treat to get dog to drop toys

[AlanWhite]

I haven't found anything that works: our 7 1/2 month-old border collie will play tug-of-war, but no treats we've tried get her to drop her toys. So, we're stuck at this point in her training. Suggestions welcome! Thanks

[JMFS]

What treats have you tried? What about trying another tug toy? In training Gertie for fetch I often pile up 5 sticks so that she'll come back to me to trade. I wonder if the same theory could be applied to trading tug toy for tug toy.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Jennifer, I can see swapping for another tug toy working if this is a dog who puts a higher value on the toy tugging compared to treats, especially if the other tug toy is one that is new or the dog doesn't see very often or this other toy has some other appealing details (texture, movement-wiggling it around) compared to the one being tugged. So I don't see why not it's worth trying, good idea! It could be this dog is scared of losing access to this toy, so presenting another one especially if wiggled around could potentially become an easy choice.

 

Something else that comes to mind is that, sometimes, a dog is so focused on tugging that she can care less about the treats offered or hardly notices them. What I usually do if I am playing tug with a dog who is very motivated to pull back, is to stop creating resistance, so I would therefore stop tugging on my side. I would then say "drop it" as I simultaneously hold a smelly treat in my hand letting it protrude from my fingers and would place it right in front of the dog's nose. Most dogs would let go once they get a good whiff of it and go into "gimme-gimme!" mode. So I would let the dog have the treat contingent upon dropping the tug toy, and then either go back to tugging or put the tug toy away if we are done playing with it right while the dog finishes up eating the treat.

 

Of course, we don't want to be always stuck with a dog who drops only upon seeing the treat (that would be bribery), so we need to start gradually fading that pretty soon. Here's how we can do this in several steps:

 

1) At some point, we start saying "drop it" first and then present the smelly treat by the nose letting it protrude less.

2) Next, we start saying "drop it," but this time the treat doesn't protrude from the hand anymore, rather,it's a bit hidden by my fingers holding it.

3) Next, we start saying "drop it," but this time the treat is enclosed within my fist even though we pretend as if we are still holding it with our fingers.

4) We say again "drop it," but now the hand is completely empty (and perhaps a bit more distant) and the treat is in my other hand or in my pocket. At some point, the dog should be able to "drop it" without relying on the sight of the treat

5) We further raise criteria, saying "drop it" but no longer show the hand near the dog's face, but feed the treat from the other hand or pocket.

 

Other ideas that come to mind is finding ways to reduce the saliency of the tug toy or increasing the saliency of the treats/toys taking advantage of natural events. For example, try asking for the drop it when you know your dog starts losing a bit interest in the game, for example not in the first few minutes of the game when the dog is most interested, but a little later or try to practice early morning before breakfast when your dog is more likely to be hungry and the saliency of the treats increases.

 

Fun fact: Dogs have considerably less taste buds than us (about 1,700 compared to our 9,000), so what really attracts them the most is smell, so the stinkier the treats, the more likely they'll attract her. You can therefore experiment with a variety of treats, perhaps try freeze-dried liver or tripe treats.

 

Something to be cautions about is that sometimes, there may a little hint of resource guarding in some dogs who won't let go of toys in fear of losing their possession. So caution is needed here; if you think your dog is resource guarding or has shown signs of aggression when having toys in the past (stiffening, growling, whale eyes), this would take a different, more comprehensive approach, so please consult with a dog behavior professional to play it safe and for correct implementation of dog behavior modification.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli