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It sounds like there needs to be more grip work. I can only guess without watching a video since a lot depends on what the agitator is doing, but i would guess that there needs to be more work in “prey” and that Tazer needs to be more comfortable and confident with the game part of things. Even if he isn’t being worked purposely in “defense” he can still be accidentally worked in defense if the agitator is not making enough prey movements and is using too much eye contact. It can conflict the dog.
Also, what one dog feels comfortable working in and puts a dog in a “prey” state another dog will feel too much confrontation from the agitator and take the dog out of that state. This will cause the dog to loosen his grip. So it could be a low prey drive or it could be a need for confidence building. This a good agitator should be able to read and adjust to the dog by being less confrontational and slipping the suit or tug faster. This dog should definitely not be working on any “outs” on the agitator yet and should always get slips if he is having this problem.
The Nikko series in the personal protection videos will show a pretty good progression of building the dogs confidence and grip on the bite. It starts with the agitator using tugs. The video on improving his grip may be especially helpful for Tazer’s case.
