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.
Joel Monroe is the head trainer at Big Valley Dog Training and has been involved in dog training for over 13 years. As one of the leading experts in the business, Joel trains over 135 dogs each week with clients ranging from family pets to police canine units. Whether it be obedience, tracking, agility, hunting, or protection, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that keeps him in extremely high demand. As a result, he is also the main protection training helper for clubs in Menlo Park, Bakersfield, Turlock, and Fresno.
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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.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Hi,
Really liked the article. My hubby & I just got a 2 yr old male GSD. He has been obedience trained in German, which is fine I can learn the commands. He doesn’t seem to be interested in playing at all, except for in the snow with snowballs. Which is fine however the snow is melting. We picked him up Wed, 2/17/10, he is very quiet. The woman we got him from said he played with balls but I can’t seem to get him interested. We took him to our Vet and he has a double infection in both ears. He just got all his shots. There is another problem, he gets upset when I call him and pees a little like he’s afraid. We don’t want him to be afraid of us and have been speaking to him gently but sometimes he cowers a little and this has me a little upset because I sincerely can’t think of anything I’ve done to scare or upset him. He’s a sweetheart and loves to be petted, he already has run of the house as he has proven he won’t go inside. He lets us know he has to go out. I know this is not just about playing although I really want him to be happy. This is his forever home how do I get him to relax an enjoy it? He is good with adults, children and other dogs and we wanted to train him for a therapy dog which I think he would be great at. First I want him to be happy here. Can you help us?
April 1st, 2010 at 3:21 am
[...] Playing with Prey Drive: The Key to Attitude and Enthusiasm in Performance Dogs -- The Dog Athlete Building Toy or Ball Drive | German Shepherd Breed __________________ It's not easy for a monkey to think like a [...]
November 4th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Hi
my GSD is 14months old male.
He is very fond of ball playing.
Since i have difficulty walking this is a major physical activity for him.
He runs after the ball fetch it hand it over, but does not let go.
I have very hard time taking it out of his mouth. Do you have any advice on how to teach him to release the ball without a struggle?
Raphael
November 5th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Hello Raphael,
Once your boy comes to you, show him a very tasty treat (cheese, bit of hotdog, etc.) and move your hand forward like you’re giving it to him. He “should” release the ball to take the treat. Once, and I mean “as soon” as he releases the ball, mark that behavior immediately by saying “YES!” quickly -- then give the treat. Repeat that so he begins to anticipate the treat -- and your saying “YES!” will register in his thinking that he has behaved correctly. Then treat just every other time, until you no longer are giving food rewards -- BUT always give affection every time.
Make sure that once he “gets” it, that you are placing your hand so he can drop the ball into it.
Also, make sure he is not playing with the ball with you. Let me know how it goes!
HTH,
Martin
November 5th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Hello Christine,
It sounds like he didn’t play much with his previous owner, so his “play drive” isn’t very high. Although at 2 years old, he can still learn to enjoy playing with you. Remove every distraction in your home (turn off TV/radio/have kids play outside/etc.), and begin to toss the ball with him. At first he may just stare at you, but you need to bring such positive energy to the playing that he will want in on it. It may take time, but he will eventually “learn” that you being silly in a high-energy state as you toss the ball at him (gently of course) means that he can also experience a high-drive state of play. I would suggest doing this about every hour for about 15 minutes each time.
Bonding with him via walks/play/lavishly giving him praise & petting will make a difference in his relationship with you.
As far as the “submissive urination” -- this is sometimes caused by either a “nervous dog”, or a dog that has experienced a “heavy-handed owner”, or simply the age of a puppy from 6 to 9 months of age. During those early months, dogs sometimes go through what is called a “fear period”. But since your boy is 2 years old, I wouldn’t say that is the case. It’ll make for a great article though!
I would ask you to step back and take a look at the relationships with your human family and your canine. He may have had (not suggesting this happened on purpose…) a slightly stressed relationship with previous owners, so he sees an approach from his owner as something to “worry about”. Again, I am not suggesting this was done intentionally, but sometimes those types of relationships exist. So…
When you approach him or call him, simply ignore him until you see that he is right by you, either sitting or standing. Give him a second to “relax” before any interactions. Then -- without major fanfare (unlike when you are playing with him) -- give him a quick pat on the head, a verbal “good boy”, and let him just chill with you. What you are doing is taking out ANY stress variables that may be causing the urination.
Give him time, and let me know how he is doing. And post some photos of your dog here via our “Optionally add an image” button.
HTH,
Martin
November 5th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hello William,
Wow, I must of missed your comment! Since it was posted back in 2008 (so sorry I missed it!!!), please let me know if you still have questions!
Best Regards,
Martin
February 24th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Hi I have a 1 1/2 yr old border collie female she has NO drive wahtso ever I tried encourageing it when she was ust a puppy ,but she has always been very mild and timid she has drive for the water hose and lazer lights ,but not for toys and I would have liked to put her in agility ,but becuase she has no drive it is hard. She knows multiple commands. Also she is fearful of shouting I have never beaten her so idk why she is like that ,she LOVES me and I LOVE her ,but I would like her to have a toy drive so we can play together without the lazer light….and the hose only comes on in the spring/summer/fall. Any advice??
February 1st, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Is the Malinois Breed The same way
June 2nd, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Hi, my husband and I have a 5 and half month old GSP, he has VERY high drive, and sometimes he just dosent seem to know when to give up. I am the only one who will take the time to walk, feed and play with him. My husband dosent want too much to do with him right now. I We have a trainer that is suppose to start working with him next week. I think my husband believes that after the dog gets trained then he will want something to do with him. Is this the right behavior for my husband to be with the puppy, and does the puppy know that my husband dosent want too much to do with him right now because he dosent listen to him.