Dog's Choice Game With Tug

[corvus]

I was having trouble getting Erik to tug when he thought he might be getting food at some point. I talked to my agility instructors about it and was introduced to a variation on the dog's choice game we've been playing to get good solid sits. I was instructed to keep food in my pocket, then get Erik tugging and then produce a piece of food. If he let go of the tug, the food goes back in the pocket. If he keeps holding it while looking at the food I ask for the toy and give him the food.

We tried this game for the first time this morning and Erik picked it up straight away. The trickiest bit was getting him to notice the food in the first place. :p I really like it and it looks like it's going to be very useful for helping Erik learn to switch between food and tug.

[Agility Dogs]

I was having trouble getting Erik to tug when he thought he might be getting food at some point. I talked to my agility instructors about it and was introduced to a variation on the dog's choice game we've been playing to get good solid sits. I was instructed to keep food in my pocket, then get Erik tugging and then produce a piece of food. If he let go of the tug, the food goes back in the pocket. If he keeps holding it while looking at the food I ask for the toy and give him the food.

We tried this game for the first time this morning and Erik picked it up straight away. The trickiest bit was getting him to notice the food in the first place. I really like it and it looks like it's going to be very useful for helping Erik learn to switch between food and tug.

I like that - very cool. :p