Puppy Toys

Discussion in 'Labrador Puppies' started by mom2labs, Apr 24, 2020.

  1. mom2labs

    mom2labs Registered Users

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    I am really struggling to find toys that our puppy really likes. We go outside a lot during the day and we have toys out there but he would rather go and find sticks to eat, or pull up the grass. I have done training outside which works while I am doing it but then he's back to finding sticks. Any help would be appreciated.
     
  2. Mart

    Mart Registered Users

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    You need the "Three P's" :)

    Patience, Persistence, Perseverance.

    Think of your pup as a very small child who can't understand a word you say and then forgets what you said anyway. He/she will get it eventually, or learn to do it in secret like Billy does. Though he does spit it out when I catch him.

    Toys wise, something will click, Billy's fave is the "Sock of Doom" which is called the "Sock of Doom" because it's usually quite soggy and he'll donk you on the head with it.

    Bruno's fave is his tennis ball, though him being blind means he loses it a lot so we have to go hunting for it.
     
  3. Jo Laurens

    Jo Laurens Registered Users

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    There's another important P which Mart has left out there, which is... Prevention. And it's the most important of all.

    Any time a puppy is eating something they shouldn't be - whether it's sticks, a table leg or your underwear, prevention has failed. I really can't stress how important it is, as a concept. Habits are self-reinforcing. The more a puppy does something, the more they will do it. The more sticks they eat, the more they will eat and attempt to eat them, in the future. Prevent a puppy from having more than two chews on a stick, and you will prevent the stick from being self-reinforcing and prevent the pup from attempting to return to it. Fail to do this, and you give the puppy an opportunity to learn how amazing eating sticks is - and so they will only do it in the future.

    Prevention needs your total attention 100% of the time your puppy is awake and outside of their crate. You can't just turn your puppy loose in a yard and expect them to make the right choices - they won't.

    Supervise, supervise, supervise.

    Yes, it is relentless and exhausting - but if you do it properly for the first month or so, then you will quickly be able to stop doing it and the 'good' habits the puppy has established will in turn be reinforcing and you will be able to return to your free life previously. If you don't do it properly, then you will end up with a dog which repeatedly tries to do stuff you don't want them to and your efforts at half-hearted supervision will go on for many months instead....

    Short term pain for long term gain. Invest the time and effort to monitor what a puppy is doing 100% of their waking life. Distract and intervene as soon as they are doing something you don't like. Take the pup out frequently to toilet. Play with and train the puppy in multiple sessions a day. If you invest all this in the first 6 months, you will repeat the rewards for the next 12 years...

    Few people realise this.
     
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  4. Mart

    Mart Registered Users

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    Hmmm.

    Mart didn't leave anything out. Prevention goes without saying, or it should.

    "Hey I'm trying to teach my dog to not eat sticks but I let him do it anyway..."

    I don't think so ;)
     
  5. mom2labs

    mom2labs Registered Users

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    Thanks, we definitely do NOT let him eat sticks, it's just really difficult to even go in our back yard and not find an ample amount of sticks. We clean them up constantly but we it's not going to happen to eliminate the massive amounts. Just on his walk to go pee/poop he will find a lot of sticks. He is getting better though at drop it, so when he picks one up he isn't running away like at first and now is learning the drop it command so that is working a little better.
     
  6. Jo Laurens

    Jo Laurens Registered Users

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    Which is why the only time my pups are in the yard, is when they are wearing a puppy house line and I'm holding the end of it. With a pocket of treats to ask for a drop and to reinforce it. That's prevention. It sounds like you have the right idea, but oftentimes people are not implementing this thoroughly, all the time - etc etc...

    So - prevention doesn't mean picking up everything in the environment you don't want the pup to interact with. Whilst that should be the approach in the indoor area where the pup spends most of their time, when you're away from that area it's not practical, as you say. So prevention then moves onto using a leash, to.... prevent the pup reaching the stuff you don't want them to reach. If they do still reach it, the leash... prevents the pup from running off with it and enables you to practise a drop.
     
  7. SullyBear

    SullyBear Registered Users

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    AbsoluteDog games! Search it out online. Loads of activities. 10 minutes a day. It is so rewarding to see how the pups enjoy it. I wish I would have done it sooner. Toys are great but engagement is best!
     

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