HOW TO TRAIN A DOG WHO DOESN’T LIKE HIS FOOD/TREATS



I’ve found that he does like cheese. It’s relatively cheap when bought in the econo-saver blocks and it lasts over a week in the refrigerator. It’s easy for me to handle — not too sticky or goopy and easy to deliver one small piece at a time.

The problem is he tires of cheese relatively quickly. Meaning that it’ll work great for 15 minutes, then he begins refusing it. He needs more than a 15 minute session. Sometimes we’re out running errands for a couple of hours — I needed to find a way to mix in a different, non-food reinforcer. I happened upon a solution while I was in the yard working on his loose leash walking skills. He had worked nicely for about 15 minutes, as usual, then began turning his head away from the cheese.



He’s huge, it’s easy to forget he’s still an adolescent dog. But I figured, what the heck, I’m going to try getting really silly with him after he walks nicely for a few steps, instead of clicking and giving him an unwanted piece of cheese. And he liked it! He enjoys the opportunity to get a little silly and it gets him interested in training again. He’s an eager participant with the opportunity to play, whereas with the food he’s more of a passive learner.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

HOW AND WHEN TO USE A DOG WHISTLE FOR TRAINING

CAN MY DOG TRAIN FOR A MARATHON WITH ME?

HOW TO GET YOUR DOG TO LISTEN TO YOU