# Tips for training a low drive dog



## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

Hi Ruth, this is sometimes the problem we run into when we forego drive and biddability. There is some way of building drive, but generally, a dog genetically predisposed to low drive will remain fairly low drive. 

This does not mean the dog is not trainable but we have to learn to work with them. 

I want to start with saying that your dog is still YOUNG. Some dogs are ready at 3 months, some aren't ready for a year or two. My own current dog was NOT ready for regular obedience work until 10-12 months old. Prior to that I could not get him to maintain attention, focus, etc. He had a decent retrieve drive, but I had to make sure nothing was work. In the end, I put him away for months until his brain started to mature. 

In your case, I would recommend also waiting, but also doing basic drive building exercises. I see you've tried tug and such and that isn't working. I would try a flirt pole (puppy friendly play), or something that you can find that the puppy simply cannot NOT play with, if possible. I also would try clicker training and making learning and training fun. I've found that having puppy think (snuffle mats, puzzle toys, etc) is a good way to get them used to "working" for their food. I would also try to use kibble in training sessions (training for their dinner).


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