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Hi Matt,
Can be a few different reasons:
– They may have developed a different obsession if they have access to anything else that satisfies their prey drive. (fetch,chasing squirrels,playing toys with each other)
– Could be from too many “outs”. I do very very little outs if the goal is to develop a strong bite
– Could be from conflict if other pack dogs are present that may challenge for toys/possessions..
– could be conflict with you. It is tricky doing tug with your own dog at this age if the goal is a hard intense bite. If for formal training I almost always try to have someone else do the tug while I hold the dog.
for restless spirit purposes a “weaker” tug is totally fine– It could be technique. If the tug isn’t whipping around enough and away from the dog it could be boring the prey drive. Also if the movement on the tug isnt always away from the dog while on the bite it can start to bore the prey drive.
– It could also be the dogs just genetically have a lower prive drive. I have worked some dobies that just need a lot of work in drive building to keep them interested compared to others with all else being raised pretty equal. Especially true if the dobies come from predominantly show lines vs working/sport lines. If that is the case you can be doing everything right but you are just working against mother nature.
These are just a few of my initial brainstorms. The flirt pole is probably the best way to vitalize the prey drive if you want to start troubleshooting if it is a drive issue.
