Rawr~

I don’t have resource recommendations unfortunately - does anyone else have recommendations? I have a similar issue with Happy and it springs fully from not emphasizing the hold enough initially, it is easy for a lot of dogs to value the GO FAST (whether away or to you) aspect of retrieve more than the hold imo. or vice versa. I plan on going back eventually, emphasizing her mouth CLOSING onto the retrieve item, practicing handing her a retrieve item when she is in a down/on a platform/etc then bringing it to front, basically you want them so convinced of the value of possessing the retrieve object that they don’t think about letting go. I used Megan @meimogui‘s system for retrieve and really like her approach, I messed it up and I don’t believe it is typed up anywhere but it hinges upon creating value for the retrieve object via frustration. 

personally with heel position I would practice your dog being in a down holding the dumbbell, then popping up to heel with the dumbbell, then finishing with the dumbbell… etc… which with most dogs means taking tinier steps than mentioned here…. i.e. putting the dog in a down, and having them practice the hold there; putting the dog on a pivot bowl, having them hold, rewarding, then rewarding for any rear movement; etc; thinking about how to slice behaviors down into tinier pieces basically. this might not be great advice but it is how I would approach things! 

something major I contemplate before each session now is:

how can I make this more clear, and

how can I make this more fun

Hmm yes but upon anyone asking this I forget all bitework terms lol.

Civil: will bite you for real

Sharp: low threshold for aggression. Often associated with thinner nerves

Agitation: the helper or decoy provokes (“agitates”) the desired drive state of the dog for bitework. Most of the time this means getting the dog’s prey drive up... good agitation is an art form, it requires the ability to read the dog and know how to adjust minute aspects of your body language to fan the flame of their drive. It is super cool to watch a skilled training decoy perform. Their reactions are so smoothly transitioned from the dog’s efforts, it can almost look like the dog is physically touching them

Helper: the human opponent/bitey person in IGP

Decoy: the human opponent/bitey person in all other bitesports

Drive (as in “the decoys drive the dogs”): once the dog is on the bite, the decoy runs into the dog, using stick hits and yelling to pressure the dog. This is also an area where it’s cool to watch a skilled helper/decoy work. It’s like they emit a different, monstrous aura for a few seconds. The entire exercise shows you a lot about a dog’s character and how they respond to pressure.

Pulling: the dog counters in IGP by pulling on the bite, using their weight as ballast to try and stop the helper

Pushing: dogs in PSA and Belgian Ring are taught to push on the bite, continually trying to force more of the target into the back of their mouth. This style is also common for police dogs

Dominant: dog who possesses a strong desire/enjoyment in overpowering the helper

"Pressure"/"pressuring" the dog : this is kind of like , making a dog uncomfortable either physically (such as keeping the dog on a grip for a long time so it's tiring, having your body over the dog in a dominant way where they feel less powerful, strong eye contact , wrapping the dogs head In a head lock on a bicep grip , stick hits etc) or environmentally (often slick floors, water, darkness, loud noise - cans, weed blowers , or other props that make the environment uncomfortable) .

A strong drive should pressure a dog because they're being hit , their footing is not secure, and they must hold the grip through movement instead of a position of advantage.