Building Toy or Ball Drive
By Joel Monroe & Michael Jen
Please direct any questions or comments to mjen@pacbell.net
photo credit: MonkeyMike
Every young puppy has an interest in playing and it is very easy to develop a pup’s desire to play with a toy such as a ball or tug. This is often referred to as “toy drive”. It is much more difficult to develop toy drive on an older dog that has no interest in playing, so it is always best to develop this drive while the dog is young and is always eager to play.
The first key is to have a “favorite toy” for your dog. If you play with your dog, try to use the same toy every time rather than using a different toy each time.
The second key to developing a strong interest in playing is not allow the dog to come in contact with the toy when you are not playing with your dog. This increases the value of the toy as the dog cannot have the toy whenever it wants. Dogs are like people in that they will want things they do not have.
The third key is to stop playing at the highest, most intense part of that playtime. In other words, if the dog’s drive is like a mountain peak, you should always end the playtime when the dog’s drive is on its way up or as close to the peak as possible. Never end the exercise when the dog’s drive is going in a downward spiral. If this happens, then you’ve played too long, and the dog’s drive has already begun to diminish. This will cause boredom.
Leave your dog “hungry” for the toy and always wanting more. To draw an analogy, let say you were hungry and I give you one bite of a candy bar and then look the candy bar away from you. This would make you really want more candy. However, if I gave you 10 candy bars to eat and you ate all of them, you would probably be sick of eating candy and wouldn’t want another bar if I gave it to you.
photo credit: MonkeyMike
For this reason, playing with puppies should not be an activity done all of the time. Playtime should be the most special time for them. Puppies sometimes have extremely short the attention spans. Too much play with the toy can cause the puppy to lose interest and lose focus. So it is possible that you may play with your young pup for only a few seconds at first until the toy drive increases.
By developing a high drive for a toy, you will not only be able to give your dog a great workout and build a strong relationship, but the toy then can also be used as a reward for obedience training and socialization.
Used by permission from: www.BVDT.net
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September 13th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Hi, that article was great and it really helps me understand why my GSD has a low drive. I’m a Police Officer in Florida and I have been offered the Canine Handler position if I can build my dogs drive.. I’ve tried congs, balls, hoses. I’m just getting kinda discouraged. Can you help??
September 14th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Hello Dave,
I have a few questions to better assess your situation:
Some dogs just don’t have the high drive needed for service work, but to see if yours does, you simply need to find what will “turn on the switch” for him. If you make the bite tug his ONLY reward for a NILIF lifestyle, that may get his interest, as it will be the only source of “play/reward” he’ll get.
NILIF stands for “Nothing In Life Is Free” - meaning for every need he has, such as drinking, eating, etc., you make him “work” for it using obedience commands. Make him “sit” before he eats. Make him “down” before he drinks, etc. Making him “work” doing obedience before getting what he wants will elevate you as the pack leader, as well as get him thinking that he needs the work, or no play,eat,etc…
And once he does this, the only reward you should give is the tug.
So with the questions answered, we can go from there!
HTH,
Martin
September 18th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Hi there, nice article… What do you do (to the dog) next if you put him at high drive stage? We stop the game during the high peak and I don’t think we just end the “game” like that. Any addon to this? Thanks for sharing.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 am
Hello Chong,
Best thing to do is end quick, and put him away in his kennel. This will build anticipation for the next training session. Also will let him “think” about what was happening.
December 20th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Hi, I have a German Sheppard puppy that turned 12 weeks old. Both the sire and dame are imports and carry a Sch II title. The puppy is a female and is already showing good signs of toy drive using a ball on a string. The hopes for this dog are to train her for a dual purpose later as she gets older, to replace my female Malinois. Is there anything more you could recommend for me to do building her drives more toward the working dog area.