Post by Aussienot on Sept 3, 2004 18:55:21 GMT -5
Help with the Groceries
Sailor loves to do this. She puffs up and carries the bags proudly. It’s not a trick, it’s her job. I can’t with stand those pleading brown eyes. If I don’t have enough bags, sometimes I repack just so that she can feel useful.
Uses This trick came from a moment of inspiration. I had just returned from shopping and let the dogs out. To protect the elderly Jody from the young Sailor’s frenetic activity, I called out, “Hey Sailor, come help with the groceries.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I thought, “Hold on, that’s not a bad idea.”
Equipment
•The right kind of dog. The dog has to be large enough to carry a plastic or cloth shopping bag off the ground and have a willingness to work. I don’t know if this can be taught to every dog. Sailor was easy. Carrying behavior is instinctive, she is eager to please and not food obsessed. I'd like to see if others can teach it to a non Retriever or Border Collie.
•A few suitable plastic or cloth shopping bag with handle.
•A few cans of food, or other small heavy unbreakable items for training
•Rewards. Treats or toys.
•Patience, it's a long building process that can take weeks.
The Take It
Put a single can in the bag, and hold the bag handle at dog nose level. Dog is on leash.
Command “Take”, and try a variety of ways to entice the dog to mouth the bag: Wiggle it around, tickle the whiskers around the nose, or pressure on the jaw just behind the canine teeth.
As soon as the bag is in the mouth, praise and reward. The goal of this step is the putting in the mouth, so don’t expect a time hold.
If your dog has been trained to retrieve, or has instinctive carry behaviors, this is easy. If not, this step can take weeks.
When the dog is reliably “taking” the bag, move to the Deliver step.
Deliver to the kitchen
I back-chained the training, teaching reliable delivery to the kitchen first. Start 3 or 4 steps away from the kitchen. Have the dog on leash and sitting in front of you.
Present the bag with a single can for weight. Give the ‘Take’ command, and as soon as the dog has the bag in the mouth, back up a few steps.
Take the bag away from the dog and praise and reward.
Repeat the 4 step carry 5 times per session, and as many sessions as needed. (Again, with a Labrador it was dead easy.) Always end and praise in the same spot.
If you’ve already taught targeting, you can position the target in the kitchen where you want the grocery delivery.
Once the short delivery is 100% reliable, add two steps at a time until you’ve got a reliable ten or twelve step carry.
Car to Kitchen
Completely the distance is just a matter of practice and patience. Start the trick from outside, and be prepared for distractions.
Walk beside your dog, and encourage with praise.
Pay special attention to the way the dog carries through doorways and hallways. (Stairs are particularly problematic and may need to be taught as a special step.
If the dog drops the bag, you’ve moved too fast. End the session and ignore the dog for a while. When you start again, back up a few steps until the carry is solid at that distance.
Increase praise and level of treats at this stage. Keep the dog focused and interested. Sailor’s favorite praise phrase “Good as Gold” was created here, and a successful car to kitchen carry is a cheese or liver category trick.
Putting it all together
Once the carry from the car to kitchen is reliable, teach the final two parts: wait and weight.
The final step is teaching to hold patiently at the target point until you take the bag away. You may have bags to put down first before you take the dog’s bag, and the last thing you want is the dog dropping the bag on the kitchen floor.
‘Wait’ is just a matter of gradually drawing out the period of time between the dog delivering to the target and the time you take the bag and praise.
Weight is just a matter of adding cans one at a time to the load in the bag. Build up until you’ve reached a normal weight carry for the size and enthusiasm of your dog. If at any time the dog drops the bag, give a gentle verbal correction and present the bag again. Have the dog complete the carry, then end for the day.
Next time move back in weight.
Sailor tended to swing the bag wildly in excitement, and ‘Easy’ and ‘Gentle’ commands helped. I still don’t give her highly breakable things like glass or eggs.
At first I re-packed to create Sailor safe bags, but over time she’s gotten so good I don’t have to do that anymore.
Now if I could just teach her to put the groceries away . . . .
;D When I first moved here to the mountains, my next door neighbors were so amazed at this trick that one day they knocked on the door and asked if I could show their visiting friends the dog that carries the shopping.
Sailor loves to do this. She puffs up and carries the bags proudly. It’s not a trick, it’s her job. I can’t with stand those pleading brown eyes. If I don’t have enough bags, sometimes I repack just so that she can feel useful.
Uses This trick came from a moment of inspiration. I had just returned from shopping and let the dogs out. To protect the elderly Jody from the young Sailor’s frenetic activity, I called out, “Hey Sailor, come help with the groceries.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I thought, “Hold on, that’s not a bad idea.”
Equipment
•The right kind of dog. The dog has to be large enough to carry a plastic or cloth shopping bag off the ground and have a willingness to work. I don’t know if this can be taught to every dog. Sailor was easy. Carrying behavior is instinctive, she is eager to please and not food obsessed. I'd like to see if others can teach it to a non Retriever or Border Collie.
•A few suitable plastic or cloth shopping bag with handle.
•A few cans of food, or other small heavy unbreakable items for training
•Rewards. Treats or toys.
•Patience, it's a long building process that can take weeks.
The Take It
Put a single can in the bag, and hold the bag handle at dog nose level. Dog is on leash.
Command “Take”, and try a variety of ways to entice the dog to mouth the bag: Wiggle it around, tickle the whiskers around the nose, or pressure on the jaw just behind the canine teeth.
As soon as the bag is in the mouth, praise and reward. The goal of this step is the putting in the mouth, so don’t expect a time hold.
If your dog has been trained to retrieve, or has instinctive carry behaviors, this is easy. If not, this step can take weeks.
When the dog is reliably “taking” the bag, move to the Deliver step.
Deliver to the kitchen
I back-chained the training, teaching reliable delivery to the kitchen first. Start 3 or 4 steps away from the kitchen. Have the dog on leash and sitting in front of you.
Present the bag with a single can for weight. Give the ‘Take’ command, and as soon as the dog has the bag in the mouth, back up a few steps.
Take the bag away from the dog and praise and reward.
Repeat the 4 step carry 5 times per session, and as many sessions as needed. (Again, with a Labrador it was dead easy.) Always end and praise in the same spot.
If you’ve already taught targeting, you can position the target in the kitchen where you want the grocery delivery.
Once the short delivery is 100% reliable, add two steps at a time until you’ve got a reliable ten or twelve step carry.
Car to Kitchen
Completely the distance is just a matter of practice and patience. Start the trick from outside, and be prepared for distractions.
Walk beside your dog, and encourage with praise.
Pay special attention to the way the dog carries through doorways and hallways. (Stairs are particularly problematic and may need to be taught as a special step.
If the dog drops the bag, you’ve moved too fast. End the session and ignore the dog for a while. When you start again, back up a few steps until the carry is solid at that distance.
Increase praise and level of treats at this stage. Keep the dog focused and interested. Sailor’s favorite praise phrase “Good as Gold” was created here, and a successful car to kitchen carry is a cheese or liver category trick.
Putting it all together
Once the carry from the car to kitchen is reliable, teach the final two parts: wait and weight.
The final step is teaching to hold patiently at the target point until you take the bag away. You may have bags to put down first before you take the dog’s bag, and the last thing you want is the dog dropping the bag on the kitchen floor.
‘Wait’ is just a matter of gradually drawing out the period of time between the dog delivering to the target and the time you take the bag and praise.
Weight is just a matter of adding cans one at a time to the load in the bag. Build up until you’ve reached a normal weight carry for the size and enthusiasm of your dog. If at any time the dog drops the bag, give a gentle verbal correction and present the bag again. Have the dog complete the carry, then end for the day.
Next time move back in weight.
Sailor tended to swing the bag wildly in excitement, and ‘Easy’ and ‘Gentle’ commands helped. I still don’t give her highly breakable things like glass or eggs.
At first I re-packed to create Sailor safe bags, but over time she’s gotten so good I don’t have to do that anymore.
Now if I could just teach her to put the groceries away . . . .
;D When I first moved here to the mountains, my next door neighbors were so amazed at this trick that one day they knocked on the door and asked if I could show their visiting friends the dog that carries the shopping.