# Low drive



## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

So in my attempt to learn what makes my pup tick, I have found that food and little training treats aren't very interesting to Odin. Right now I am trying to get his attention and focus. But as for the food, he will look at it for a second and if he can't get it he will go away and lay down. Same goes with the ball or the squeeky toy. Also I am trying to use the clicker when I am around him, so when he does something right, I click and give him a treat or lots of praise. 

What else can I try?


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

How is his appetite at meal time? Does he usually finish all his food?


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

no, he usually leaves some. maybe i feed him too much?? i give him about a half cup to a full cup 3 times a day. He has not eaten since last night. When i took him out this morning i tried to give a treat for a good sit at the door before we went out, he spit it out. i know he likes them because sometimes he will eat them when i place them on the floor letting him know all good things come from me.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Howc long had your pup been with you? Some pups need some time to feel at easy in their new homes before thay start showing their drives.

By example, Akela has no problem with prey drive when he arrived, the first weeks I had to struggle and enticfe him with mixed yoghurt so he would finish his meals. He worked for pieces of chicken and liver treats, though. Two weeks later he became a food monster and now he will eat until explode. Only then i started tracking.


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## PDXDeutschhund (Sep 22, 2010)

Kaiser Odin said:


> no, he usually leaves some. maybe i feed him too much?? i give him about a half cup to a full cup 3 times a day. He has not eaten since last night. When i took him out this morning i tried to give a treat for a good sit at the door before we went out, he spit it out. i know he likes them because sometimes he will eat them when i place them on the floor letting him know all good things come from me.


I would try a different treat. We started using a buffalo jerkey, but Dutch didn't really care for it. We've tried a few different ones, but he really likes the Mini Naturals peanut butter flavor.


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

its bacon flavor, made with real bacon. i would eat it if i were a dog. lol. i love bacon. anyway maybe i do need to let him adjust for another week or so. he is still ina new environment and keep forgetting that. i guess i need to guys to remind me. also, what kind of yogurt do you use?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

It would be helpful if you could mention how old he is and how long you've had him when you have a question. I'm sure you've probably posted about him in other threads, but people don't always have time to go looking for that information. Maybe put some info about him in your signature?


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

Oh yeah, he's around 12 weeks, and have had him for a half a week. I know I'm probably expecting too much and I'm really trying to make him comfortable. He is a rescue pup and seems to have a little bit of separation anxiety, he whines a little bit at night and in the morning, but not too bad. At times he is really playful and out going, but others he just wants to lay around. I try to keep him busy with balls, chew ropes, pig ears, and stuff. I'll work on a signature too. Maybe it would be helpful if I asked how to make him comfortable first.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I would go with a higher end treat as well...like chicken or home made beef crunchies (see recipe section) or little smokies. Mine snub most of the store bought treats but love real meat. (though they snubbed plain old weinners too)


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

At 12 weeks it's expecting too much 
Jax just wandered around being all clumsy and not really interested in much until he was a few weeks older. 
Try googling "the NILIF Program"... It was the difference between night and day for my dogs


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

Hes doing something new today. When I try to get his attention with the rope toy he will go after it, if it is in his face, but if I take it to my side where he can see it but can't get to it he will step back and start scratching... I wonder if he has fleas??? He just went to the vet saturday with no mention of fleas.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

My dogs always had high prey/toy drive even as puppies I could get them to chase things and play. Food drive was more hit or miss on some of them. 

I agree. Try to up the value of the treats and keep training times to when they are more likely to be hungry- like when they first wake up in the morning and around meal times. Mine liked things like Natural Balance roll, cheese, chicken, ham...more like people food. Remember that when you are giving a lot of treats you may have to proportionally cut back their kibble. 

Also sometimes drives in dogs take some time to mature- they're not all born drivey from the get go. Mine would show some indications but didn't really come out full swing until they were 5-6 months old. Give him time, give him love, encourage behaviors you want and he will be what he is meant to be!


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Kaiser Odin said:


> Hes doing something new today. When I try to get his attention with the rope toy he will go after it, if it is in his face, but if I take it to my side where he can see it but can't get to it he will step back and start scratching... I wonder if he has fleas??? He just went to the vet saturday with no mention of fleas.


 
With the cold weather it could just be dry skin. We just had a cold snap down here and my dogs are a little itchier.


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## elly1210 (Jan 4, 2009)

Natural Balance Rolls are what drive both my GSD to work especially the girl who is not as treat motivated. 

I agree with the above statement on expecting too much.
You have to let your puppy settle in sometimes it takes GSD longer then other dogs. I would expect that you would see more in a month or couple months time. Right now it s good time for him to get to know you, your family, expections of potty training, house manners and puppy socialization classes. 

Does he understand the click comes a treat concept? Also if you can feed some of his food too him so cut down what you put in the bowl and give it to him as rewards. Think about it if you took just 20 pieces of kibble and had him work for it during the day like sits you would have accomplished 20 sits or 10 comes and 10 sits in one day that is fun vs putting the time aside.

Have fun with him. I know they learn more through fun activites vs drilling...at least mine do everyone is different.


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## joelucci33 (Oct 26, 2010)

how old is he?


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Maybe give him some time to settle in to his new surroundings and life.


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

JKlatsky said:


> My dogs always had high prey/toy drive even as puppies I could get them to chase things and play. Food drive was more hit or miss on some of them.
> 
> I agree. Try to up the value of the treats and keep training times to when they are more likely to be hungry- like when they first wake up in the morning and around meal times. Mine liked things like Natural Balance roll, cheese, chicken, ham...more like people food. Remember that when you are giving a lot of treats you may have to proportionally cut back their kibble.
> 
> Also sometimes drives in dogs take some time to mature- they're not all born drivey from the get go. Mine would show some indications but didn't really come out full swing until they were 5-6 months old. Give him time, give him love, encourage behaviors you want and he will be what he is meant to be!


Sounds like a plan to me. I'm just going to keep playing him. Just makes me wonder because I see all these people who have their pups trained to sit and focus at such a young age.



JKlatsky said:


> With the cold weather it could just be dry skin. We just had a cold snap down here and my dogs are a little itchier.


That would explain it, its cold outside!


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

kibble for training food, hadn't thought of that! might save me money, too lol. he will definitely be getting a lot a attention for a while, poor guy.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

The title of this thread makes me think back to a few months ago when I was struggling with Stark, my working line x showline male.

From the time he came home he really had no food or toy drive. I worked with him daily and tried EVERYTHING imaginable to bring out his drives. Nothing was working. I sought out help from other traininers, breeders, owners, people on this board and whoever else I could get my hands on. They all had excellent advice and I took it all, but nothing was happening. I was seeing the same results - nothing.

Finally, when Stark was about 15 months old, I gave up. We were training in schutzhund by this point and although we continued to train, we weren't making any real progress. Especially compared to the other young dogs working along side of us. It was frustrating and upsetting and a little disappointing I will admitt.

Stark would perform the tasks asked, knew the commands but something was missing. He was not really interested is my best way of putting it. You could tell he really just did it because I asked. The other dogs on the field were totally engaged with their handlers, asking... no begging to work! I begged for help from anyone asking for advice on how to get Stark to be like that.... they all again gave me great advice, but nothing seemed to worked.

I was even close to pulling Stark out of training and just allowing him to be "a companion dog" while we dabbled in agility or herding or something. I was told to give it time and to continue on and see what happens. I did.

I am SO HAPPY I listened to that piece of advice.

Fast forward to the present. Stark is now 20 months old and on his way to trialing for his BH this spring. Wow, have things changed.

When he was about 18 months old I really started to see the difference in him. It was like over night this change had happened.

He has incredible food drive now, doesn't matter what it is he wants it! He will do anything, anywhere, any time, with any distractions for a piece of food.

Toy drive before was pretty much nill but now he is insane for his ball! What?! Yes, he will do anything for his ball. 

His most favorite thing to work for is play time with me though. He loves to "play fight" with me as his reward. I usually allow him to jump on me, mouth me, bounce around me, I push him off, he jumps up, I rough house him a bit and we play some tug. It is the funnest reward for both of us. It keeps him engaged with me as his handler and yet it allows him to blow off some steam so he can concentrate with me afterwards. 

Some dogs mature faster than others and I think with Stark it just too a long time for him to mature into the dog he is becoming.

My suggestion to you is not to push your puppy too fast. Allow him to grow (mature) on his terms because I think this can hurt not only his drives but also the bond between the both of you.

I think I pushed Stark a little bit too hard in the beginning and I really wish I would have backed off sooner and allowed him to grow on his terms.

Stark and I are now at a point in our training where we are working towards our BH and are very close to being able to trial. I NEVER thought we would get there but we are! I can't believe it!

I would really just caution you to allow your dog to go at his own pace, don't push him. You may be pleasantly surprised when you realize your dog is exhibiting the qualities you hoped he would down the road.

Good luck.


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

> he title of this thread makes me think back to a few months ago


Thanks for the great advice. I wonder if putting him in Schutzhund a bit later after he is more comfortable around here would be good for him? I believe there is a Schzd club just a few miles away from me I can check out.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

You can definitely inquire about it. 

I know that with Stark, it really helped **ME** learn how to tap into those drives and use them appropriately. Still learning 8 months into it but having a blast doing it.


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## Kaiser Odin (Dec 2, 2010)

i am going to a local schutzhund club meet on saturday morning to see what its all aboot. the guy i talked to has been doing schutzhund since 1970 and they seem legit. anyway, ill keep ya'll posted.  heres their website, they happen to be less than 15 minutes from my home. Home_Page


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

One thing pups love to do is play with a flirtpole, it will usually get a pup going. I would use string cheese, natural balance roll and kibble(mix up the training treats) for training. 

If you do decide to start SchH be prepared to become addicted! It is fun, time consuming and the commitment level should be there as well.


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## Tropism (Nov 30, 2010)

How's he for ball/tug drive? You could try rewarding him with that if it motivates him.

Otherwise, I agree: go for a better treat. Most dogs I know like cheddar or american cheese a lot, or you could try chunks of hot dog. Or try something stinkier like smoked fish. Or anything with ketchup. 

Also, when are you training? Before feeding in the morning might be best to try first, since he should be hungry.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

A lot of good advice, but IMO the best is to cool it and work on bonding. It will take a while before he is fully connected to you. Takes more than a week for him to understand you and for his young body to adjust to a new routine.
Speaking of routines, if you can get into one it will help settle him and make him feel comfortable.


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