Hi all! I am having some problems doing the article search with my 2 1/2 year old Mal, Remco. He is a passive alert article search dog, meaning, when he finds the article, he is to lay down. Lately when he finds the article he has been putting it in his mouth just for a brief moment before dropping it then lying down. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can curb this behavior? Thanks!

I'd e-collar him for mouthing the article and praise up the down itself. I'd also try firing the reward at him a bit quicker... I've seen quite a few dogs get frustrated at the lag time in getting rewarded for the search and try to gain a little "self reward" by mouthing the article itself.... JMO

so should I just give a nick for the moment that he taps on the article before he lays down? Usually he doesnt even put the article fully in his mouth, it's just a quick grab, drop and lay down. Thanks!

Assuming you've taught a "leave it" command, work a few on leash "finds", command leave it, down, before he touches it. I always go for the less extreme, it can always be escalated.

DFrost

Lori,

The quick reward may cure the problem but I've found that it may also create another. That is the dog will break the down/stay in anticipation of the reward.

The e-collar suggestion isn't bad either but as David stated, you can do something less stressfull. Try laying the article next to a chainlink fence and work him downwind so that upon finding the article there is no way he can get to it. You could also try articles in the crotch of a tree.

My dog will touch the article with his nose and sit, then look to me for the reward. High finds he will jump and hit the article with his nose and land in a sit. The nice thing about article searches is that its fun and takes little time to st up so lots can be done in a relative short time.

As you said, he is rewarding himself so you have to prevent that during the problem solving until he is proofed.

My previous dog was taught to retrieve articles which made for an exciting night when he brought a loaded Glock back to me. I dont train that any longer <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

 Quote:

My previous dog was taught to retrieve articles which made for an exciting night when he brought a loaded Glock back to me. I dont train that any longer <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Does USPCA still require this for certs?

yes, they still require it. Two articles in a 30 X 30 ft square. Dogs can either be passive alert or retrieve the articles.