Targeting

[NoelSia]

Hello and good day, 

 

I am trying this course but encounter some difficulty, my dog is a month old but big in size, everytime i open my hand, instead of touching it with his node, he go and take a bite, not hard but like mouthing it. i can't seem to make him touch it with his nose. 

Can you help me? any recommendation is much appreciated.

 

Kind regards

Noel

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

I think he is unsure of what he has do so he may be "trying" some behaviors, or it's just that, as a puppy, he just wants to bite/mouth anything presenting in front of him. To remedy this, you can try several options:

1) Make sure you keep your hand very flat, so there's less chance for gripping anything. I can see though a big puppy still trying to mouth the whole hand, so another option is...

2) Be very quick to click/verbally mark and reward. If your dog has a long nose, there will be chances his nose will hit the palm of your hand a split second before he gets to mouth. So mark as fast as you can and toss a treat/kibble to the ground. With several reps, he should understand the goal of the exercise is just a light touch and then go to get the treat/kibble. It could be he's just trying to mouth because you have fed him treats by hand in the past and he's trying the easy way, but with several reps he may get it that he must nose touch your hand first in order to get the treat. 

3) Encourage sniffing. You can try to hold some stinky treats in your hand before asking the hand target and see whether that may encourage sniffing. The moment he sniffs your hand, click/verbally mark and reward. 

4) Try when he's a little more tired (but not to the point of being cranky) and less mouthy. 

5) Try feeding a crunchy treat just prior so that he's mouth is occupied and offer your hand as a target while he's still chewing. He might not think of mouthing because his mouth is already busy, so you may get a nose target instead. 

Let me know how it goes. 

Best,

Adrienne

 

[CherylHampton]

Shiloh caught on to the target really quick only a few reps and he would touch his nose to my palm j problem, he will also do it now without a treat. The only thing  is he wants to touch his nose to my knee, arm or whatever he can reach lol. Its not constant and at random times, but I wonder if hes using this as a way to tell me he wants a treat? I don't reward this as I want to stick to program outline as c!ose as possible.

 

[Adrienne]

Hi Cheryl, 

This can happen for various reasons, even as simple as just wanting to get your attention. Several shepherd/shepherd mixes also can be prone to mouthing human body parts to just encourage us to follow them, or do something such as interact with them. 

You do good to not reward this since you haven't specifically asked for it. I would try my best to ignore it as even looking at the dog, talking to him or touching him can reinforce attention-seeking behaviors. However, I would also evaluate if he's trying to bring something to my attention (needs to be taken out to potty? is telling me the water bowl is empty?)

[CherylHampton]

Thanks for the input. Will keep an eye on this. 

 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome. Keep me posted!

[NoelSia]

First of all, Happy New Year and thanks, Butch is catching up on the Targeting, still need to keep on doing and hope it improve.

[Adrienne]

Glad to hear you have been able to help him catch up, practice makes perfect! Keep me posted on his progress.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2021!

Adrienne