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@ktinan excellent thoughts!!
I have a sweet Shih tsu pup I’m currently working with. Derby is 9 months old and one of his owners concerns that prompted them to contact me is that he often ignores them when they call him. After some discussion and evaluation, it became apparent that they largely call him to them with a verbal “come” to pick him up (something he finds aversive) to brush him or clean his eyes (other things he finds aversive). The male owner reaching over him seems to be more concerning for him than the female owner, but he is very unsure of the interaction with either of them. We are now using a nose target for a recall, avoiding using it when the owners need to do cooperative care like brushing, etc and helping him feel more comfortable with people leaning over/reaching down for him.
Has anyone else encountered situations where you were concerned a cue might be poisoned?