Frustrated...help!

[BarbV]

If she likes tugging then take one of her tug toys and treat it as a special "training toy". The key point to that is that you control the toy. When you are at home, the toy goes in the cupboard. Bring it out to play with once or twice a day for a couple of minutes, then put it back in the cupboard. YOU take the toy and play with her, then YOU end the game, leaving her wanting more and put the toy away. It is not something that she plays with by herself, nor is it something that you leave around for her to grab whenever she wants.

Take the special toy to class, and stick it in your pocket. Gio's special toy was a long rubber tug with a handle at both ends, it didn't fit in my pocket so I shoved it down the back of my pants. Worked well Use verbal rewards for small successes, but when she does really well whip out the toy and play with her. Don't let her take the toy and play by herself, be sure to play WITH her with the toy. After a couple of minutes (not long enough for her to get tired or bored with the game), take the toy away and hide it again in your pocket, up your shirt, down your pants, across the room, etc. She will likely try looking for the toy, but just bring her back and ask her to work again. Be persistent, interrupt her search for the toy and keep requiring that she continue working. Work for a couple more minutes, then pull the toy out again and repeat. It won't take her long to figure out that the toy is the reward and she has to work to earn play time with it.

Yes, when I had Bacca at puppy school, we used a combination of toys and treats. The first thing they taught us with the toy is that WE control the toy. Play, play, play! Then stop! Toy goes away and pup is told to "settle". Work and then play again. (I used the back of the pants idea as well to hide the toy, but that was failure, because Bacca's favourite toy is a squeaky rubber chicken! Everytime I bent down, I would let out a huge squeek, which would get all the pups excited!