"Get your dish" was going well for a while, until Belle dropped it. The clang and clatter have put her off, temporarily I hope, while I figure out a new way around an old problem.
The good news, is Belle doesn't object to carrying metal things. She'll get my keys, the ice cream scoop, and other metal items but that pesky dish is just too dang noisy! I'm hoping to create a bridge to the "Get Your Dish" by providing a handle of sorts to make it easier to hold on to as she brings it to me. So far, she's willing to take it, and hold it, and even carry it a ways - but she would rather "take" the handle I've got hanging from the refrigerator door. She told me so tonight. I would ask her to take her dish, she'd give me eyebrows and go over to the fridge and grab that handle. I had to remove the refrigerator handle before she would focus, under protest of course, on the dish handle. Maybe I should put her dish in the refrigerator!
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3 comments:
Lu,
It is interesting. Some dogs really like the sound the dropping dish makes. Jack loved the sound and would bring his dish whenever he wanted to get me off the couch and do some training. The more noise it made the better. Tess was much like Belle. The sound from the dropping dish really irritated her. If she dropped the dish she would give up.
I have not started working on it with Beckham yet - perhaps I should.
Lori
I hope I'm not confusing Belle by adding a handle. Most bowls come handle-less. I tried the duct tape method that you suggested and it worked for a while, but she still didn't like it when she dropped it. When Cody chewed half the duct tape off, I decided to try a different approach.
You should try making her hold a plastic dumbell 1st or a lighter plastic bowl instead of a metal one. Coz once it scares her, it will take months to re-teach her to carry & fetch things again. It's the same for agility. If a dog slips & falls off the dog walk for example, it will take more than month to regain its confidence.
Love licks,
Solid Gold Dancer
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