# Is it to late.



## Michael Naviglia (Aug 13, 2008)

Just brought home a 14month old Mali home. This Mali has had no training and was not taken out of the kennles very much. This Mali showed great ball drive at the Kennels were he was born. I was hoping that this would be my current work dog replacement. After being at my house for a week now he is not showing me the ball drive that I observed at the kennels. I also took the Mali out to show a few of my friends the second night home and he appeared to be a little stand offish. Also it should be noted that four of the litter mates were in ajoining kennels. I know the farther is one outstanding work dog, morhter also is a very good work dog. Is it to late for this Mali


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

Sounds good, but can you handle him?


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Michael Naviglia said:


> Just brought home a 14month old Mali home. This Mali has had no training and was not taken out of the kennles very much. This Mali showed great ball drive at the Kennels were he was born. I was hoping that this would be my current work dog replacement. After being at my house for a week now he is not showing me the ball drive that I observed at the kennels. I also took the Mali out to show a few of my friends the second night home and he appeared to be a little stand offish. Also it should be noted that four of the litter mates were in ajoining kennels. I know the farther is one outstanding work dog, morhter also is a very good work dog. Is it to late for this Mali


Hey Michael

The dog "showed great ball drive at the kennel". For YOU or the breeder/owner. You would have been better off taking some time to bond with the dog before taking him out his second night at your house. Back off on the training and showing off to friends and BOND with the dog first. If the drive was there at the kennel. It should reappear once he's used to you as the new owner


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## sam wilks (May 3, 2009)

Just because father and mother are "great" working dogs does not guarantee a great pup. If he is a good dog than no its not too late. keep in mind that you said he was in a kennel. a lot of people like to keep their dogs in kennels and bring them out 5 minutes a week and talk about how much drive their dog has. if i kept my wife's little house dog in a kennel all week she would come flying out of their acting crazy too. so you bring this dog who is really excited to get out of his kennel and wow! he's full of drive! then he comes home and is allowed to be out all the time and someone pays him attention! he settles down. now its surprising that he is scared of the same puddle that he was jumping through to get his ball. it shouldnt be because now he has settled down enough to actually see the puddle. also it dont mean he's a bad dog necessarily if he is scared of things because maybe he has never seen them before. but he should be able to overcome those things! JMHO


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## Dave Colborn (Mar 25, 2009)

sam wilks said:


> Just because father and mother are "great" working dogs does not guarantee a great pup. If he is a good dog than no its not too late. keep in mind that you said he was in a kennel. a lot of people like to keep their dogs in kennels and bring them out 5 minutes a week and talk about how much drive their dog has. if i kept my wife's little house dog in a kennel all week she would come flying out of their acting crazy too. so you bring this dog who is really excited to get out of his kennel and wow! he's full of drive! then he comes home and is allowed to be out all the time and someone pays him attention! he settles down. now its surprising that he is scared of the same puddle that he was jumping through to get his ball. it shouldnt be because now he has settled down enough to actually see the puddle. also it dont mean he's a bad dog necessarily if he is scared of things because maybe he has never seen them before. but he should be able to overcome those things! JMHO



On that same note, keep him housed similarly to the kennel and you may have better results with him. Similar food. Vari kennel a couple hours prior to work to get some pent up energy, a good break, and then work. May help him snap into his new life. Keep bringing him out for friends and socialize. If he can't stand next to a man comfortably, it makes biting more difficult. Also if he's lived without working for that long, he may be out of shape. Take that into consideration. 

Also, it may be too late this time, but always test dogs away from their home field. You want to be sure you don't have a backyard champ. Great on their home turf, but without the drive or nerves to carry them through in their new work environment.


good luck with your dog. I hope it works out for you!!!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Michael,
Please post a bio in the Member's Bio forum.
Tell us a little about yourself. Training experience, goals, area you live in.
This will all go towards helping you find trainers and clubs in your area that may be useful to you.
This post will be reopened when you've done that.

Thanks
WDF moderator


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