So, it's turning out that darling Barkley was just the easiest puppy on the face of the earth and I'm not as good of a trainer as I thought. Cooper will "drop it" but it is very reluctant and if it's something he really wants, he'll turn his head away and refuse to drop the item at all (currently the little stinker is searching for any size rocks to gnaw on, from pebble sized to river rocks (4-6")). He'll release if I touch the item in his mouth, but my preference is that he drop when he's asked.
I don't give a treat for drop it, only lots of praise and head scratches. His "leave it" is pretty good; 9 out of 10 times he'll leave it, and 10 out of 10 if I use my scary voice (super deep, totally not like my usual voice, and I've used that on random poop, or trash we've come across on walks). I'm pretty sure the rock thing is to get my attention; I'll take him out (he's terrified of the doggie door, won't go near it, but fear is his MO and eventually he'll learn the doggie door isn't scary/bad) and I make sure he goes potty, then we play a bit, then I water/do yard stuff and it's THEN that he's finding rocks in the dandiest places.
After potty/play, should I put him back inside then do my outside chores without him? Any tips on how to improve Drop It WITHOUT treats? Right now I'm mostly using treats (very high value, tiny pieces of frozen steak) when we work on recall; I don't want to be treat-dependent when I ask him to do something. TIA!!!
I don't give a treat for drop it, only lots of praise and head scratches. His "leave it" is pretty good; 9 out of 10 times he'll leave it, and 10 out of 10 if I use my scary voice (super deep, totally not like my usual voice, and I've used that on random poop, or trash we've come across on walks). I'm pretty sure the rock thing is to get my attention; I'll take him out (he's terrified of the doggie door, won't go near it, but fear is his MO and eventually he'll learn the doggie door isn't scary/bad) and I make sure he goes potty, then we play a bit, then I water/do yard stuff and it's THEN that he's finding rocks in the dandiest places.
After potty/play, should I put him back inside then do my outside chores without him? Any tips on how to improve Drop It WITHOUT treats? Right now I'm mostly using treats (very high value, tiny pieces of frozen steak) when we work on recall; I don't want to be treat-dependent when I ask him to do something. TIA!!!
