i have a new behavior that i'd like to teach my dog. i wonder if you kind folks could suggest the steps i might take in training the individual components of the entire behavior.

i have a habit when i get home from work of taking off my socks and putting them on the 4th or 5th stair. the idea is that when i eventually go upstairs i'll take them with me and put them in the hamper. however, i never seem to remember to do so. obviously this drives my poor wife crazy. and yet i can't seem to make myself take them upstairs when i get home. call it a personal failure.

anywho, what i'd like to do, therefore, is teach the dog to take my socks upstairs and drop them into the hamper, which is at the top of the stairs. please nobody call PETA, my socks are nowhere near as bad as some of the other stuff he gets into his mouth.


my thought was to first teach him to pick up a sock, then teach him to drop it into a basket, then teach specifically to drop it into the hamper, and then have him do it from downstairs.

any thoughts?

p.s. if your thoughts include "yeah just take the socks upstairs yourself you lazy butthead," save it, i've heard it enough from the wife already!

My dog will pick up anything on command, show him the hamper and 'out' with a command for hamper. Mine will put toys away when I say 'tidy up' and will pick up litter and put in bin when I say 'clean up the trash' - we did an expo. with kids a while back.

It's fairly easy to train if your dog has a solid carry and out, you just need to practice taking the socks to the hamper.

Depending on your dog.....

If he will pick up anything you ask him to you can teach him to bring it to the hamper.

If he is not the type dog that will pick up anything that you ask or carry anything you give him or hold anything that you hand him & ask him to hold....then..this will work:

If you use marker training to train your dog this would not be difficult. You have to break it way down into small steps:

Stand on the bottom step & put sock on next step. Bring dog over to bottom step. Dog will most likely look & sniff sock as it will be right under his nose.

Then start.

Dog goes to sock...mark & treat & repeat

Dog touches sock...mark & treat.

Teach dog to hold sock ..dog picks up sock & hold for a second..mark & treat.

Dog goes over picks up sock & holds for 2 seconds...mark & treat. Repeat until you can get dog to calmly stand holding sock for 10 seconds.

Lure the dog up 1 step while holding the sock ...mark & treat.

Over time lure him up a step further. etc etc

If you use touch pads you can use that to send the dog up the steps once he will hold the sock.

You can also backchain this behavior by teaching the hold first & then the carry.

Alot of this will depend on the dog & the level of training he has & your skills to train.

Teach the hamper drop right where the dog learns to pick up the socks. Preferably on a flat surface. Add distance a little at a time. Look at the stairs as another distraction to add later.
Example;
Once the dog knows how to pick up the socks and put it in the hamper then put the hamper at the top of the steps and the socks on the landing at the top.
"Gradually" move the socks down lower on the stairs, away from the hamper. Don't add more stairs (distance) until the dog is solid performing on the closer stairs.
Don't require the dog to learn both at the same time. Teach the sock pickup separate and the hamper drop separate. Done separately the two behaviors will go together LOTS easier then trying to teach two behaviors at once (confusing to the dog).
By the time your finished with all the training you just may be in good enough shape to take the socks all the way up.......NAAAAW!
Ditto on the back chaining and marker training!

I would have just had my dogs pick the sock up & carry to the hamper & out the dog. Since they have be taught to pick up what ever I ask & hold it & carry it. But decided to break it WAY down for him, since I don't know what level the dog is & what kind of training he has. So I went very basic.

Hope it all helps you Chris.

Thanks everyone

just put the hamper by the door