Thread: puppy prey drive

Originally Posted by drew mac

What a good little pup! I think that as long as the puppy is not to stressed then working it is fine. The puppy seems to be handling the work. I wouldn't be lifting up as much but I would think that he is showing what the puppy can do for the camera. Still a very nice pup.

How old would people think the puppy is?

Thanks Drew

Hi Drew,

I Believe it says the pup is 12 weeks old.

For a GSD pup she looks good. I will back SummitK9 100% about doing bitework while their teeth are comming through. While you get some pups who dont care about the pain of changing teeth, most normal pups will go backwards if you do bitework in this time period.

While the GSD shown was nice, here is a clip of a Mali in France doing FR work at 16 weeks of age. Only 4 weeks older than this female GSD pup.
You can see the huge amount of work these top French trainers put into their dogs. We have a long way to go in this country yet.

Dailymotion - Sniper du vieux marronier, a video from calvaire. chien, de, travail, berger, defense

I agree with Tony which is not unusual and as long as puppy is having fun and thinks it is a game its all good.I was however impressed when he tagged the dog a few times with the foam and it didnt flinch or come off the bite.When it was in the air you can think well maybe it felt more comfortable hanging on becuase its feet werent on the ground rather than letting go but it didnt let go when its feet were on the ground either.Nice pup good nerves,genetics,breeding but have to say looks more like a Mali from the color and markings than gsd to me but Im not one of them hairy dog folk so I cant tell for sure.

It's an impressive video to watch for demonstrating extreme prey drive in such a young pup, however I must agree with most of the replies that I would not be so keen to lift the pup in the capacity that was shown as it could lead to an undesirable event, such as, a tooth being ripped out of the dogs mouth which may have a lasting effect if thepup experienced some kind of negative.

In saying that, I will also add that occasionally risks need to be taken now and then if you are indeed after a super dog and not just a pet dog you can compete with.

Many europeans have the luxury and the indifference to be able to swap dogs out if the dont work out which is not so much the case for people in Australia, who prefer to work with what they have. Not that I have an issue with that, BUT you have to accept that it will only get you so far.

I believe that Mark said in another thread that all puppy work should be FUN and I tend to agree. The display that was put on in this video dows indeed demonstrate that this pup was having fun which was dictated by the fact that he wanted to return with his prize and continue the game.

It also makes a big difference when you have a great handler/ trainer & a great dog

I agree that the lifting the pup that much is not the right way to go about an exercise. I also think that the training exercise for a pup of this age should be shorter. Two shorter exercises rather than one longer exercise.

The gsd pups tail was wagging the whole time!

I agree the pup was fine he or she didn't look stresed and had fun all the way.

A nice driven pup.

i saw a pup having lots of fun. With lots of distractions, still kept on, even when having to balance on the step, so cute! Makes me want another pup!