All Things Dog Blog |
| Houdini Strikes Again: Tanner Masters Zippers Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:50 PM PDT by Carrie Boyko, CEB
If you've followed any of my posts on Tanner, you may be aware that his particular talent is in being a Houdini. He has mastered our front door, child-guard-locked gates, dog park gates, doggie daycare doors and gates, and Oliver's crate, to mention a few. I could have titled this post "Dog Raids Owner's Suitcase for Conference Swag" but that would have made All Things Dog Blog sound like a news site. Don't confuse me with them. That's not what I'm about! It was entertaining though, when I arrived home from Barkworld and left my "swag" suitcase sitting by the door. By morning Tanner had unzipped the zippers and removed all the toys and other swag. He looked at me as if to say, "Mom, I've unpacked for you. Where would you like your things?" I melted into a big hug, giving him major kudos for not devouring a single item. Wow! Could I have trained him that well? The only thing out of place was one wayward tag, still inside the suitcase pocket, stuck in the zipper pull. Don't worry. I didn't scold him. He'll get his due reward when he begins reviewing some of the goodies we've collected. So, you may ask, what's the point of THIS post. Good question. It's actually a lesson in following through on training your dog to understand what is his and what is not his, even when he thinks it might be his. Sounds complex, huh? I should probably get Michael to weigh in on this topic, but for now, I'll just say that it appears I've made some headway in getting Tanner to understand the difference between something I give him and something he finds. That lesson, my friends, has come from Fetch training. Tanner knows that he is only allowed to swim and play with pool toys when I remove the fetch toys from a shelf and follow a specific procedure that he recognizes:
Many dog trainers will tell you that dogs can't learn a succession of behaviors. Agility trainers and doggie freestyle competitors will beg to differ. I join them. Give your dog a chance to recognize a pattern through regular practice and he will begin to follow the steps required. Clickers work great for these types of tricks. Hand signals, voice commands and body language speak volumes as well. Go play with your dog. Find out what you can teach him that will also make your life with him more enjoyable.         
 
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