Baxter's Journal
TrainerBill
Buy a Treat Bag.
Buy Natural Balance food in sausage form.
Obtain Treats: possibilities are: bits of wheat thins,
Cheerios
french fries,
popcorn (dogs don't
mind it is stale,)
Charley Bear treats
from Trader Joe's,
his ball (?)
Place a small bowl of cheerios in a bowl on the mantel, another bowl
on the bookcase and, possibly, one other place.
Prepare Natural Balance (looks like a sausage) dog food: slice and
dice into small pieces about the size of a Lima Bean. I dice up about
1/2 the roll and store the pieces in the frig; then take what I need
from there.
1. Use about a cup, one piece at at a time, outside to review and
solidify the training that you have already established; e.g. sit,
down, and walk beside you, as demonstrated. The first goal is to get
Baxter to understand that reinforcements are available.
It was an "ah ha" moment for me at the end to see him lying on the
floor looking for "what's next..." a result of the the previous
hour's interaction.
2. While feeding Ethan, reinforce Baxter for lying on the hearth by
giving him a treat from the supply on mantel.
3. You can use the return to home as a training moment. a) phone ahead
an estimated arrival time.
b.) the person at home places a few treats in a container on the stair
side of the gate.
c.) the person coming home walks up the stair and stands quietly
waiting for B to settle down.
d.) at the point without saying anything, reach down and pick up
several treats and drops one at B's front paws.
e.) repeat this until B looks down for more; it might take 2 or 3
times, or several more.
f.) then open the gate about 10 inches and immediately close it; drop
another treat at his front paws.
g.) repeat until he hesitates at the gate; drop another treat at his
front paws and then while he eats it, step through the gate.
h.) the other person now calls B over to the mantel; the person who
has arrived goes to the mantel. B gets a treat a couple of treats for
going, and then request a sit, and down, giving a treat for each.
The goal is for B to go and lie down on the mantel.
This entire process should take about 2 minutes.
Best Training Practice would be to do this three times Sat and three
on Sunday. So B learns the routine before implementing it at the
actual exciting home coming moment.
Creating new associations with food on the dining room table. In two
parts.
First Part: determine what types of food B does not like by offering
him a piece of onion, or garlic for example. You may have to offer
something several times before he turns away from it. Bitter or sour
items or things that squish are good candidates.
Then when you have found food he dislikes, leave just a piece on the
table when not in the room; so he hops up and finds something
distasteful. It may seem he likes "everything," but keep trying with
one several times to see if, even though he seems to go for something,
his enthusiasm diminishes.
Once you know what he doesn't like, leave him in the room alone with a
couple of pieces of disliked food on the table after feeding Ethan. A
good time to do this is after a meal when the smell of cooking and
other food is still in the room.
Repeat this until he doesn't want to get on the table.
When feeding Ethan, teach B to lie on the mantel by delivering treats
as we demonstrated.
You and Elisa can practice this process as a team.
Hope this helps get you started. Stay in touch.