GregN Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 I have a question... We were told that we should reward good behaviour with food (usually a treat like a cut up snaussage ) and mark bad behaviour with a sharp "HEY!". Now, we were sitting outside on our patio the a while ago, and Iris went into the garden. I gave her a "hey" and then called her, she came running over and got a treat and praise for comming. Then, a couple minutes later, she makes her way into the garden again. Again, I give her the "hey" and then call her over and reward her for comming with a treat and praise. Then, I started to watch her more closely. Right after she got the treat, she ran back to the garden, took one step into it and looked directly at me as if to say "well? are you gonna give me a treat now?" I thought that she had now associated going into the garden with getting a treat. I told it to the trainer that we go to and she said that it was good that we were stopping her before she got into trouble, and no, our dog was still just a dog and was not trying to get treats by going into the garden. She said that everbody thinks thier puppy is gifted and such (which I can understand). Is this the case? Can you use the standard dog training techniques to teach a BC? Or should you approach the dog as if you were approaching a 5 year old -- ie. assume that they will understand, and that you can "reason" with them (ie. show them what you want, then assume that they will do it once they understand). Any thoughts/commnents on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike's Bitch Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 I think you were right & the trainer is underestimating Iris' intelligence a bit here! Liz & Spike xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 You were most defininately right. The dog learned that by going to the garden she could manipulate you into giving her a treat, essentially she trained you to provide her with the desired item when she made a certain action. The dog version of a hand signal command . This does not mean that she isn't "just a dog", she can't think like a person, but it also means that she's a VERY SMART dog and learns quickly. Lose the treats for things like that. When she goes to the garden and you say "hey" give her a simple quiet pat when she comes back and that's it. If she continues to go there for the pat (yes that may be enough of a reward for her to try it again) then say nothing to her but go and correct her for trying to go where she's not allowed, bring her back physically. Be gruff with her if you have to. If the garden is off limits then there should be no reward for trying to get there, which is how she was viewing the treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concrete Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 I would say that your "hey" is just enough to get her attention and not harsh enough for a correction. So you get her attention, give her a recall and she gets a treat. I think it's very likely that she is going into the garden to get a treat. I don't give my dogs food treats at all. If we are working off stock I give them a rub and a "good dog" when they deserve it. Working stock is the treat in itself so they don't get much praise until we head for home then a good pet and a "good dog". Kevin Brannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 I would change the reminder "ah-ah" or "No!" and then simply do nothing unless she continued into the garden. No treat. If you're dying to give her a treat, teach her a nice trick. She's obviously very clever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmetteabrakai Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 good that you noticed Iris before she had you escorting her to the garden and giving her treats for picking the tomatoes, I agree with Shawna and SB, she is very smart and needs to associate the garden with out treats. Shawana has some very good advice in how to acomplish it. Good luck and give Iris a hug for being such a smart girl Andrea d. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregN Posted September 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2003 Thanks for all the advice! I'm glad that I know my Iris better than the PetSmart trainer (with her JRT) hehehe... I agree that the petting and 'good girl' should be the rewards. The problem we have been noticing with the food reward is... well... I think Iris is a bit funny with her food. She doesn't like to eat it out of her bowl. She will take a mouthful of food out of her bowl, and take it the other side of the kitchen (or to the living room) and drop it on the floor and eat it there. Soooooo... when we reward her with a treat, she has to take it elsewhere to eat it. When we're walking with her, that means that she when we give her a treat for good walking she wants to run off with it to eat it. And that's definately not good walking. It's a bit of a catch 22 we got going:) Oh well... it's the quirks that we all possess that make us interesting... and our pets are no different:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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