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Post by BorderTerrier on Apr 11, 2014 16:17:28 GMT
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Post by zahada on Apr 11, 2014 17:05:12 GMT
That may be the problem - Alfie has not been trained to release anything from his mouth when you ask him to. Never too late to teach him that. He does know a 'drop it' command but he will only do it if it's something he doesn't consider to be that great, or if you have a treat. So it is not solid. Perhaps I should work on that. If you want to cure that behaviour - then there's no 'perhaps'  . The quicker you start working on it, the quicker you will see results. And you will both be happier.  Remember - we're all rooting for you |
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 11, 2014 17:11:26 GMT
Thanks for the kick up the backside zahada  I will definitely work on it and let you all know how we get on! |
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Post by zahada on Apr 23, 2014 17:33:15 GMT
How's the training? Been over a week now....
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 23, 2014 18:29:04 GMT
We have been practising his command with low-value toys and he is getting a bit better. I have been so busy at work at the moment so I must admit we haven't worked on it lots but have got the odd few sessions in here and there.
We have also been purposely leaving non-dangerous objects around the house that have a high chance of being stolen and guarded (teatowels, clothes etc) and then ignoring the fact that he has them. It has been working very well! He had a teatowel today and it was left behind the curtain unguarded most of the day, he went back to it occassionally but he is not sitting with it constantly which I think is great progress. I came home from work and he came to greet me which he wouldn't normally do as he is too busy guarding.
We haven't moved on to tennis balls yet as I feel this needs more of my time and attention and I am so busy at the minute that I just haven't had the chance!
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 26, 2014 17:10:01 GMT
We made great progress today! On our walk through the woods he picked up a chicken bone - I managed to get it from him reasonably easy, it took much less time than usual and there was no growling at all! I just calmly clipped his lead on and took hold of the bone which was poking out and he let go - lots of treats, fuss and games ensued! He also found a punctured football that he brought home with him and got a bit funny about. I tried sitting just in front of his guarding corner - he didn't know what to do! He kept trying to get past me and every time he did, I would start playing with him. He was a bit confused and unsure at first but after a while we had moved away from the corner and now the football is just another toy Very pleased today Edit: He got a little bit weird about the football again, so when he went to eat his dinner I put it in his toy box amongst all the rest of his toys. After he'd finished his dinner he came running back looking for it - he found it in the toy box, got it out and just left it on the floor and hasn't bothered with it since. Weird, not sure what to make of that? |
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Post by scallywag on Apr 26, 2014 20:24:43 GMT
Well done as you say great progress. What commands do you use Laura. I use leave it or All done both effective, when Beau comes in from the garden with ball in his mouth, all I have to do is say ... Ut All done ! And he knows the ball is not allowed any further than the lobby
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 26, 2014 21:10:32 GMT
We used to use 'drop it' but that stopped working so well so I'm now trying to train him 'can I have?' as I found this the easiest to remember instead of 'drop it'. I am also more inclined to say 'drop it' in a more threatening tone where as 'can I have?' tends to be a lot happier and he is responding to that better! He also does a leave - I just go 'AH!' really loudly, that seems to work pretty well if you catch him quick enough but it's only for when he's about to get something. It's getting things from him when he already has them that we have trouble with! Alfie's 'all done' or 'no more' is for when i've put a toy away or he's not getting any more treats (he is a demanding little sod!  ) He also seems to be a lot better at dropping things when he's on the lead (which is why I clipped him on first) - does anyone know why? |
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 27, 2014 17:38:58 GMT
Another good day today! He picked up a child's bottle while on our walk and I just ignored him, he soon started barking as nobody was paying attention to him, I carried on ignoring him and he left it and walked off!
We paid a visit to his best Springer friend, his house is not very Alfie friendly (toys laying around!). He found a ball on a rope, usually he gets really nasty with the other dog when there are toys involved but the Springer wasn't interested at all. Alfie disappeared off into the garden with it for about 5 minutes, then we heard barking. Much the same as on the field, nobody was paying attention so he got bored and left it there!
It seems that ignoring him is the best option when not at home (so long as it isn't dangerous) as he doesn't have any favourite hiding or guarding places, he gets bored with sitting still and wants to carry on exploring. I don't think this would work with tennis balls though, I need to get to work on those!
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Post by zahada on May 1, 2014 22:06:05 GMT
We used to use 'drop it' but that stopped working so well so I'm now trying to train him 'can I have?' as I found this the easiest to remember instead of 'drop it'. I am also more inclined to say 'drop it' in a more threatening tone where as 'can I have?' tends to be a lot happier and he is responding to that better! He also does a leave - I just go 'AH!' really loudly, that seems to work pretty well if you catch him quick enough but it's only for when he's about to get something. It's getting things from him when he already has them that we have trouble with! Alfie's 'all done' or 'no more' is for when i've put a toy away or he's not getting any more treats (he is a demanding little sod! ) He also seems to be a lot better at dropping things when he's on the lead (which is why I clipped him on first) - does anyone know why? He is better on a lead because you have removed the option of running away = part of his way of controlling situations. LOL. Carry on with the good work, nice to see results, isn't it? |
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Post by alfiemummy on May 1, 2014 22:09:50 GMT
We used to use 'drop it' but that stopped working so well so I'm now trying to train him 'can I have?' as I found this the easiest to remember instead of 'drop it'. I am also more inclined to say 'drop it' in a more threatening tone where as 'can I have?' tends to be a lot happier and he is responding to that better! He also does a leave - I just go 'AH!' really loudly, that seems to work pretty well if you catch him quick enough but it's only for when he's about to get something. It's getting things from him when he already has them that we have trouble with! Alfie's 'all done' or 'no more' is for when i've put a toy away or he's not getting any more treats (he is a demanding little sod! ) He also seems to be a lot better at dropping things when he's on the lead (which is why I clipped him on first) - does anyone know why? He is better on a lead because you have removed the option of running away = part of his way of controlling situations. LOL. Carry on with the good work, nice to see results, isn't it? Yes that makes sense. You can see his mind working when he's on the lead and I ask him to let go lol, he growls to himself and then gives me that 'I don't want to drop this' look, but he gives up not long after as he seems to know it's only going to end one way! It's great I am trying to work on it at every given opportunity! |
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Post by smilesbetter on May 2, 2014 22:30:40 GMT
Glad it seems to be going well! |
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Post by alfiemummy on May 3, 2014 16:36:29 GMT
I managed to get him to let go of a tennis ball yesterday, although it didn't go as well as other things. I tried asking him and it didn't work. So I just calmly took hold of it and waited and he let it go after a few minutes. Not amazing progress but there was no growling at all so that's something!
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Post by alfiemummy on May 4, 2014 20:59:54 GMT
We went to see his friend Rastus again today, toys strewn about again. He picked up a tennis ball, as soon as I went to take hold of it (he won't drop things when another dog is around) he let go instantly - a tennis ball! Very pleased today! He seems to be a lot better away from home. |
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Post by alfiemummy on May 5, 2014 20:38:06 GMT
We practised a little with the tennis balls today. I got out all the balls we had lurking about and we practised some give and take training which worked quite well although he was very reluctant to give it up the first few times  |
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. The quicker you start working on it, the quicker you will see results. And you will both be happier. 
I will definitely work on it and let you all know how we get on!
)
