2011)

It sounds like your dog missed some basic foundation work and you are moving to fast for him.

You can never go wrong by going back to the basics and starting over. One of the biggest mistakes people make is working their dog loose. You need to post your dog, tie him up to a wall or a post on a flat collar. then start doing some rag work.

This is what we do whenever we start training an older dog that someone brings to us. Start off slow and build the dogs confidence, then you gradually introduce different textures. 

*Fodder* already mentioned a _back tie_ and frustration. The dog has to get frustrated to want to bite the rag, the tube, the sleeve etc.

Never "feed" the sleeve or the tug to the dog, make him work for it. Keep your sessions limited to about 3-4 minutes for the first week and always end on a high note.

The video below demonstrates how we do it with a puppy, it works just as well on older dogs as well.

Good Luck


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4BbTGvGmzE


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## Pirates Lair (Aug 9, 2011)

To explain my comment "don't feed" the tug, rag, sleeve etc.

If you watch enough videos you will see people doing this all the time. They walk up and offer the sleeve etc. to the dog, they practically stuff it in the dogs mouth.

What this teaches the dog is that they don't have to do anything, just sit and wait and you will bring it to them. 

And it better be the type of material they like or they won't bite it . Joke

However, if you frustrate the dog properly, they will start working for the reward (the tug or sleeve is the reward) and start thinking (targeting the object) about how to get the sought after reward. 

Don't wait too long, 2-3 misses then allow them a easy win (but don't hand it to them).

Making the dog work for their reward is what builds confidence, their winning followed by your praise.

If your dog is not barking in frustration for the reward you need to become animated with a lot of energy. Stay back 15 feet and move rapidly with the reward until he barks then move in to work him.

Try this analogy; You and I are playing basketball, your wide open for a shot to score, I have the ball and I can't get in position to shoot for a basket, but I'm not passing the ball. What do you do? You start yelling (barking) pass the ball to me!!! Make sense, frustrate the player/dog and you will get a response.

A couple of sessions, end on a high note. The dog has earned his reward by working hard for it, you praise the **** out him and put him away. The dog will look forward to this confidence building game with you.

Whatever you start the dog on, rag, tug is to only be used during this exercise. Otherwise put it away, it is not a toy it is a training tool.

Hope that helps explain it better.

ps; Never Work your own dog in Defense, most people have no idea how to truly do it, and those that do....don't work their dog in D.


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

Pirates Lair said:


> It sounds like your dog missed some basic foundation work and you are moving to fast for him.
> 
> You can never go wrong by going back to the basics and starting over. One of the biggest mistakes people make is working their dog loose. You need to post your dog, tie him up to a wall or a post on a flat collar. then start doing some rag work.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for being so informative. I have to admit, i've been guilty with sometimes trying to easily feed it to him. What might be an issue is that maybe i am not being animated enough ( i sometimes am to shy). I will definitely try to work back in the basics so we can drive him up. Thank you so much!


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

jaudlee said:


> interesting about the different materials, but I have an ongoing thread with lots of different opinions on bitework/PP while my dog is 2YO and is in a similar position as yours. MIght be worth a look!! http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ing/586066-help-my-dogs-drive-protection.html


Thank you so much! This was very helpful as well!  I really appreciate it!


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## Pirates Lair (Aug 9, 2011)

Your welcome



Kim


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