Duke tries the bite suit!

[TrickyShepherd]

We tried the bite suit today at training... He did great!! He actually did better on the suit then the sleeve. So proud of my boy!

His first reaction to "winning" was priceless!
"OMG, Where's the rest of him?!?!"



He had a ton of fun today!

[PatchonGSD]

Go Duke! That first pic is priceless, lmao.

[Speedy2662]

Originally Posted by PatchonGSD

Go Duke! That first pic is priceless, lmao.

Agreed!

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

*WOW* The more I read and see about IPO, the more sold and excited I am about doing this,,,, great pics!!!

[TrickyShepherd]

Originally Posted by Yoschi's_Pet_Human

*WOW* The more I read and see about IPO, the more sold and excited I am about doing this,,,, great pics!!!

Thank you!

It's definitely a lot of fun to train in... but very addicting! Always more things to get, more to learn, and more to train. It never ends! And the partnership you get with your dog is priceless. You have to be very committed to the sport though. You have to train and practice, trial, and do things over and over again. Lots of money and time.. but, it's a blast!

Originally Posted by PatchonGSD

Go Duke! That first pic is priceless, lmao.

Lol! It was pretty fun... Duke had no idea what happened to the rest of our helper! But he was pretty darn proud of himself for winning THAT huge thing instead of just a sleeve! lol

[Castlemaid]

These pics are great! Duke seems to really like the bite-suit. Good for you and Duke.

[TrickyShepherd]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

These pics are great! Duke seems to really like the bite-suit. Good for you and Duke.

Thanks! It was exciting! This has been my goal since we started in April. LOTS of hard work and many moments of no hope. I never thought we'd actually get here... let alone this soon! We let him decide and take his time. This was the first time he's ever seen the suit. If he didn't take it at all, we had a sleeve right next to our helper.

Duke didn't hesitate at all. In fact his grip was more full, stronger, and he wasn't as noisy on the bite. Very calm, confident, and quiet. I think he enjoyed it far more then the sleeve.

[onyx'girl]

Many dogs are more comfortable on suit than sleeve...looks like Duke found his fun! Next time have him target the decoys armpit!

[TrickyShepherd]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

Many dogs are more comfortable on suit than sleeve...looks like Duke found his fun! Next time have him target the decoys armpit!

Yep, I've seen that with a lot of dogs. But with how Duke is... I was surprised he was okay with the Suit. During the months it took a LOT of work to get him to each step (all mind games).... tug toy --> wedge --> sleeve. He shied away from anything new. This I do think had to do with confidence, and now with it built up he's a little more open to biting whatever I say to... whether it be our obedience tug, a ball, the sleeve, etc. I was also concerned he would get a little overboard with the bite on the suit. He's got nice prey drive, but tends to be more on the defensive side. He's serious, it's not really a game of tug for him. To my surprise he was actually even MORE confident, and kept very calm on the bite. It was awesome to see. He actually had a beautiful bite! He just didn't carry to well after the "reward" was given... where as, he will carry the sleeve forever if you let him.

Also, we are going to work on different areas to bite, but for now we're just getting him used to the suit. If he's confident enough by the weekend, we may try to offer somewhere else and see what he does. It's all trial and error with him.

The goal is to see him be sent without needing me within 6ft of him.. Out of his "safety bubble".... and have him bite with what's offered or if nothing is offered, have him take the bite regardless.

I just enjoyed seeing him having so much fun and to see how confident he's gotten... made my heart melt! He's such a good dog...