Something pretty disturbing with Baloo.

I so want to do it. I've heard nothing but good things about it but I just can't afford it. I'm supposed to be saving money.

I wish I had money for it. ): Right now financially, I'm stuck.

Baloo is doing pretty good with the "it's yer choice". However, a common issue I'm having with him is he is losing interest. He's only done it a couple times, but I have to call him back to me, and I feel like I shouldn't do that. He sees that my hand is closed, nuzzles it a lot, sees I open it when he backs off, dives again, I close my hand, and then he just walks off. Lol. Like "screw this, I don't have to take this!". Lol. I call him back and we try the game again. Should I not be calling him? We are in the living room, so it's not big and I know he will eventually wander back if I just sit there... So should I just wait for him instead of calling him back to me?

....are you rewarding him for backing off?

Yes, but sometimes he doesn't stick around long enough for the reward. He just leaves. Lol.

But I just did another session with him and he did AWESOME. He stuck around, and by the end of the session, he was looking at me and not the open hand of treats and he wasn't jumping for the treats anymore.

I'm proud.

If he doesn't want the food as a reward, you could always do something else like a couple throws of a ball (or whatever game/toy he likes).

Don't play in the living room, play somewhere small and closed in and boring. The bathroom is a great option. If you have a hallway you can close off to other rooms, play there.
Be careful opening when he "backs off" that you don't inadvertently reward (opening your hand to show the cookie is rewarding) him for literally backing away from you physically.
No, I would not call him back to you. If he walks away I would give him some time to come back - maybe 60 seconds max - and if he doesn't, then end the game - then try it again a while later but use higher value rewards. Cheese or meat. If he's not highly food motivated to begin with, you need to be make the food more motivating. Some dogs can play for their kibble and some dogs need something more. And some dogs just have different preferences... what is very rewarding to one dog may be boring to another.

I'm lucky for buddy ANY food is the best hint ever since he's a total hog lol . What about using a leash & having it by your feet & if he tries to leave discretely step on it maybe? That's all I got lol.

We have been using hotdogs. My living room is fairly boring and open... I don't have any furniture. Just a carpet. Chevelle's kennel is in the bathroom.

He has greatly improved. By the end of today, I was able to dump a cup of hotdogs in front of him, and he would look at me. I'm really shocked and proud of him.

That's awesome to hear! I applaud your stubbornness in a world where if a dog isn't "the perfect dog" they dump them off . Baloo is lucky to have someone as deticstes as you

I don't mean what I said in a sarcastic or "bad" way (just in case it read hat way... Yu know the Internet & whatnot)... I respect ppl like you who truely love their dogs, that's why I love forums like this full of kindred spirits like my own

Keep up the good work & keep posting updates &/or PICS!

Haha, I didn't take it in a bad way and thank you.

Just keep at it, it could also be he is in the "terrible teens" stage lol he actually sounds a lot like Izze when she was his age & when she hit 2 yrs she became the best dog, there was no "reasoning" with her like its yer choice & whatever. When she got too "out of hand" I gave her a gruff "bad dog!" & send her for a time out, if she wouldn't go then I left the room or yard or wherever (even tho she was a hellion she was super attached to me).

Boring and open does not equate to boring, small, and closed in, LOL. But I'm glad he is doing better now.


And no, stepping on a dog's leash to prevent him walking away is pretty much the antithesis of a game called IT'S YER CHOICE.

I pushed it today and put the treats on the floor and he did awesome! I even put one on his paw and he didn't touch it! So proud of him...

Gusto did the same thing you are describing with Baloo when we were first working on It's Yer Choice. You could practically see him thinking "Fine, it's yours, I get it" and he'd disengage and walk away. I had to ask a few friends how to handle it, and it came down to me being much faster to reward early on. He needed to realize the game was still on after I said "you can't grab this" the first time.

It sounds like you are doing some great work with Baloo! I applaud you for being proactive and helping him learn to manage this. It will pay off in spades in the long run, I'm sure.

Thank you!

So I made a video of one of my sessions today with Baloo. It's bad quality because it's from my laptop, but you can still see what we're doing. I think a couple times I may have rewarded him when he wasn't paying attention, but other than that I think I am doing it right because he is definitely getting it. Let me know what you think and if there's anything I should be doing different. I would do it in my bathroom, but my house is tiny, and my bathroom is one of those bathrooms where you can't sit on the toilet and close the door at the same time...LOL. Plus, Chevelle in there. Also, the dog you hear sounding off in the background occasionally...That's Malyk. He hates not being apart of the fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Boou8gI13k

Oh, and the cat is my cat Razmatazz. He doesn't like the door to their bedroom being closed and he lets me know it. Very vocal cat.

Looks like you're both doing a great job to me

Look At That is another game you might want to look into for self-control

Thank you!