Two Balls, a Bone, and a Slipper!
Many of us have been blessed with living with an incredibly smart puppy or dog. Usually, smart is aligned with the description of precocious, devious, and actually sometimes dumb! The brilliant puppy can be a challenge to live with or a nightmare depending on how you approach it. But, the most important thing is to take puppies for who they are, give them things to keep their dazzling minds busy and nurtured, but also keeping them safe.
During my time off going to rehab from my heart attack has given me some special time to spend with my dogs, in particular Mariah. Mariah is now 10 months old and her brain and energy is off the charts! One of the challenges with her is that she is not food motivated. In fact, when I first got her the only thing that motivated her was to chase and the bite as in chasing the big dogs and taking chunks of their hair out when she could! And, the big dogs never disciplined her!!! I had to change my approach to get this puppy to focus on me.
I took all the other dogs away. There was no longer any play time with the other dogs which was very distressing for her. But, when she discovered toys, life was fun again. When I introduced the toys, I also controlled the toys. She ONLY got her toy when she did the behaviors I asked for. Mostly, that was “sit” and “watch.” Then I introduced “down” and “leave it.” Of course, the command, “get the toy.” Whew!
Then I began letting her offer me behaviors to get the toy or ball from me. This became great fun for her and really cemented our relationship with each other. She would bring me a toy, then sit, then down, and then put her head on the ground. At that point, I would gently toss the toy and she would retrieve it. This combined all her skills into a very fun game for her.
Since I have been home, I have been giving her more freedom in the house. Prior to now, it has been a challenge to keep her from destroying everything or even laying down to relax. She just had too many things to explore! I have had to confine her with something interesting like a bully stick or bone if I couldn’t watch her. Finally, after all this time, I began gradual freedom instead of risking her hurting herself or destroying my house!
Today, I took at bath and left Mariah out in the house free. In short time, the door flung open and in she walked, shocked to see all that water in the house instead of her swimming pool. She turned and went out. Shortly, she comes in with an old bone in her mouth and drops it in the tub!!! This is a game she plays in her swimming pool. Next, she brought a ball, then another, then my slipper. She would drop the “toy” and go through her offered routine. I didn’t want encourage the play in the bathroom, so I ignored her. Shortly, she laid down and settled.
The point to this is that living with a brilliant dog can mean you have to be creative, especially if traditional food training doesn’t work. Each dog is different. We become better owners and ultimately trainers when we listen to our dogs and work with their strengths to help them grow instead of being overwhelmed with frustration.
