SammerZPH

I have a 2 yr old that I have started recently in bite work, The first time we tested him on the field in Defense and he went into total avoidance, The Second time we tested him again in Defense and he froze again, he does not back down in any way, he is not scared nor flighty He just blocks the helper out.

We had a helper come out of the building and start growling at him and when he did that my dobe finally reacted, He started to sound off and was instantly turned "on". What other things can i do to keep him "on" and work up his bite work. I am kind of at a mind blank on what else to do.

I do not plan on doing any schutzhund with him, But I do want to teach him the rules of bite work and at least have a good grip on it. Let me know if anyone has any tips. I would greatly appreciate any advice.

K9Jarko

JMO, as it is very hard for even a very experienced and knowledgeable trainer (which I am definitely not) to give advice over the internet without seeing your boy in person, but I would say that you have/are moving to fast with him. Whether your going to do SchH/Ring/PPD/PSD or just "teach him the rules of bite work and at least have a good grip" a strong foundation MUST be layed before one can proceed - especially when it comes to working a dog in defense. All forms of training are dependent on the individual dog as to how one should proceed.

WorkingInSTL

I have to second this. There is absolutely no way for a helper to "read" the dog and tell what is going on in their head to cause this behavior. Without a "read", there is no way to correct accordingly. My personal opinion is the same...the dog is being pushed way to fast and is being worked outside of its stress threshhold. Strong reactions to a helper come from confidence, and that has to be built in a dog gradually. The speed at which a dog builds confidence is dependent on the individual animal.

The closest I would come to giving "internet advice" is to say, if you're not happy with the results, take a step backwards in your training, and go back to something the dog is confident with. Also, keep in your mind that every dog has a breaking point, regardless of how hard they are (or aren't), and you may simply be asking your dog to give you something he will never be capable of. I am not saying that is the case with your dog because I have absolutely no way of knowing that one way or the other, so please don't take that personally.