Hello Adam: I have a chocolate Labrador Retriever (very active) that is being trained (in OPEN class now) and he seems to be regressing since we are working on retrieving.He retrieves very well with
dumbbell, etc., but other dogs in
class do not. And they bring toys for their retrieval work.
My problem is that my dog is just "overcome" with these toys and isn't paying close attention to me. He goes after THEIR toy many times instead of HIS dumbbell.
He knows
command "look" or WATCH ME" but serious corrections don't even deter his disobedience on this toy-retrieval. HELP! How should I handle this?
Thank you! Mary
Dear Mary:
These are
type of questions that I like. They’re interesting. First, make absolute 100% sure that your dog DOES understand
“Bring” or “Fetch” command.
Assuming that he does, here’s
next step: Recognize that
problem you’re having is one of disrespect. The reason that your dog goes for his neighbor’s toy AFTER you’ve clearly commanded him to BRING his dumbbell is that he CARES LESS about what you want. As
dog goes into ‘play/prey’ drive, his sensitivity to your corrections goes WAY DOWN. In other words, you’re giving him a $2 ticket and he needs a $200 ticket.