"All-Positive Monday 22" - Building Desire In Catching And Carrying

With Wally more and more interested in catching things, and getting a bit better at it, I took part of the day to have Wally like the ball even more.

I want him to do anything he can to get the ball in his mouth. To do this, I turned to shaping-type activity.

The behavior I want is him getting the ball in his mouth. Once he did this, he got a reward for it. Nothing happens with any other behavior. Nothing else is good enough, no pawing, poking, pushing the ball, just picking it up.

I went through about a dozen of these and then switched to a more active scenario. I rolled the ball, and he had to go get it, but without me saying so. I want it to be the default behavior. See ball moving...get ball in mouth.

Our prior working on retrieve training interferes with this as he is used to waiting for the cue to go after whatever it is. I want to frame this differently, so he can understand the difference between the two activities. That is something for me to think on.

After doing this, I held the ball in my hand and moved it around. He had to try to grab the ball. Again, all of this in an effort to get him to go into "Must. Get. Ball. In. Mouth." mode. Each time he succeeded, he got a click and a reward. I also kept getting him and keeping him excited the whole time, which had him increasing his efforts.

However, it didn't stop with just the ball. Also on the agenda was developing his "pick up and carry" desire. Since we had been working with getting the ball in his mouth, this would be a good follow up since it's also involving getting objects in his mouth.

This is a little more difficult since he's not as apt to carry a lot of things, but I used the ball again. Instead of catching the ball, he had to pick it up and carry it to me. Success netted him a game with the ball. That would be the reward I used for this set of exercises.

After getting him warmed up with the ball, I used other light household items, like a duster, balled up napkins, stirring spoons, and so on. Hopefully, this could be the precursor to other actions like putting the object in a box and moving him further along in becoming something of a "housework dog".

"All-Positive Monday" VI: Go, Pick Up, And Carry

Some of the things Wally picked up today. Not pictured is a credit card and a roll of tape. Only usual one is his dumbbell.

As planned, Wally and I worked on picking up and carrying various items that he normally doesn't get to interact with. He did some carrying with the items as well. Overall, Wally did much better than expected, considering he normally resists carrying or taking things he's not used to working with. That set a good tone for the rest of the day, and it seemed to be a very good success!

The start of the training was getting him to pick up the object. He had to figure out how to get the object and a lot of times it slid around as he was trying to get his mouth around it. A couple times he looked back at me when he couldn't get it, to which I encouraged him to "get it!" in an upbeat voice and that got him going again, especially after a few successes and getting bread balls for a reward.

The hardest items for him were the thinner ones, the credit card and the thin remote control. He had a hard time getting his teeth low enough to grasp it and pick it up. After a few tries, however, he was able to do it pretty well, seeming to remember how he succeeded the last time. The stuffed Catbert was also hard for him because of the weight and how awkward it was for him to hold. He failed on one item because of weight. This one was a thicker remote. If he lifted it off the ground at all, he got a click and treat and I put that item out of play.

After working the pick up for some repetitions, I added in the carrying part of the training. I worked it as a bit of retrieving, since bringing the object back is really the carrying behavior anyway. Kept the distance short, about 3 or 4 feet, and cued him to go get it. I took the opportunity to introduce a bit of a hand target for bringing it back. Perhaps someday down the line, it will become something of an environmental cue so that someone can hold out their hand, and he'd bring the object to the hand.

Sometimes, I would also throw the objects up on the bed (we practiced this in my bedroom) so he had to hold it while jumping down. Distance was still short, but just a new "obstacle" to deal with. He did this just fine.

We went through all of this with each of the objects, rotating them and giving him breaks in-between.

For the evening walk, I used the dumbbell only since this was going to be something he's not done before. I wanted to use a very familiar and positive object to him for this.

What he had to do was carry the dumbbell all walk long. He could only put it down during the "potty breaks" and then he could drop it, do his business, sniff around a few more seconds, then get the dumbbell and continue the walk. Most of this was in the beginning of the walk so the vast majority was with no break at all.

He also had to do all the things he normally does during our walks: staying in heel position unless directed otherwise, stopping and sitting at street corners (while continuing to hold the dumbbell), and follow any directions like wait, left, right, etc.

And, as fate would have it, the cosmic 20-sided die rolled up some distractions for us, and these would also be dog distractions. One was a ever-so-tiny puppy that was ridiculously cute that Wally wanted to greet. I directed him to stay in position and praised him as he walked past the cute critter. There would also be another dog distraction I'll get to in a bit.

As the walk continued, we got to about the halfway point. At this point, he got another "potty break" and then we did some retrieving. This is where the other dog distraction happened. Another ridiculously cute puppy was being walked and this start barked at Wally. Wally wanted to go over but he didn't break his position (he was in front position as he just finished a retrieve). To Wally's credit, he wasn't nearly as focused on the dog as he usually is. He got many rewards for continuing to "work" and focus on his task pretty well.

At the end, I think he was getting tired - perhaps physically more than mentally, or maybe some of both - as he was starting to let the dumbbell drop - and it wasn't like he just put it down. I cued him to get it encouragingly and just ignored the drops.

Overall, he did an excellent job and it was the most "work" he's done, especially with carrying. He gave a good effort the whole time, and I was quite proud of him. He got a big reward when his job was done (bringing the dumbbell back to my room and lying on his spot), and a nice meaty bonus in his dinner!

Wally the Picky Picker-Upper

Wally was carrying stuff nicely, so I was thinking of making that a job for him. He can be a "third hand" for me as well as his opening and closing doors that he does. Okay, so he carries the duster, can pick up and carry his toys to another room, and watches the kitchen (read: barks whenever something beeps in the kitchen so I can come check on it). All seemed well.

Ah, but dogs a great that showing you the bugs in the training you've done, and Wally found one.

He only picks up certain things

Well that's not going to work out so well, so I try to have him pick it up again, but he just won't. I hold the thing in my hand, and ask again. He puts his paw in my hand instead. At first, it seemed like he was confused, perhaps I was sending mixed signals.

But, if I put, say, his dumbbell or rabbit toy in my hand and ask for a 'take it', he grabs it like it was nothing. So what's going on here? Why is he not taking the other object?

It turns out it's more a textural thing. In other words, he doesn't like the feel of the object in his mouth. He'll eventually take it and either drop it immediately or just barely have it in his mouth, like he's holding it with just one of his small teeth.

After a lot of coaxing, he'll eventually hold on to it and carry it, but that's not good enough. Other objects he struggles with, like my mom's glasses, because he has a hard time getting a grip, literally. I think, overall, it's a case of more practice and getting him to be more mouthy/more willing to offer mouthing behaviors on objects.

I think I have my idea for next week's "All-Positive Monday", though! Practicing picking things up! We'll attack it from a shaping direction to see if that doesn't help him get more of an idea.

Carrying: Making Progress

Wally's getting a better idea of carrying objects and getting more willing/able to take an object in his mouth. Some objects are still too difficult for him, perhaps they are too big or too awkward for his mouth to physically hold after all. His rope bone is no problem for him. That's what we worked with tonight and he took it and carried with no problem.

He even stepped on something that surprised him and made him drop the bone, but he went back on his own to pick it up and bring it back. He's really getting it now if he's doing that - the idea that the object must be in his mouth.

Going to have to keep building it up. It might not be a natural thing for him. He's not a retriever after all, so for him it's an actual exercise in learning instead of using a more instinctive type drive/desire/mouthiness.

One thing that's still needing work is the idea that he has to hold it until I signal for him to give or drop the item. Sometimes he will run around (which is fine since we're just playing) and just drop it without getting it in my hand, or he'll come back and just drop it. I have to make myself not pick it up and make him put it in my hand. Make that a rule of the game. I started doing it myself and holding my hands down as he's coming back to try to give him a "basket" of sorts to put it in (it'll be our hand signal as well). When he gets close, I cue "give" to help him make the connection with the hands.

Carrying: Practical Applications I

Time to put some practical connections to the rest of his everyday life with the carrying. Pretty soon, perhaps even before he goes out tonight, he is going to have to use his rope bone as a "ticket" of sorts to get to do things.

Hopefully, this will make the connection even stronger and he can see that this isn't just a behavior he needs once in a while, but something he can always do. It would go towards the generalization process with the behavior as well, as the situation will always change.

I should also introduce it into our shaping games, so he can offer picking it up and holding it more often, another way to further entrench the behavior into his mindset.

Hopefully, this will help him also be more likely to carry other objects. I know he can physically do it, it's just a matter of getting him to overcome the fact the object might not be familiar or have his preferred texture or be a certain size or weight (assuming it's not too heavy to carry of course).

A Fun Job for Wally?

Lately, I've been wanting him to carry things in his mouth. I'm not sure what got me started on this kick, but it just popped into my head. Since he already knows "take it" I figured I'd see what he'd do if I had him take it and then just start walking. Would he carry it? Would he put it down then follow? Would he just stand there like "uh, what do I do with this?"

Much to my pleasure, he kept it in his mouth and followed, trotting beside me like it was nothing...for a while. He would then drop it and then keep walking like that was right. Whenever he did that, I would have him go get it (he knows that as well) and then carry it again. I would take it from him (cue him to "give") and then let him do his bathroom business, give it back to him and have him carry again.

When we get to the park where we play, I'd cue the give again and then we'd have fun with the toy. Once the play time was over, I'd give him the toy again and he had to carry it until we get back home, and most times, I take a more roundabout route (not just go back where we came). Again, if he gave me his signal that he needs/wants to go potty (he looks at me if we're walking) I'd have him give me the toy, then he can do his business.

If he dropped the toy, he has to get it, even if he needs to go. The toy is his "ticket" to the "bathroom" as well as continuing the walk and any play time.

Doesn't stop there. Once we get near home, I'll ask him to "go porch" and the charges towards the front porch, sits and puts his toy down and waits for me. I'll rub him on the head and open the door. He has to get his toy and hold it before I let him in.

Basically, the toy in his mouth is the ticket for everything else, even going down to get his dinner. I call it a fun job because he's enjoying it. His tail is all up and he's prancing along happily. He's excited and it really seems like something he wants to do. He's getting better as well.

Sometimes I wonder if some of the dropping is his mouth getting tired. Can a dog's mouth get tired and does it happen from just holding something? Seems strange at first, but it could be, especially for his heavier toy. May have to work up to it just like I'd have to work up to carry heavy boxes.

Will be interesting if he gets more into picking up his toys when he wants something after doing this over time. He has taken things he's learned before and run with it in other ways, putting his twists on it. Wonder what, if anything, he'll do with this.