So. with our newly renovated garden, Rolo has taken to picking up little chunks of slate which we have down the side of a border, not very much and he has to struggle to pick it up. I do click and treat for dropping. But I really feel like he is picking them up just to get a treat? He isnt learning at all to just leave them alone... any ideas how I can prevent him from picking them up in the first place?
What about sitting in front of the slate with him, and the moment he moves his nose away, click & treat. Introduce a "leave" or some such cue once he's understanding. If he picks one up, just put it back when he drops it with no fuss and no treat.
He'll get bored with it. Mollie used to bring pieces of our slate indoors, I ignored the behaviour, and put the bits back when she was out of the room, and she doesn't do it any more. I showed no interest in the stones and neither did Tatze, so they lost all value to Mollie. This only works if they don't swallow the stones, but none of mine have. .
I agree with @Boogie - Red was slate obsessed for weeks - we have quite a lot. She picked up pieces every time we came out. It really worried me but I tried to ignore (difficult) as much as I could or 'swap' for a treat. Haven't had to do this for ages.
