Motivation
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| Fish......works every time... |
| First question: does he like toys?
Toys are generally a more powerful motivator anyway. And much better in the interaction department (relationship building). If he doesn't, he can be taught. but my only non-toy dog (came that way, probably never cultivated her toy drive as a pup) is more food motivated than toy still, even after working to up her toy drive. In which case, do you happen to know what he is allergic to and what can you safely give him? Mine will work for pocketlint (the snouts are a dead give away), but cheese is always a big one with them. Kristine |
| I trained both mine with toys when they were younger. MArley had no great food motivationa nd Morgan was a little too motivated and I need to keep my fingers thank you very much!
Now I use cheese, dried liver or fish for high motivation. |
Bosley's mom wrote: Fish......works every time...
Are there fish flavored treats? Exactly what do you give them that's "fish"? I'm looking for healthy treats for Phoebe. |
| I have used Salmon ones - I can't remember the name though. They were at our pet supply - not sure if they carry them at the more generic PetSmart and Petco's. They come in a crinkly plastic ziplock pouch. They are real small - round and soft. There are about 3 or so flavors they come in, and they are specifically made to be training treats. |
| He likes his toys -but he is six and has had never had to work for his toys. I have started changing this - but as you can imagine, he responds way better to food.
The vets never determined what he was allergic to - so they eliminated everything but the venison & potato kibble I give him. That was three years ago and we haven't had a problem with him getting sick. Within the last six weeks I have been giving him Nordic Naturals fish capsules with no problem - so maybe fish of some kind would work. I just tried a little tuna in water out of the can and he went crazy over it. Is tuna a little rich though? |
| I've used a few different salmon ones. Soft treats are generally better for training purposes because it's easier to break them up into tiny pieces, a plus on two levels:
1) you get more milage out of your treats so you're less apt to turn your dog into a porker 2) no waiting for dog to finish chewing - depends on the size of the treat and the inclination of the dog - ths small freeze-dried etc (hard) salmon treats tend to be just that - small, so that tends to work fine. I usually find them at agility trials (vendors), but you can get them elsewhere including online. A couple of popular ones http://www.healthypetboutique.com/servl ... ree/Detail http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fusea ... entCat=352 And you can always make various ttreats yourself, which allows you the greatest possible control over the ingredients. Though, given my skills in the kitchen, my dogs are probably much better off with commercial varieties. 
I've made tuna, salmon, chicken, mackrell and even crab dog training treats, but it's been a while. You can get pretty creative (a touch of garlic, just a tiny bit, a sprinkle of parmeson etc). Or use something as simple as leftover, plain, diced chicken, salmon etc. With Belle, if I really wanted to jazz her up (high value treat), I dice up some raw steak. Kristine |
sneakysheepie wrote: Is tuna a little rich though?
The problem with tuna (or salmon etc) isn't the richness, but it's like anything else you drag out of some body of water these days - you limit the intake due to pollutants like mercury. I.e. you can use it moderation. And, yeah, probably a bit much to ask a six year old to start working for toys again (same thing I ran into with Belle, but that's OK) Try this for fun though: get down on all four and start poking him a little (laugh, giggle whatever), pushing him away a little, headbutting him, "play bowing. "jump" towards him, retreat. Roll around on the floor till he looks at you like your nuts. Play growl a little(then laugh) Bark (high pitched). And so on. Belle, whom I clicker trained to "tug" (twice, gently, before she'd basically open her mouth and say, OK, now toss what I really want in there ) goes NUTS when I play with her like this. Even at age ten. Took me years to figure it out and I can't say I am her favorite toy 'cause I suspect sheep still rank higher, but if he responds, you can really get him jazzed up that way.
Plus it's hilarous. You'll both end up laughing/grinning in a heap on the floor. KB |
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