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"Drop It" problems
Hi all. I could use some help brainstorming a problem I’m having with teaching the cue “drop it”. The dog is a one year old Cavalier King Charles named Graham. I’ve taught the owners the trading method, where they offer him a treat in exchange for an item. The most common item is a pinecone that he picks up on the walk that the dad wants him to drop before they go in the house. Dad reports that Graham just goes still like a statue and won’t drop it, won’t respond to anything. He tries to wait him out and he says it’s 10 or 15 minutes and he still wont drop it. When I tried during one of our lessons, I got the same reaction. He locks up, gets this hundred yard stare, and won’t respond to anything.
Occasionally, he will respond to a toy instead of the PupFord freeze dried chicken treats. At this point the only thing that’s working for them consistently is if they ignore him and he will drop the item. But that doesn’t serve to train the queue. And it certainly won’t work if it’s something dangerous that he shouldn’t have.
At a recent private lesson, he got a cherry Chapstick. We thought he swallowed it. He didn’t, he was fine, but it was a bad few hours. I’m actually a little worried that that mistake might cost me this clients trust.So I’d really like to be able to offer some ideas for some different ways to train this behavior that might be successful. I know I need to talk to the owners about trialing higher value treats, like freeze dried beef, flavor, cheese, smoky bacon, treats, etc., etc with “drop it.”
Any other ideas very welcome!
Thanks!
Ruth
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9 Replies
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This cavalier is presenting an interesting challenge, @Ruth , where there may be an element of resource guarding folded in.
Not only should super-duper treats be discovered and then used, the DROP skill will also need to be taught with much lower-value items at first, items the dog barely has interest in. When he drops such an item, he is paid REALLY well for it, and with dog-approved items, it can be immediately returned to the dog.
Once a strong foundation is built with low-value items, i.e., the dog is eagerly spitting out the item as soon as he hears the DROP cue, practice can be done with gradually more interesting items.
Chirag Patel also has a wonderful technique where he classically conditions the DROP cue, i.e., he says the word and then just tosses yummy treats. You can begin this without the dog having anything in his mouth at first, then move on to low-value items, etc.
Please keep us posted on this — I’ll be really interested to hear about what you try. ????
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@virginiad – can you please share Chirag’s video with that technique here?
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Here is that Chirag video
https://youtu.be/ndTiVOCNY4M?si=aodiUQyMWecVb4Wg
That stare does sound like possible resource guarding. I know that dog’s are study of one but I worked with a cavalier that had some serious resource guarding of lots of objects. There was serious management involved to the point that we had to keep the dog in a very comfortable and safe ex pen in the house while he learned to “trade” with lots of low value items. I find that the “two spoons” method of trading can work really well. The simple version is that you have two wooden spoons (long handled to protect the helper) you place a small dot of something yummy *squeeze cheese, cream cheese, you get the idea (squeeze cheese is usually the easiest to do on your own) on one spoon and present both spoons. While the dog is licking the one spoon, you take away spoon 2, put a dot of cheese on that and as soon as the dog has finished licking spoon 1 you put out spoon 2 next to it and then take spoon 1 away and put a dot of cheese on that one and repeat for several trades. I end the exercise with placing a treat scatter on the floor and removing the empty spoon. Once you have the dog looking forward to the removal of the spoon (watch for the head lifting up after the licking) you start to elongate the time in-between the switches, then you can move on to different items (toy for spoon etc.) being careful to keep the value of the trades the same. This exercise plus having this pup feel more comfortable in the home in general led to a great reduction in the type and amount of guarding.
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@Ruth – I echo everything Virginia said! This does sound like a bit of resource guarding layered in…
When you work at training a new “drop it” behavior, be sure to start with some new cue the dog has never heard before. If the owner has been yelling “drop it” at the dog, it could have a bunch of emotional baggage.
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Thank you, Virginia and Catherine. I’ve had three other R+ trainers recommend the Chirag video as well. I reviewed it and thought it looked great. So yesterday I emailed it to my client along with a recommendation to change the cue. He thought it looked perfect for them and was planning to begin practicing the technique. He seemed very pleased which makes me very happy. Its so nice to get pretty consistent advice from a variety of R+ trainers. Happy holidays, and thank you both for supporting me this year on this site as I build my knowledge and confidence as a trainer. Sending virtual hugs from Savannah, Georgia! @virginiad and @catherine
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