I鈥檇 always had this impression that Labs naturally held things鈥攂irds鈥攕oftly in their mouths. To some extent it鈥檚 true that a dog can be predisposed toward having a so-called soft mouth or a low-pressure bite. Mostly, though, it鈥檚 a skill that must be trained like any other.
The Ultimate 国产吃瓜黑料 Companion
All you need to know about going wild with man’s best friend.鈥淗old鈥 means you鈥檝e got to keep this object, whatever it may be, balanced between your teeth and not chomp or chew on it. I don鈥檛 care how soft a dog鈥檚 mouth is, if he doesn鈥檛 know a hold command and you put a pork sausage in his mouth, it鈥檚 gone. Sue Barns and the Assistance Dogs of the West trainers taught me this sausage trick as a way of illustrating what鈥檚 called stimulus control. That is: Because I鈥檝e given the 鈥渉old鈥 cue, my dog Danger should view the sausage not as a treat for completing a task, as he would ordinarily, but as an object to hold as he鈥檚 been taught. The treat, his normal dog food, comes after he鈥檚 held the sausage for what must be an unbearable length of time.
How to work up to this one slowly: Teach your dog the hold command with a wooden dowel. Click just for light but steady pressure on the dowel being sure to maintain control of it until your dog will hold it鈥攅ven for a fraction of a second鈥攚ithout rolling it in his molars. Add the cue once you鈥檙e getting a consistent hold of a few seconds. Then, once he knows the command, very slowly raise the criteria with objects that he鈥檚 more likely to chomp down on or treat like a chew toy. Finally, when your dog can hold actual chew or squeeky toys calmly, introduce a frozen sausage. Then slowly let it thaw as you train. Mike Stewart and the Wildrose gang use a similar progression for hunting retrievers, starting with a frozen game bird and then gradually letting it thaw as several young dogs make retrieves with it.
This article originally appeared on 国产吃瓜黑料 K9, the former dog blog of 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine, on June 22, 2009.