[nagdu] Obedience

[Raven Tolliver]

Hi,
Definitely switch up the commands. If they don't know what's coming
next, they can't anticipate your cues.
Also, throw more in to make it more challenging and engaging. At GEB,
they jazzed up obedience routines by adding in distractions--food,
other animals, toys, and so on.
When I got home, I stuck with the regular obedience commands, then
after the first 2 weeks, I threw in more stuff--to the chair, to the
counter, and leave it. I worked on food refusal with my siblings
throwing food at him and calling to him with food in their hands. I
also worked on extended stays with him with my family throwing food,
calling to him, throwing toys, and even running around him. I did this
for a while with myself in the room, then I left the room and still
expected him to stay while all this was happening. Then we took it all
outside. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were crazy people with a
really chill dog.
I wanted to do everything I could to set my dog up for success. I
wanted to know I could trust him no matter what, and that he knew what
my expectations were.
I do obedience on very rare occasions, now that I've had him for
almost 2-1/2 years. If he's being a stubborn SOB, I just use the
time-out, or a sequence of sit, touch, down in no particular order.
But I know I can trust him, I can leave him in the lobby of my
apartment building and run back to my apartment to grab something,
knowing that if people walk by and/or talk to him, he will stay. I
know that when people offer him food, he absolutely will not accept
it.
as far as working on the "leave it" cue, definitely incorporate that
if you've got a scavenger on your hands. Have someone help you, or
Rox's baggy idea is a good one too.
Covering the food with your hand is also doable. I did this a lot at
the animal shelter. The dog's would paw, claw, and nose at my hand,
and I would reward them when they stopped. Most got the message very
quickly. Then we progressed to leaving the food on the ground at a
distance. Each time the dog learned to control themselves and not
lunge for the food, we moved closer to the food. At the shelter, I was
able to use toys as rewards too, food is not your only option for a
reinforcer. If you think praise is sufficient, go for it. Play is an
option as well if you don't want to use food rewards, though those are
primary reinforcers for most dogs.


On 11/20/14, Cindy Ray via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> That bag thing is a really good idea. Never thought of doing that before.
>
> Cindy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of The Pawpower
> Pack
> via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2014 8:53 AM
> To: Tracy Carcione; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
> Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Obedience
>
> Hi Tracy,
> This thing with the obedience sounds strange to me too.  I would start
> slowing it down and force him to listen to you, not to anticipate what he
> thinks is coming.
> You might try putting something really stinky like tuna in a ziploc bag so
> it smells good but he can't get to it.  Or you can hear him get the bag.  I
> like to start with my foot on the bag and kind of move the bag with me
> under
> my shoe.  I still have the dog on a leash when I start that so I can feel
> her head go down.
> Good luck!
>
>  Rox and the kitchen Bitches:
> Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
> Pawpower4me at gmail.com
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 20, 2014, at 7:41 AM, Tracy Carcione via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>>
>> I am trying to be good and do my daily obedience exercises.  I try to do
> them in various places.  What else have people done to jazz them up and
> keep
> them interesting and useful?
>> I would like to try them with food around, but I'm not sure I can be
>> quick
> enough to keep Krokus from snatching the food without some help from
> someone.  He's really fast, and getting the food would defeat the whole
> purpose.  But I know it can be done, and would like to know the trick.
>>
>> Tangentially, when I learned OB at GDB many moons ago, I learned to wait
>> a
> beat or two after the down before giving the sit, so the dog was responding
> to the command and not anticipating.  But it seems different at TSE.  It
> was
> down sit down sit down sit, with no real time between.  Krokus expects
> that,
> and my classmates did it that way, so I was on my first or 2nd down/sit and
> they had done 3.  Seems odd to me, because Krokus pops up a second after I
> say down, thinking that's how it's done. Seems to me he should be waiting
> for my command.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/pawpower4me%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ravend729%40gmail.com
>


-- 
Raven
"if God didn't make it, don't eat it." - John B. Symes, D.V.M.
http://dogtorj.com