He picked it up!!!

mrose_s

BusterLove
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#1
I've wanted to teach Buster for ages to retrieve things/carry things.
The first part was relativley easy. Getting him to look at it, touch it, poke it, mouth it etc. But thats where we got stuck.
Have been practiicng on and off for a while with a newspaper roll toy but havn't really progressed much.

So I saw a toy the other day online. Its 2 tennis balls joined together with plastic. Sort of dumbell shaped so I figured I'd order it and have a go with it.

It arrived today. We've done 2 training sessons today. The first one I had him placing his mouth around it everytime.
Now... he's picking it up. Not just picking it up and dropping it again instantly, but picking it up and pointing his head straight up and holding it for several seconds!

I'd sevretly like to eventually teach him to pack all the toys into a box at the end of the night, that would be cute and conveniant.

He's my champion.
 

mrose_s

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#2
Heres a little video, the quality is bad because I did it with my webcam but hey, it gets the point across i guess.

Ignore my annoying as hell voice.

 

lizzybeth727

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#3
Congratulations! IMO Retrieve is the most rewarding (for the trainer) thing you will ever teach a dog. ESPECIALLY if the dog's not a natural retriever!
 

Catsi

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#4
Congrats! :D I am trying to teach retrieve too. Would love to see your progress.
 

mrose_s

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#5
Thanks LizzyBeth, he really has never been into retrieving at all. Even when playing ball he will chase it, grab it, then drop it and let Mac bring it back 9/10. Its like the first time I saw him weave.

Now from here... I havn't really thought about my next move lol. I guess getting him to hold it until I say he can drop it?
 

lizzybeth727

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#6
I couldn't hear sound on the video clip, but I assume you're using a clicker? If so, make sure that you're clicking while the toy is still in his mouth, NOT when he's dropping the toy. Like I said, I couldn't hear, but it looks like he's learning to throw the toy rather than retrieving it.

Now from here... I havn't really thought about my next move lol. I guess getting him to hold it until I say he can drop it?
I'd go from where you are to teaching him to deliver it to your hand. Start out by putting your hand out where he's going to drop it anyway, and just pattern him to dropping it into your hand. Then gradually move you hand so that he has to move to put it in your hand.

Once he's good at moving it to your hand, then you can teach him a "give" cue, and then work on him holding the toy until you tell him the give cue.

Then just add duration to how long he has to hold it until you tell him "give."

Then you can work on him carrying the object - he picks it up, you say "let's go" and start walking, and he walks with you carrying the toy.

Then you can generalize to other objects, and work toward teaching him to carry shopping bags and other useful things.

You could also start teaching him to deliver the object to a different place other than your hand, like a toy box or a garbage can.
 

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