Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[.muse.]

Speaking of positive training... Wick doesn't seem super motivated working for his kibble. He likes his food but I think he knows I give it to him in a kong when he goes in his crate/playpen. I think it would be best to use something else for trick training... the issue is he's so tiny that it would have to be something easily chopped up and something that is healthy. He's barely 4 pounds so he doesn't eat a whole lot either. I don't think carrots would be a good idea since I wouldn't be able to chop it small enough for it to be ate in one bite and blueberries aren't in season yet? :"D

He's slowly catching on to sit and laydown but he "only" does it when I have the clicker in my hand.

I know play can also be used as a reward but he usually gets frustrated when I keep the toy out of reach.

Maybe use a cheese grater to shred some carrots and then use scissors to cut up the longer strands? That should get them small enough to use as training treats if carrots are a thing he likes working for.

You could also try dehydrated liver, usually it's thin enough that you can crumble it into smaller pieces pretty easily.
That's what I do when working with my doberman and chihuahua mix at the same time, easier than having two different sized bags of treats that I'm trying to dig into at the same time.

[.Middy.]

Octavia’s first outside session! We played some fetch, tugged a bit, and she worked on her auto sits while I was digging for stuff in the car!

She’s litterally the most amazing puppy I’ve ever owned. Already started on auto sitting for pets, if she wants a treat, or if I’m doing something she either sits or lays down to wait for me. Walks on a loose leash already too! Started working on down and a cued sit during our short breakfast session this morning and she’s doing great with then too! I think my favorite is that she’s already started on waiting for a release word to come out of the kennel or to eat. That’s such a useful cue! I could keep going on about the stuff she is already started on but I’ll stop there lol!

I’m taking the girls to go meet K and her two dogs for some fetch and to play in the creek, so I’ll post more pictures maybe tonight!

[Faybell]

Museatron: Thanks so much! I'll order/look for some dehydrated liver treats next time I go to petco/order from chewy. I bet he'd absolutely love liver as a training treat.

.Middy: Oh my stars, she is too precious! Do you have a nickname for her like Kes? Speaking of, how are the two getting along?

[Imzadi83]

Speaking of positive training... Wick doesn't seem super motivated working for his kibble. He likes his food but I think he knows I give it to him in a kong when he goes in his crate/playpen. I think it would be best to use something else for trick training... the issue is he's so tiny that it would have to be something easily chopped up and something that is healthy. He's barely 4 pounds so he doesn't eat a whole lot either. I don't think carrots would be a good idea since I wouldn't be able to chop it small enough for it to be ate in one bite and blueberries aren't in season yet? :"D

He's slowly catching on to sit and laydown but he "only" does it when I have the clicker in my hand.

I know play can also be used as a reward but he usually gets frustrated when I keep the toy out of reach.

Since he's only responding to cues when you have the clicker in your hand I'd suggest introducing a verbal reward marker. You can charge this the same way you charged the clicker. You can also link the two together as a slower way of introducing it. To do that you use the verbal marker (Yes! or cluck your tongue or whatever) then click with the clicker. After a while you'll notice that he gets just as excited about the new marker as the clicker and you'll know you can start using it own it's own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6B-Q4-nqNg

Eventually you'll want to fade out the reward marker entirely.

As far as treats go you should be able to find frozen blueberries. Some dogs will enjoy them frozen while some prefer them defrosted. You can also get strawberries (again you should be able to find them frozen) and cut them up into small pieces. Bananas would work too. Also you can get dried berries. I also use steamed broccoli and cauliflower, I just save the stems from the ones I steam for myself and cut them in small pieces.

Cooked meat can often be cut up or torn up into small pieces as well. Chicken livers might be a good option too. Also you can use a spoon, treat tube, or syringe to dole out licks of more liquid type treats like peanut butter, baby food, pureed meats/fruits/veggies, wet dog food, etc. Don't be afraid to mix flavors until you find something your dog likes and something that works with your dispensing method. Rotating treats is a good idea anyway.

If you want to go the commercial route freeze-dried liver, sardines/minnows, etc. are good options. And of course there are some treats made that can break up into small pieces. There are a lot of options based on your preferences and budget but I'll link you some things for inspiration.

Also here's a couple videos on ways you can increase the value of your dogs kibble for training...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfMXuzqd4PQ You can use broth or stock instead of water to increase the flavor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUBFESLDSws

Treat ideas...
https://www.chewy.com/ziwi-good-dog-rewards-air-dried-lamb/dp/157988
https://www.chewy.com/vital-essentials-minnows-freeze-dried/dp/121698in
https://rileysorganics.com/
http://barebites.com/
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00FFJ3TJA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2ZUTEW8HSMTYC&colid=1ANH5KLT5C5RB&th=1
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004BCYWY8/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=ICA7UDMZURZ62&colid=1FTWAIL99R5KC&th=1
https://smile.amazon.com/Wild-Planet-Sardines-Water-4-25/dp/B073C2YX3X/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1519072566&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=sardines+in+water&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/Unsweetened-Dried-Blueberries-Shipping-Included/dp/B01N7ZJ4EY/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1519072702&sr=1-5&keywords=blueberries

[Faybell]

Ah, thanks so much Imzadi, you always give out detailed/great advice! I'll try flavoring his kibble with various things listed first. That way if that works I can just use the liver/fruits/vegetables/dispencer/etc. as emergency recall and proofing treats. <3

I'll work on fazing out the clicker to clicking my tongue... I'm actually surprised I didn't think to do that, haha. That seems super useful since I wouldn't have to worry about always having the clicker on-hand and if he does something great while we're just playing/goofing off I can click/treat on the fly.

[.Middy.]

My girls <3 slightly obsessed with them tbh. They got to go see/meet Miya and Kota today! Kes was kind of a brat and kept wandering off instead of playing with the other dogs, she wanted to hike lol.

Octavia did really good with them! They were both very sweet with her too which was nice. Besides Kota stealing her ball occasionally haha!

RWBY Rose- Right now her only nickname is O. Trying to limit her to one nickname and her name for now lol. Eventually im sure she will have a million nicknames like a Kes and Chew do though! Kes and O are getting along decently. Kes kinda just ignores her, and O wants to do everything Kes does lol. So it’s pretty funny to watch them together!

[Imzadi83]

Aw, Octavia is so cute! And I love the action shots. That's sweet how Octavia is already looking up to her big sister. And it's amusing how Kes is like the teenager who thinks her parents were too old to have another baby in the first place, lol.

[Faybell]

Lol yes... if this continues on as she gets older it will be extra amusing because she'll be bigger than Kes. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes, haha.

[gravy]

Hi! I have a pug named Bailey, she is two years old and was born in July. She is black with one white paw.

[Cardinal]

Teaching 'down' will be the death of me with Sentry. Ive tried shaping, luring, and capturing. : facepalm: Stubborn boy.

We've been in gate/door boot camp. He got super rude about door rushing and scrabbled his nails over my foot the other day so now he has to sit and wait until the other two are through and then go. We're working on snappy sits, standing from a sit, and backing up/backend awareness. He gets overly ambitious and sits then butt shimmies backwards trying to give me paw. One thing at a time buddy.