He had a great tugging session yesterday. I think he is getting the concept of it and it seems to be transferring to other objects like the fleece tug and not just the stuffed monkey. The only way I can get him to start is by grabbing it after he's fetched it though, he is still not biting well when I just offer him the toy.\
Yay! That's great!
What does he do if you move the toy before you've thrown it? Like moving it around the ground or in the air rather than just offering it to him? Most dogs that I've been getting used to a disc won't grab it if it's just offered but if I slap it around and move it around the ground they grab at it and then I do a bit of tugging and it works really well.
And remember, keep the tugging sessions short and keep the throw and retrieve a big part of it since he finds that majorly rewarding!
Also, I've had a few ACD/Terrier mixes go through my classes and the thing they've ALL had in common was that they liked to be pushed around while playing and if they weren't sure on tugging, pushing them away while moving the toy around and them not being able to just grab it made them fight for it SO much more. So that might be an idea for him!
I introduced him to a disc- just a cheap plastic one. He will chase it along the ground but not pick it up at the moment. Good disc ideas? I've been watching videos about introducing discs so we've started with rollers but I think I suck with them. He seems to definitely prefer tennis balls and then soft toys vs plastic. Should we start with a soft floppy disc? I am looking at Hero discs just now.
Practice your rollers alone, that will help a ton. Also, one of the first things I teach is an around (lure him around your body and toss the food in front of you so he gets used to moving forward when he comes around your body) because it really helps them move in the right direction, they SEE the disc rolling away and they don't get hit in the head by you trying to throw.
I would probably use a floppy disc at first if you only have the cheap plastic discs because those can hurt the dog and be off putting to them (unless you're Feist) but if you're going to go with Hero then I saw do it and start getting him into it!
Remember, short SHORT sessions. Short little rollers and try some takes too, hold it out parallel to the ground and move it away from him trying to get him to take it from your hand. Play with it on the ground, move it around, make him chase it.
The ACD's I've worked with all seem to have this fight in them that makes them want it if you don't LET them get it. The last two were both dogs that loved the chase but didn't want to pick it up after that so we did a lot of short rollers and I would race them to them and if they didn't grab it off the floor I would take it and make a huge deal about getting it before them. Pushing them away from it and making myself look like an idiot. They both pretty much started fighting me to get to it.
So, just some ideas for you! Look up the disc thread on here too, has a lot of great advice!