Y’all know what? I’ve just been thinkin’ about some of the comments y’all made about the last couple days posts.
One comment in particular gave me pause…that’s pause not paws…
Sometimes we aren’t getting a command, but we inadvertently offer you the behavior while we’re playin’. If we love playin’ ball and bring the ball to you and spit it out and you’re tryin’ to teach “drop it”…now’s your chance! Be ready and say “drop it” as we spit the ball at your feet. Then praise, praise, praise and treat.
Be consistent in saying the command just as we get ready to drop the ball. Be consistent with the praise and treat. Soon we’ll associate dropping the ball with the words “drop it”.
The important thing to remember is that when we offer a behavior it is a chance to capture it and train it to something useful. If we paw at your leg, turn it into a high five or handshake. Don’t always be telling us “bad dog”. You have to use your heads too and we can be very helpful and entertaining. All we need is a little Human help and guidance.
Great tip Hawk. In fact, a command should not be used unless it is for sure that the dog will understand it. First teach the behavior, then "label" it, then turn the label into a command.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea.. Thanks Hawk!
ReplyDeleteHow about if we knock over the garbage can and eat all the garbage after our Gramma cleans out the fridge? Not that we did that yesterday, or anything. That sure wasn't us! We're just saying, could that be turned into a trick? ;)
ReplyDelete