Harley has hit the teens. We can see it in her increased energy levels, lack of focus and independence but we really are still so blessed that although her piglet and bob the blob toys have been eviscerated she has not destroyed or eaten any of our stuff. And I posted the super cute videos of her bringing me things from my husband... But now... Harley brings me EVERYTHING. If it is not tied down or too heavy she brings it with that same goofy look, wiggly body and wagging tail and of course I can't say anything except "who's a good girl?". I definitely don't give her treats every time, actually very rarely but of course I do praise her because it is super cute. I am trying to do some work from home this afternoon, actually it is a day off and I am working...and Harls has brought me 5 shoes, 2 socks, an empty toothpaste box, a bowl, my work bag, 3 cat toys and her duck. Please don't get me wrong. This post is very tongue in cheek because I know that we could have a scenario where she is ripping up the garden and being very destructive. I have now handed her to DH to babysit so that I can work and spend some time with the cats. But I do think we have created a monster Just a super cute, harmless one.
You've got a much better situation going on there than Stanley who takes those things and runs away with them, hoping for a chase. She's such a gorgeous girl, she could bring me things anytime
Stanley is such a scamp. Harley does this a little with DH. lol. It is so funny watching him trying to get her to bring it back. But she knows it is a game. Thanks Jen and Boogie. She is such a cutie pie.
Very cute - but a bit annoying, if it continues. The trick now is to put this on cue, reward those and ignore any attempts where you've not asked for it. Your intermittent reward schedule is, according to How Dogs Learn, that I'm in the middle of reading, the most likely way to keep the behaviour, and to strengthen it. So, if you keep up with giving her a treat every now and then, she'll keep doing it - and probably more!
Thanks Snowbunny. I am going to have to limit it somehow because now that she has learned it she is wanting to do it constantly and it is adorable, but as you say, it can get out of hand. The pile of stuff I had today was just ridiculous.
Rofl. Now I have that carol in my head...and just imagine her with a Christmas tree...all the ornaments...
You've just nominated yourself to come up with the Harley version for next Christmas. You've got 9 months to work on it....
Hey, if she loves to carry all that stuff, maybe teach her to put her toys away into a toy basket? My first dog loved that game. I guess the hardest part would be for her to differentiate between her stuff and your stuff, but at least you'd always know where to look for your socks if they went missing.
Careful not to dampen the enthusiasm too much though! You can re-channel it into retrieving games, which will be good for her and which both she and you can enjoy.
Carrying stuff really seems to be her thing. And she is so good, she brings me the cats little toys all the time and she doesn't damage them. I think if given the chance she will take them off and chew them but her first option is always to bring stuff to me. So then, I take it and praise her so that she doesn't have the choice to destroy something that isn't hers. On another thread we were talking about how quickly they grow up and I need to readjust my ideas about what training to do with her, she really enjoys the training and games. It is me that needs to think about more now. I have only ever had dogs as a child and if they came when you called they were considered trained. lol. And now I have a very eager, clever young lab that is so keen to interact and do things. So I definitely don't want to do that. I never intended to do anything other than have her not jump all over everyone. But she really shows her interest. And I am starting to really, really enjoy it.
Do you play searching games with her? Hiding one of her toys (or a small treat) in the house, and encouraging her to use her nose to find it? This is a great game, which will tire her out mentally. You start with really easy searches, and then make it more difficult, and you can move into the garden and play it there too once she has got the idea.
I actually started this with her today. Just very simply asking her to find a toy that was close and in sight. And then rewarding her for doing so.
We had visitors last night for supper and Harley, the cheeky thing, figured out in about 5 secs that the one lady was very nice to her and prone to petting, stroking and just general labrador approved attention. She started bringing her all sorts of things...now let me state here we are very decent people, but even decent people wear underclothes...I was so worried that a pair of panties were going to make an appearance... Harley is a wily one indeed. And, of course, this woman is a dog lover and also couldnt resist Harley's beautiful, sweet face and waggy tail. She had no treats, Harls was after the attention...Finally I distracted her with a Kong stuffed with frozen goodies. And then she presented that to the woman. lol. But only once. Oh geez, how do you not just laugh and love this dog.
Solution: you're going to have to become very neat!!! All clothes packed away. When we shower, we drop our dirty clothes on the floor outside the bathroom, to be taken to the laundry basket downstairs after showering. Well, Snowie used to carry our laundry onto the balcony. Talk about airing the dirty laundry in public!
I would much rather Harley bringing things to us than chewing them, so I'm happy to praise her when she does this. It has happened less often as she has got older. We play a lot of find it games, especially with food. I started putting treats around the room, in sight, and let her find them. We now hide treats under toys, under blankets, inside hollow toys, inside boxes etc.....she loves it and it really tires her out.
