[nagdu] Picking up things from the ground

Wed Dec 17 23:20:17 UTC 2014

My dog is definitely a scavenger. He will eat quite literally
everything including food, paper, and plastic. About 90% of the time,
he doesn't display clear signs of being distracted by food until he is
lunging for it. Occasionally he will pull into the harness and if the
food is somewhere where he has to significantly turn his head to see
it, I can tell he is looking at something. If I know there is food
around and tell him to "leave it", he does about 95% of the time. If I
don't specifically tell him, there is a pretty good chance he is going
to try to eat it. I have been using a Halti with him and it has
definitely helped; however, I think this is a problem that is never
going to completely go away.

I've noticed that my dog will obey the "out" command when he has
something in his mouth big enough that I can hold one end of it while
he has the other, but is unreliable when he has something small enough
to quickly swallow in his mouth.

Danielle and Thai

On 12/17/14, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> hey, Tracy,

> I think for us I just use "leave it" because that's what we trained with,
> that's what our trainer did (which was effective)... we've never used "Drop
> it", though "Let Go" is occasionally part of our routine, mostly in play
> time though.
>
> Jenny is never ever EVER subtle when it comes to scavenging, so I can now
> feel her body movements when she is thinking about it.  Even going for a
> HUGE dive, I can haul her back and tell her to leave it, and 99.9% of the
> time she will.  What I've started doing is, if we're in an area that has
> been troublesome, or if she's "considering" going for that dropped sandwich,
> I will tell her "Leave it Forward" just strung together; she can't go
> forward without leaving it... that works for us.
>
> Daryl
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tracy Carcione via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 12:27:45 -0700 (MST)
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground
>
> Don't you want to say leave it before the dog picks up whatever?  How do
> you know he's thinking about picking up whatever until he does?  I don't
> have sighted assistance.  Which I guess is why I'm working more on drop it
> than leave it.
> Tracy
>
>> hi, Lisa,
>> Oh, how I can sympathize!  Jenny has also been a scavenger, though
>> admittedly it has gotten so much better, particularly in the last six
>> months.
>>
>> A few things here:
>> 1) this might never EVER go away completely, but the rules in my house
>> are
>> these:
>> a. if we're on a long leash (which for me is still short enough to pull
>> her back) or at an off-leash park, she is to obey the "Leave it!"
>> command.
>> If she does drop whatever she has gotten, she is permitted to run and
>> frolic and generally be a happy dog until it's time to go home.  If she
>> does not obey the leave it command, or continues to scavenge, the leash
>> goes back on, and fun is OVER, period.
>> b. If she is doing this in harness, it gets taken away from her, she gets
>> a scolding, and if we're in a place I know well, I drop the harness
>> handle
>> and double up the leash so short that she can't dip her head down.  If
>> that's not possible, then I have something in my purse...
>>
>> 2. I keep a Halti in my purse.  I don't know if Germany sells these, but
>> they are basically small head collars.  The Halti clips behind Jenn's
>> ears. There's a ring that goes over her nose with straps that go over her
>> cheeks.  Her leash is clipped to a small ring about 2 inches under her
>> chin, and another clip attaches to her collar.  When I first got this, I
>> used it constantly, then gradually reduced its use, until now it just
>> stays in my purse for either really REALLY bad days or a day where she's
>> in a high-stimulating environment such as a vet's office or pet store
>> where she is likely to dip her head and sniff EVERYTHING.  It took a lot
>> of work to get here, but we're making it :)
>>
>> 3. Play the "Leave It" game at home.  You mentioned when your big boy
>> first arrived that he would take stuff and chew it, so use this to your
>> advantage to continue to reinforce that taking things is NOT OK.  I have
>> done more redirection than corrections, just because of who Jenny is...
>> for us, using treats as a reward for leaving whatever it is on the ground
>> has been counterproductive, so praise has gone a LONG way to showing her
>> that leaving the apple or popcorn (her weaknesses) on the ground is going
>> to make me happy.
>>
>> The scavenging is a tough one, because it often reinforces itself: doggie
>> picks up something, it tastes good! Even if doggie gets sick an hour
>> later
>> they don't always associate it with that pulled pork sandwich they picked
>> up an hour ago.  Work hard, you can do it, it WILL get better... but you
>> are right; you do have to deal with this, and quickly.
>>
>> Feel free to write me offlist if you'd like to ask any question.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Daryl
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Lisa via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 04:18:59 -0700 (MST)
>> Subject: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground
>>
>> Hello everyone!
>>
>> Taylor does great guidework and we enjoy every day we spend with this
>> playful and energetic dog. But there's a big problem that bothers me.
>> Taylor picks up things from the ground, mostly during our walks but
>> sometimes also in harness, when it is something very "delicious". Of
>> course
>> I try to be very quick, correct him and/or take it out of his mouth but
>> especially during walks, when he is on the long leash, that's not
>> possible.
>> So he gets the chance to swallow things like leftovers from a sandwich
>> including its packaging, napkins or any other stuff that's attractive to
>> him.
>> The consequence of this behaviour is that he throws up aproximately once
>> a
>> week. Then, together with his food and water, a piece of plastic or paper
>> or
>> any other not-digestable thing comes out again. Well, I'm glad that it
>> does
>> come out. But it's stressful anyway. For him, too, of course, no one
>> likes
>> being sick.
>> We saw the vet, so I am sure Taylor has no serious problems in his
>> stomach.
>> The only reason for throwing up seem to be the things that he picks up. I
>> really do my best to monitor him but when he's sniffing around on a
>> meadow
>> and suddenly grabs and swallows something, what can I do?
>>
>> I would be really interested in how you manage this problem--labradors
>> are
>> greedy creatures, so probably I'm not the only one who deals with it.
>>
>> What kind of training could I do to avoid this?
>> Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
>>
>> thanks and greetings from Germany
>> Lisa
>>
>>
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