newly adopted 3yo GSP "give" issues

[jwtrking]

I adopted a handsome male GSP from a third party about 3 months ago. From what we were told he has been a house dog all of his life. I am three weeks into basic obedience and he is top of his class. He will retrieve bumpers like theres no tomorrow. as many times as i can throw it he will retrieve it and drop it right at my feet. Herein lies the issue. He covets the bumper. No growling. No whining. but as soon as I pick it up he's FIXED on it. The dog absouloutely refuses to put the thing in my hand. I tried the "take and give" but he won't take it out of my hand either. I am taking the low pressure route with him because he shows signs of being thumped on and came to us with E-collar marks on his neck. any suggestions? this is my first time training for the field.

[kninebirddog]

As for the marks on the neck that could be from a bark collar

For the give ..If the dog doesn't want to release grab him by the flap of the flank area and lift up mist the times the dog will drop what they have in their mouth . I have one guy here I have to grab both side of the flank and abruptly lift up before he will open his mouth as he really doesn't want to give.
and FYI if he is not giving up this is not a shy or timid action and as long as you are not yelling at the dog you are being very fair to the dog

[Cajun Casey]

Steady his mouth with one hand, hold the bumper with the other hand and blow into his nose. Give him a treat when he releases and throw again.

[birddogger]

Steady his mouth with one hand, hold the bumper with the other hand and blow into his nose. Give him a treat when he releases and throw again.

The ear works too.

Charlie

[RoostersMom]

Are you saying he won't let go of the bumper when you want him to "give" or that he won't "hold" the bumper until you take it? I didn't understand your question.

If the question is that he won't hold it until you are ready to take it, then you just have to teach the "hold" command. You can do that relatively easily with the ear pinch from FF training - it's not too rough on the dog. Or just keep placing the bumper in his mouth again and again with hold.

If your question was the other - then the guys have covered that above.

[jwtrking]

He won't hold until i take it. AND he won't take it from my hand to play the give and take game to teach him to hold it until i take it..

[ROTTnBRITT]

The way I read it is the the dog is dropping the bumper on the ground but is giving some resistance when he goes to pick it up. My rottweilers will do this when I try and take something from them. I would say if you want him to deliver to hand you will have to teach him "hold". I used the ear pinch and the fetch command to get my dog to take the bumper and when he was good with that. I started the hold command to teach him to keep it in his mouth until give the release command.

[ROTTnBRITT]

Pretty much what Roostersmom said.
Didn't read the whole post.

[helpful_cub]

He won't hold until i take it. AND he won't take it from my hand to play the give and take game to teach him to hold it until i take it..

Force fetch. My GSP was the same way until we walked through the fetch command, the hold command and the drop command. Now he knows if he drops it at my feet that I'll just order him to fetch it since I didn't order him to drop it.

Granted he didn't need much forcing, but I did have to severally limit his options until he figured out what I wanted him to do. For fetch, don't let him wonder off. Make him take the bumper into his mouth even if you have to open it for him (open the mouth or force pinch). My dog is always hungry so I reward him with a small doggy biscuit after each step until he has it down. Then I reward for a complete retrieve. In the field, the bird is the reward. Teaching Hold is a little more genital; just stroke the bottom of his jaw and tell him hold. If he tries to drop it then quickly add more pressure so he can't. You'll have to build up on this one a few seconds at a time until he gets it. Drop is a handy command because it also applies to all of the odd stuff my GSP likes to find and carry around the house. Even if I have my hand on the toy or the bumper, I don't want him to let go until I command it. But at the same time, if I command it, I definitely want him to let go. Like when he really doesn't want to give the retrieved pigeons up but he knows that he's not going to win.

[Cajun Casey]

If you are going to do force work, start with a 1" dowel rod, NOT a bumper. Put a little peanut butter or cheese-a-can on there.

[kninebirddog]

oops I read it to mean he wouldn't give also

As for a buck I use PVC instead of the wooden dowel ..

[Cajun Casey]

Paint rollers are good, too.

[jwtrking]

outstanding information. this is by far the best spot for info I've found. I really want to train him myself to build up the bond between us. thanks to all who have replied so far!!!