Putting Something In A Basket?

[Teebs]

Hi guys! I need some help. I am teaching my dog a trick, and just need a bit of advice on the best way to do it.

I want her to pick something up, and put it in a bucket/basket.

She can already bring the bucket back to me (and anything else i ask her to) just need some help on how to get her to get something and put it in there first!

thanks

[Kavik]

I taught this to Zoe

I backchained it

Taught her to target the basket using a clicker, and extended that to putting her head in the basket.

She already knew how to hold something from retrieving in obedience (best to teach that separately if she doesn't already do that - there are heaps of threads on retrieving, hold is the first thing you teach)

Then I held the article above the basket, told her to hold then her command for put head in basket, and click and she released the article so she could get her treat.

Once she was doing that reliably, I put the article on the ground next to the basket, then slowly moved it further and further away from the basket til she could get it from a distance away and put it in the basket.

[Teebs]

thanks!

The trick is to put something into the basket and bring it back to me.

I taught her hold when teaching her to pick the basket (well, bucket!) up! will see if we can start to do something else. She picks up bloody quick!

[ozjen]

thanks!

The trick is to put something into the basket and bring it back to me.

I taught her hold when teaching her to pick the basket (well, bucket!) up! will see if we can start to do something else. She picks up bloody quick!

Break down the trick to small increments, don't look at the end product just look at the stages you need for it. Its suprising how easy it becomes. I often train more than one trick at a time so you may train more than one stage of the trick but treat them as separate tricks while the dog is getting the idea. It sounds like a slow way to get the trick but it often works out much quicker in the long run. Don't stress about commands as innitially you are only working on getting the required behavior. Kavik's advice sounds right on track.

There is an online dog training site that is working on this very trick as their monthly challange you might want to check it out it called Dog Tricks Academy.

Once you have mastered this trick its easy to get them to pack up their toys with the same behaviour or even slumdunk a ball into a hoop. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2AMCv6bqaA this is my girl slamdunking. Have fun.

[Teebs]

ok, well, she is a fast learner

cow is walking over to me, woofing, going back to her bucket, putting her head in it than picking it up and bringing it to me :D

she thinks she is very smart ;)

Edited March 19, 2009 by Terrorbull

[Casima]

Not sure if this is helpful or not, but some dogs learn different ways better, so if you don't have any luck with Kavik's way, here is another...

I had a biggish not too high sided box on the ground near me, and an object I wanted the dog to put in the box on the floor. I initially shaped the dog to show interest in the object and always placed the treat for her into the box. So she was shaped from looking at to nose touching then to mouthing the object. Soon enough I had shaped her to pick it up, treats still being placed in the box, and it didn't take too long and she would carry the object part way and then all the way to where she was predicting her treat in the box. I made a big fuss the first time she put the object into the box and after alittle while, raised the criteria to object must be in the box, it took a few trys of her picking up and dropping the object till she got it right, but seemed to learn what I wanted pretty fast. I was then able to generalise this to other objects and also shrink/change the box.

You might want to start this with a container other than your bucket so you don't confuse her bucket fetch and an object she would want to pick up anyway like a dog toy/ball.

[whatevah]

I get him to put something into the drawer and then to close it.

[Teebs]

Thanks!

We are pretty close now, she knows she has to pick the toy up and drop it, then bring the bucket to me, she just has to work out i want the toy in the bucket

[Tilly]

I can offer no advise ... I tried to teach our dog to put his toys away ... unfortunately he would put one toy in and then find something else to take out. It got to the stage one toy was going in and 2 or 3 were coming out.