I ordered a puzzle game for Charlie. It was (note was) a round wooden disc, with 2 trap doors that opened if wheels were turned, and three holes, two of which could be covered by sliding lids. The idea is that the dog has to figure out turning the wheels or moving the sliders gets a treat. Charlie loved it - he particularly enjoyed ripping the trap doors off and chewing the sliders into little bits. :. It was sturdy, but not enough for chewer Charlie. Perhaps the idea is you clicker train the actions or something? Has anyone got experience of these types of things with a young hooligan of a dog? Or shall I just give it up as a bad job now?
Re: Puzzle games I tried one of these after we spayed Tarka to try and keep her busy. Like Charlie she destroyed it pretty quickly and seemed to work out very fast how it worked and the quick and easy (destructive) way to get at the treats. Hopeless items in my house!
Re: Puzzle games Glad it's not just Charlie then. I guess these games might be ok for smaller, calmer dogs, but I reckon most boisterous labs would take the easy way. Brute force.
Re: Puzzle games I got a plastic puzzle bowl for Bess when she was recovering from being spayed. It is an earlier version of one illustrated here: http://aikiou.com/aikiou-dog-products-for-fun/ She was just over 12 months when we got it and it is still going strong six months later though we only use it about once a week. She is not left unsupervised with it; the main drawback is that it is fiddly to clean. Alice
Re: Puzzle games I've looked at these in the store and have thought the same thing..."What's to stop the dog from chewing it to bits?" I was doing a "mental stimulation" game with Simba the other day, showing him a treat, putting it on a towel, folding half the towel over it. The idea being that the dog has to work out how to get the treat by pawing or nosing at the towel to uncover it. Nope. Simba nosed at it alright, then settled down to chew at the lump of towel that had the treat in it. He would have chewed through the towel in 10 seconds flat. Looking for other "stimulation" games now.... :
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=Alice link=topic=3673.msg41397#msg41397 date=1387120425] I got a plastic puzzle bowl for Bess when she was recovering from being spayed. It is an earlier version of one illustrated here: http://aikiou.com/aikiou-dog-products-for-fun/ She was just over 12 months when we got it and it is still going strong six months later though we only use it about once a week. She is not left unsupervised with it; the main drawback is that it is fiddly to clean. Alice [/quote] hmm...must depend on the dog then. I had Charlie lie in a down, and sat on the floor with him to hold the puzzle on the floor - otherwise I think he would have immediately kicked it round the kitchen. But he still just attacked it. He loves his treat dispensing ball - but that's because he can whack it around. Or maybe he has learned to whack things to get the treats out. :-\
Re: Puzzle games How about getting Charlie into a down and balance kibble on his paws, he must leave it for a few seconds then he can have it and gradually build up the 'leave it' time, Hattie & Charlie love this and it improves their focus on me as they watch me all the time I do this at a distance also and you can then put a much tastier treat on his paws he will have to use all his will power for that. Simba could easily do this Lisa as you have trained such a good 'leave it'
Re: Puzzle games Thanks Helen, all ideas gratefully received. We're good at leave it already now though, and watch me, and paw - moving on to high 5 and salute..... It's nod and shake your head this afternoon. : : : I suspect all of this is displacement activity for what we should be doing - teeth cleaning. Which we both hate.
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=charlie link=topic=3673.msg41411#msg41411 date=1387123245] How about "speak" ? [/quote] That is a good one - Obi was very impressive, when Rachael showed us that. But Charlie doesn't bark. At least, he has only woofed 3 times so far, but once he was asleep. So I thought I'd leave it that way! There is nothing for it, I'll have to do teeth cleaning!
Re: Puzzle games If I had a lot of time on my hands I would teach a more advanced version of 'watch me'. I would train the dog to sit and watch me every time I put my hand on the lanyard of my whistle and hold that gaze even when I am having a conversation with someone and I am not necessarily gazing back into my dog's eyes. Something very handy and very impressive to have.
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=heidrun link=topic=3673.msg41418#msg41418 date=1387125132] If I had a lot of time on my hands I would teach a more advanced version of 'watch me'. I would train the dog to sit and watch me every time I put my hand on the lanyard of my whistle and hold that gaze even when I am having a conversation with someone and I am not necessarily gazing back into my dog's eyes. Something very handy and very impressive to have. [/quote] I'll do that, thanks. Have also found a good video for getting a dog to "open wide", which looks quite fun to do, actually. And then, dare I mention it, if Lisa is online... I'll have to do something about getting Charlie to wear a cone without fuss...that's not going to go down well. Not at all. Once the crate arrives next week, that will keep us busy. I've found a "weekend crate training" programme, here: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training. Which looks good but it's quite time consuming.
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=heidrun link=topic=3673.msg41418#msg41418 date=1387125132] If I had a lot of time on my hands I would teach a more advanced version of 'watch me'. I would train the dog to sit and watch me every time I put my hand on the lanyard of my whistle and hold that gaze even when I am having a conversation with someone and I am not necessarily gazing back into my dog's eyes. Something very handy and very impressive to have. [/quote] Well I will have a little gloat here if that's OK, I was training Charlie on Friday when my neighbour passed and stopped for a chat, Charlie immediately sat at the gate on my left hand side and watched me the whole time, I didn't have to command him and I had my whistle round my neck. Training without realising, now I love that
Re: Puzzle games I got a puzzle called a dog tornado I think. It has three layers with stops that can be changed and the dog has to work out how to get the treats out by turning the wheels or pulling out the stops. Lady takes the direct approach that involves picking it up by one of the layers and hurling it at the wall. Works very well and displays a bit of lateral thinking in my view. :
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=David link=topic=3673.msg41424#msg41424 date=1387128566] Lady takes the direct approach that involves picking it up by one of the layers and hurling it at the wall. Works very well and displays a bit of lateral thinking in my view. : [/quote] Works for me ;D
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=JulieT link=topic=3673.msg41420#msg41420 date=1387125541] And then, dare I mention it, if Lisa is online... I'll have to do something about getting Charlie to wear a cone without fuss...that's not going to go down well. Not at all. [/quote] Julie I had the benefit of learning from Lisa's awful time....I practiced with Dexter about a week before he had his ops,I'd hold a piece of chicken and get him to slip his head into the cone,and then treat him again when it was on and gradually built up the time so he could wear it without a bother,it got to where he would come and sit by my feet and look up expectantly when he saw me get it out .The cone bothered me more,him banging and jarring his head as he walked through doors and past things but we were so preoccupied with him not banging his tail we sort of forgot about that.the whole excercise was pointless anyway because Dexter is so flexible he could reach his wound site even with the 31 '' cone on,luckily he wasn't obsessed with the wound just investigated it a couple of times each day,enough to show he couldn't be trusted so we had to move to 24 hour vigilance which was not easy! X
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=Dexter link=topic=3673.msg41428#msg41428 date=1387129181] [quote author=JulieT link=topic=3673.msg41420#msg41420 date=1387125541] And then, dare I mention it, if Lisa is online... I'll have to do something about getting Charlie to wear a cone without fuss...that's not going to go down well. Not at all. [/quote] Julie I had the benefit of learning from Lisa's awful time....I practiced with Dexter about a week before he had his ops,I'd hold a piece of chicken and get him to slip his head into the cone,and then treat him again when it was on and gradually built up the time so he could wear it without a bother,it got to where he would come and sit by my feet and look up expectantly when he saw me get it out .The cone bothered me more,him banging and jarring his head as he walked through doors and past things but we were so preoccupied with him not banging his tail we sort of forgot about that.the whole excercise was pointless anyway because Dexter is so flexible he could reach his wound site even with the 31 '' cone on,luckily he wasn't obsessed with the wound just investigated it a couple of times each day,enough to show he couldn't be trusted so we had to move to 24 hour vigilance which was not easy! X [/quote] Thanks Angela. I am a bit concerned about this - Charlie is awful wearing anything. He objects so much to his harness these days, there has to be a serious risk before I'll go through the hassle to put it on him. The thought of a cone just makes me shudder. The wound will be very far back on his hind quarters. What was the soft cone you tried? I've been looking at pro collars. Do you think the hard cone was any better if Dex could still reach with either?
Re: Puzzle games Julie, when my neighbour's dog was spayed, instead of a cone she wore a sort of body suit, like a kind of stretchy teddy or basque ( Obi would have a field day ) - might that be an alternative to the cone?
Re: Puzzle games [quote author=Karen link=topic=3673.msg41435#msg41435 date=1387130786] Julie, when my neighbour's dog was spayed, instead of a cone she wore a sort of body suit, like a kind of stretchy teddy or basque ( Obi would have a field day ) - might that be an alternative to the cone? [/quote] Yes, it might - I'll try a few things. I don't know whether he would just chew through material though. They would have to be like pants, I suppose, to cover the knee.
