Thor graduated puppy class but he still has a long way to go. I wanted to find a way for us to bond that would also reinforce certain behaviors. The trainer I went to for puppy class also offers a trick class. We had our first class tonight and I must say the mental stimulation was GREAT for Thor. We covered touch it, hit it, paws up, off, and on your mark. Our goal in the class is to turn some of his bad habits into good ones. These include poking his nose into everything and trying to pick everything up off the floor so he can chew on it or eat it. Has anyone had success with redirecting unwanted behaviors into tasks or tricks for the dog to perform? I'm hoping this helps and will keep everyone updated with his progress is there is interest.

Try a "Drop It" along with a "Get It" - pick it up when I say and drop it when I say. Turn this into a retrieval game, teaching the names of the toys at the same time.

How do you start training a "drop it" command? Should I do sort of a trade when he's playing and when he drops the object give him a treat? My usual go to with drop it has been a frazzled please don't swallow that and grab it out of his mouth before he swallows. That approach isn't really fun for either of us.

<< laughing and no help >> But I bet it's more fun for him than it is for you.

And, yes, I'm interested in what you're doing with you pup. Some ideas and guidance would help me with Sky, I think. I really do think she's smarter than she lets on.

For Kairo, I use a long tug. Get a good game going, then after a few seconds, put an open hand right up to in front of her nose (not touching it) and say "Drop It!". The hand blocks their vision and makes them uncomfortable enough to release the toy. As soon as it's out of their mouth, "GOOD DROP IT!" and reward with treat. Immediately start a new game of tug and let it last a little while before repeating.

Begin backing your hand up a little more each time you do it. If the pup doesn't want to let go, move it closer. Remember to say "Drop It!" as soon as your hand comes into view over the toy.

Eventually, they will learn Drop It without the hand in place. If you back your hand up and the pup drops the toy on command quickly, JACKPOT reward of lots of treats.

Also remember that your tug game should totally be worth playing - let a session of tug last a good solid minute at times, a few seconds at others. Keep the pup on their toes so they 1) don't predict the "Drop It" and 2) get rewarded with a treat AND a super long game of tug randomly.

I think Thor will really enjoy that. He loves tug! This should be a good one for him. Thanks!

We learned drop it with swapping the item for a treat. Pup has an item in mouth and you bring a treat right up. They will drop the item for the treat.

As for picking stuff off the floor, my two bring me anything they find (much less stressful). When you see him with something, try to get him to come to you and give tons of praise and treats. What worked for me to get them to come to me was to run in the opposite direction (until they leaned recall). I think this is safer than just teaching drop it. In fact, Freyja brought me a battery yesterday (would have been sooo bad if she had run off and chewed that).

And like Christina said, just try to make it fun and the pup will have fun and learn quick

Thor's Leave it and Drop it have improved and I swear he picks things up that he knows he's not allowed to have just so he can get a treat. I don't want to start eliminating treats until he's really

We had another session with the trainer and while we were there I asked her how she would handle a situation when theres an off lead dog in the vicinity while walking. This stems from last week when I was walking with Thor and a large pit was following us around. He didn't seem aggressive but I'd never seen him before in our neighborhood and I just kept thinking that he could easily eat Thor. Anyhow, Her suggestion was to teach "behind" where Thor will get behind me until I tell him it is okay to come out. While Thor is behind me I can throw some treats to distract the other dog and get Thor back home.

The actual tricks we're working on this week include: Backup, bow, spin, wipe your paws, and find it. It seems like a lot to be working on but I find that he gets bored so fast and if I don't keep things moving he gets restless.

I'm excited for "find it" because Thor is ALWAYS using his nose. We've been getting thunderstorms during our usual walking time and I think "find it" will be a great one to keep him busy inside. We're starting with the muffin tin game and then we will start increasing the difficulty. Does anyone have any other variations of "find it" that they enjoy?