Holding Objects, Help.

[DevonW]

I had Thor trained to hold objects in his mouth and he was really good at it and then something happened... Now he takes the object I ask him to hold and throws it and he thinks it's hilarious.

I'm not sure if a family member rewarded him for doing it (strange things happen when I'm at work) but I now need ideas on how to get the behaviour back because starting from scratch through shaping just isn't working

 

[fickla]

I have had numerous dogs offer that while they are learning a retrieve or a hold! I would go back to just working on the retrieve aspect for a few clicks to refresh his memory that one moves forward with an object vs tossing it backwards. then I would go back to keeping hold of the object myself so that dog can't toss it. I would also likely use an object like an envelope or something else that doesn't toss well as I find the throwing is very self reinforcing Good luck!

 

[DevonW]

His retrieve is still 100% nothing has changed there. He'll carry objects around on his own (I've tried to capture the behaviour this way) he plays tug until your arms fall off but when it comes to taking something offered it gets thrown whether it's a metal dish, or paper. The moment it leaves your hand it's being thrown.

 

[fickla]

Well if he likes tug, Fanny Gott likes to teach the hold out of tug. Play tug- let go of the toy- play tug. The dog learns to keep a tight grip since play will resume shortly and he could lose the toy if the grip isn't solid. It also helps the skills of the dog taking something from your hand.

Also, when I first teach dogs to take something from my hand, I always do it with the starting from my side position and moving forward to grab the object. that way I can back up as soon as they take it and make it a retrieve vs a sit and hold.

 

[DevonW]

I'm going to try with the tugging, thanks

 

[madeleine]

You can also try to give him the object en then let him touch your hand.
Hold the hand a bit above his face. Hope this works for you!

 

[DevonW]

We've got the behaviour back!
What I did was stand beside him and have him take the object from my hand I'd cue it with the word and then I would walk forward so he would follow me with the object in his mouth. Then I'd have him drop it on his release word.