Hi everyone. First post here. 14wk pup, Kai, hes gold. Some reassurance wanted. So today I gave him a leg wash with a 'mud daddy' portable washer..he's not fond of washing like many pups I'm told. Anyway, I held him by harness and forced it..which he coped with. But ran away and as I tried to coax him back..without using his recall word..I used a lap slap "here boy". Anyway.. did a lap slap here boy in the house and he HATED it barked a lot at me..like a no no no. Anyway I realised I've made a negative associated experience so got a few treats and did the action and praised but is still off with coming to me that way. I'm gunna just leave it a few days to reset and work on positive association.. then in a week or so do some slow slow washing training keep it a happy experience.. Any advice or doing the right thing? Thanks Paul.
Hi there, welcome to the forum It sounds like you've pretty much understood what's happened, and how to fix it going forwards. Cues like the recall command work because we make them a positive experience for our dogs. Kai was smart enough to cotton on that responding to his recall cue might be a negative experience that time. Luckily you're right - by reintroducing washing verrrrrrrry gradually, with lots of rewards, you can change how he feels about it in the long term. So that eventually he'll put up with a paw wash in happy anticipation of the treat he'll get later. You might also find these puppy recall resources helpful. Good luck!
