Hi there, I've just done 15 minutes in the garden with the rabbit skin ball,I did 2 'boring' retrieves which he ran straight out for ;D but then ran away from me with the ball so I went and got some treats and did 2 more ....he still didn't bring it back to I went to him and told him to drop for A reward.....didn't think that was right though so stopped it and played Find it,which he loves....did 5 finds then put the ball away.....interestingly when we came in he went and got a stray tennis ball and came to me with it..I 'threw' it onto his bean bag ( 6 feet away) a couple of times and he came back to me with it but didn't drop it......he's trying to rip the outside off it now so will sign off to take it away from him!!!
Re: Rabbit skin ball Amy stole a slipper and took it outside. Hubby sent her to "find it" and she came back with her "hotdog". Which is the toy the boys and I play find it with.
Re: Rabbit skin ball Angela, Charlie behaved in a similar way when I first introduced the rabbit ball, I think it's such an interesting smell they don't want to give it up. I just did a few retrieves to start with and eventually he started to 'drop it', now I have increased it gradually. On the way back from our walk today we went into the paddock and did some throwing it into some very long grass and bushes and he had a great time hunting it out and bringing it back to me, even with Hattie trying to play he just swerved around her to get to me to 'drop it' Keep going but just use it sparingly to increase the desire, I am sure it will be worth it, at least that's what I keep telling myself : Helen x
Re: Rabbit skin ball Thanks Helen,don't know what Im doing to be honest....need to read up on it.ive just taken it to the park and did 3 find its,he loves that game so he's really keen to get after it,I had to steady him with my fingers in his collar which I don't normally do so he was really keen to go....he came straight back( I had warm roast chicken ) but dropped it about 6 feet away from me each time so I walked him back to where he dropped it and picked up the ball and then gave him his chicken,as i say dont know what im doing..i wanted him to have something nice but didn't want to reward an early drop ??? then we finished with a massive ( well by my girl standards) throw and he ran straight out,ignored a little yappy dog on the way out and back but again dropped it before he got to me.....this is 'PGA' Retreives ie Pet Gundog Activity Retreives so it doesn't need to be perfect but it seems a shame if I am starting from scratch to not at least get a decent return and drop?....ill read up and I am using it very sparingly!!! I was really proud in the park,2 security men were sat on the bench....the park was deserted except us so I asked could I take him off the lead and they said Yes,he is a good dog!!!!!they were fascinated with him coming to the whistle...Generally the Indian staff don't like/ are scared of dogs.....I attempted our version of play dead for them ....which is recognizable but still involves a VERY exaggerated hand signal AND a food treat.....they were filming him!!! Anyway all in all part from a few weepy moments over the tail,today has been a lovely day back with my boy,just about to FaceTime Chris...he's playing golf on Spain until Thursday......ah Dexter all to myself ,no need to share nicely ..... x
Re: Rabbit skin ball Angela, join the club I don't know what I'm doing either but your outing today sounds like fun and maybe those security guards will post Dexter on Youtube or You've Been Framed ;D ;D Well done. Helen x
Re: Rabbit skin ball i am pleased you have perked up angels, its not like you to be down, thank goodness it didn't last long .......sounds like you had a great time in the park good boy dexter
Re: Rabbit skin ball That sounds hugely positive Angela. Have you got somewhere like a corridor or hallway that you can use? I say this because of what WGT explained we'll do if Charlie keeps on wandering with dummies. I'm doing all Charlie's work right now in my veg garden on a straight path between raised vegetable beds. Just that little bit of boundary on either side encourages Charlie to come back in a straight line to me. The same techniques as for recall - running backwards, lying on the floor (!) all work too!
Re: Rabbit skin ball Yes Julie I have!ive got a good gated off run down the side of the house!brilliant,I will try that today....best news ever is the weather is changing too so it's in shade until mid morning and the temp is dropping so things are going to get a lot easier and more interesting now I can get him out the house a bit more!thanks for that,I also read the clicker training article last night and a gundog article that advised similar....keeping a hedge to one side of me.I don't want to get too particular or technical but it seems silly to train a bad habit if I can manage to do it properly.hope you enjoyed Thursdays training session?i didn't see a post about it,but I was a bit hit and miss last week with being away x
Re: Rabbit skin ball That sounds ideal - glad the weather cooling will help. Good boy, Dexter - my money is on you having him retrieving in no time, since he is enthusiastic for find it - it's the same, really. Yes, do it right from the off, you won't regret it. No lesson on Thursday, next Tuesday is the next one. I know it doesn't really matter how long things take, but I haven't made a great deal of progress this week, although I've done all my homework. I'm meant to show some progress on steadiness, i have a little bit but all I can manage is: Charlie on his mat, in my veg garden corridor (no distractions), a WHOLE tin of sardines under Charlie's nose, and OH can drop a dummy 7metres away and stay close enough so Charlie knows he can't get to the dummy before OH...hmm...well, I've got another 4 sessions before the lesson...here's hoping for a break through...
Re: Rabbit skin ball But that is the way to go Julie, use your OH to stop Charlie getting t he dummy so he doesn't self-reward...
Re: Rabbit skin ball It IS easier with two people..OH is leaving tonight though. Was thinking of putting the dummy on a bit of elastic so can whip it away if Charlie breaks his sit!
Re: Rabbit skin ball Am I doing right....I make Dexter sit and stay,I walk away and hide his ball....but he can see me do it then i walk back to him and release him......most of the time he waits for his the release unsupervised,the times I could see him building up for a break i put 2 fingers in his collar......he did make a break once and got the ball so self rewarded.....when I got it back off him I did one really easy throw so we ended well and then put the ball away.im rewarding with food every time he brings the ball back.....he seems to be enjoying playing but I don't think another retreive is reward enough yet?i know I Have him made him too food focused am I making a rod for my own back?here I go,turning something fun into a methodical assault mission!I can't help myself can I?!
Re: Rabbit skin ball I'm not sure...I mean, I don't know enough rather than don't think you are doing it right. The book I have assumes that I have started with a puppy running in and chasing and then I'll work on steadiness once the retrieve is enthusiastic - which is what I'm doing. I'd say if Dex always goes and finds it/fetches then that's fine. Food - well, apparently this encourages spitting out in anticipation of the treat - Heidrun showed a video of Murffi getting his treat after a nice delivery though. Although, OH always gives Charlie treats for fetch, and Charlie still hangs onto the dummy too long, so I can't say that's made much difference to us (OH gives Charlie kibble if the ball hits OH's boot).
Re: Rabbit skin ball Hi Angela, I don't think it is a question of right and wrong, just what you want to get out of it. If he is not too enthusiastic about retrieving, you might turn him off by making him wait. If he is very keen and excited and you want to use the method you are using but make him less hyper about it, you can do this by walking him away from the ball after he has watched you hide it. Walk a few paces away and then turn him back to face the ball and send him from his new position. This is now a simple 'memory' or 'go-back retrieve'. Sometimes, when he has seen you throw or hide the ball, it is a good idea to go and pick it up yourself. That way he is not constantly predicting that you are about to send him. Gundog trainers with pups that have recently been 'steadied' will pick up more dummies than they let the dog retrieve for quite some time. Its always good to stop whilst he is having fun Nothing wrong with him enjoying his rewards. And no, you are not making a rod for your own back. Simply fade the rewards a little as he gets more competent, so that you are rewarding every fourth or fifth retrieve or just the more difficult ones. You can reward with another retrieve sometimes, or with a little bit of free time. Anything he likes. Encourage him to get the dummy or ball into your hand before he gets his reward. It is good to think about what you are doing. Most people that are really successful do this in one way or another. Who knows where you will end up Pippa
Re: Rabbit skin ball Ah Pippa thankyou,really appreciate you writing. Ill pay particular attention to what you have said about possibly sabotaging his interest......great tips for me to vary it for him whilst keeping it quite simple......I need to take your advice on reducing rewards in quite a few areas :-[ ..... I've started playing with retrieving without really reading up on it because I never thought I would get into it,but I've said before ,there's a big hole left in our walks now we are at the point we are at with Total Recall....I've realised that its boring just walking along doing sits and stays and lie downs!!ive got a bit excited that I had the rabbit fur balls and dummies so I've just launched in without reading which is why I was puzzling on here.....I will be more responsible and read up and go through some training posts too and equip myself better,it's lovely seeing him really ,really keen to get off out after something. Julie,you solved something for me too,that's exactly what he's doing,spitting out!he's 2/3 rds back and I'm getting the reward ready and he sees and drops the ball.....no reward until he is back to me tomorrow.....I will see how that goes Thanks again everyone Nnite x
