sandra s. Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Am I wrong in thinking that you can teach a BC a "stop doing THIS" command (as opposed to a "stop doing anything"/off-switch thing)? Kessie gets addicted to most games sooner or later, so it would be nice to be able to tell her "I will not throw this ball one more time, so you can go back to sniffing", or even "you won't miss out on anyting if you go play with this dog now, he's not an evil playtime thief ". I say "we're finished" at the end of each game but she doesn't stop waiting for more for quite a long time. I *THINK* I've been quite consistent with it but it's taking her far longer to learn it than anything else ever has. Of course, sometimes she has "trouble" learning things she finds absolutely unneccesary ... Any thoughts? Do your dogs have a firm "game over" and if they do, how did you get there? I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm not sure what to search for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Our word is "enough". If we tell her to lay down she can get back up at "enough". If we're done playing, "enough". If she's playing too rough with the cat, "enough". We just used it all around so she understands that word means no more of whatever we're doing at that time. Now, if only I could teach her to do the dishes. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Okay, I get to sound crazy. Long ago I taught Sara that I wanted to end frisbee, throwing the ball, etc. by telling her - okay, five more times and that's it. I count down each toss and on one, I say this is the last one! I swear she brings me back the ball, frisbee, toy, whatever and drops its and goes off to find something else to do. I know it sounds crazy but she seems to understand the winding down the game rather than stopping it instantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I use "That's all" or "No more", and at the same time, walk away from the area and start to do something else with my hands. My guys will often try to engage me again, but I don't play along. We've been doing this for a long time, and I had the advantage of having other dogs for each successive dog to model from. In my human mind, I do think it's important, at least in the training part of this, to move away and start some other activity consistently. Saying the cue, moving away, and starting something else all reinforce the idea that we're not playing ball or whatever anymore. Hope this is helpful. Ruth n the BC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearls pop Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I taught Pearl "OUT", and use it as a general command for "leave it alone-stop it". today she had a bunny cornered in the garden after chasing twice around the large bed and would have mauled it but i yelled OUT and she just went to sit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinKate Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 "That'll do" shuts everything down at our house. Works for every situation. Work or play. Really is like flipping a switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest amylobdell24 Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 It's probably not a good idea, but I just use the good old herding "that'll do" as our finished command. My dog responds really well to it - just drops whatever it is, switches to lovey mode for her praise of a job well done, then walks away to go find something else to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I taught River 'all done' after playing anything - or when we leave agility class, or whenever we are stopping anything in particular. I just started saying and use the 'you're safe' hand /arm gestures of a baseball umpire while I say 'all done' then I ignored her and walked away to do something else. Being consistent has really paid off, because after every game of fetch, i do it and she understands and goes and gets water. (which I figured out that I was saying that after each game too... hehe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosperia Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Just plain old "no" at just the right moment works for us. For ex. if I wait until she has already put the toy next to me, it doesnt matter how many times I say no, she'll just keep pushing it at me and get really impatient. But if I throw it and wait for her to bring it back, right at the moment before it would leave her mouth she gets a firm "no". She's normally all "Fine!" and runs off to harass Buddy. But I have to catch it at just the right moment or she doesnt "get it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra s. Posted July 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Sounds like everybody does it similar to what I tried so far - only more consistently (?)... I'm never 100% consistent on anything, life's too chaotic for that, but normally she can figure these things out easily. Since there's no danger of being punished/resented etc, she's happy enough with about 70%. But this issue is one I've been paying attention to, so I've been more consistent, but she doesn't get it anyway...Maybe she doesn't want to get it? In my human mind, I do think it's important, at least in the training part of this, to move away and start some other activity consistentlyYes, that's what I normally do. And it works if I really want to stop. But she's so dang good at reading body language that she seems to feel my temptation to kick the next snowball as well Maybe making shorter play sessions and little walks in between would give me more opportunity to get the point across? She has absolutely NO trouble understanding if I tell her to drop the ball and go dump herself in the river to cool off Thanks all for helping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunar Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 She probably does understand what you WANT, but is just being stubborn and trying to wheedle it out of you anyways. I get that feeling with Zeeke sometimes too. He knows what I ask him to do - he just doesn't want to do it. "Enough" is what I use for Zoe and Oreo. It's their off-switch, works like a charm. Zeeke has never caught on. (Ie, never wanted to catch on.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra s. Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I think you're right, since the same methods work so well for other dogs . I'll keep trying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.