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Poodles are so smart, they'll start bringing you special deliveries and then patiently wait for a treat:
![467964]()
(Yes, that's my toothbrush.)
(Yes, that's my toothbrush.)
The downside to training "Drop It".....
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Well... at least she brought it to you before chewing it! Good girl Peggy!
Misha has a version of this. We have a kitchen stool that I often train with, and he loves to "Hup" on top of it and sit for a treat. He started doing this all by himself, and so I've been using it to teach patience by making him sit still on it for a while while I do chores and then he gets a treat. But he's kicked it up a notch by sitting on the stool quietly by himself when I'm not even in the room. Sometimes nobody is even in the house and I come in and he's just sitting there looking proud of himself for being such a Good Boy. He does this all the time now. When I'm in the shower, when I'm asleep, when I'm outside. He just waits for me to return and see that he's been Good. I feel like I've created a stool-sitting monster.
Misha has a version of this. We have a kitchen stool that I often train with, and he loves to "Hup" on top of it and sit for a treat. He started doing this all by himself, and so I've been using it to teach patience by making him sit still on it for a while while I do chores and then he gets a treat. But he's kicked it up a notch by sitting on the stool quietly by himself when I'm not even in the room. Sometimes nobody is even in the house and I come in and he's just sitting there looking proud of himself for being such a Good Boy. He does this all the time now. When I'm in the shower, when I'm asleep, when I'm outside. He just waits for me to return and see that he's been Good. I feel like I've created a stool-sitting monster.
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He is the funniest, most perfect boy.
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“Look, see? I found it, I picked it up, and I dropped it. In front of you. Aren’t I a good girl? Can I have a treat now? Pleeease?”
Gotta love that retriever instinct!
Gotta love that retriever instinct!
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Sigh. She did. A very tasty treat. Can't wait to see what she brings me next. Lol.Oh my, look at that face ! So hard to resist... I hope she got a treat later for being so cute and smart !
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Haha! It's actually pretty amazing to me that she didn't hide it away somewhere for gnawing. A toothbrush does seem like quite a Peggy treasure.
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Yes. As Misha would say... Small and plastic tastes fantastic!
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Lol! And Peggy says, "Don't be picky! The best things are icky!"
She actually got a piece of toilet paper OUT OF THE TOILET recently. She was so fast, it was like she'd been planning it for weeks.
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Oh wow. That is bad.
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I still haven't told my husband, as I'm not sure he'll ever look at her the same way again. 😅Oh wow. That is bad.
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OMG don't treat stuff like that. It rewards a behavior that is not appropriate!!!!!! Drop it is fine, but go get something that isn't yours (could also be dangerous) so the dog can drop it and expect a treat is allowing your dog to train you. I would let her know she was wrong to take something that isn't hers and use it as a moment to reinforce a leave it order and then quietly take it away.
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How do I balance that out with preventing an escalation of resource guarding?
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(The toothbrush was in an unusual place, at nose-level. I'd forgotten it on the outside edge of the bathtub. And she didn't chew it or attempt to hide it from me in any way.)
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Aw. She really is. And she happily dropped it AND left it when I told her to, not even racing back to find it or guard it like she would have done in the past.
When I reflect on even just a few months ago, and how frantic she could be with found treasures, I think we're on the right track.
Of course, her beloved scrunchies would be the ultimate test....but I don't think we're ready to go there.
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Couple it to leave it. I don't think there is likely to be much concern with this situation and resource guarding.
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If I'm understanding correctly, I think that's what I did here:
I was on the couch and she appeared in front of me with the toothbrush. I said drop it (she dropped it), leave it (she looked to me), go to your bed (she went to her mat).
She didn't get a treat until she was on her mat. So I was rewarding her for the sequence, rather than the initial drop it.
Then I asked for a wait, walked over to get the toothbrush, treated her again, and released her.
This is the system I've been using since her resource guarding began to escalate. We've not had an episode since, knock on wood. But I'm still very cautious.
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