Is it ok to use play as a reward when you work on focus around other dogs?
Tonight I ran out of food on the walk. Then we ran into an enemy dog, a really reactive pitty. Normaly they BOTH freak out.
I did a U turn and crossed the street, where I found a stick on the ground. It worked magic. She is familiar with the ball on a string play, so after I got a "sit, watch me!" I whipped the stick backwards and we played.
I think the other dogs owner was a little annoyed that we didn't just move along. But I was pretty proud that there was none of the usual stuff happening.
Is using play adding too much excitement?
P.S. Connie, I think you will be proud that I'm starting to get LOTS of
automatic eye contact in all sorts of situations! Thanks so much for all the
suggestions.
This dog worries me a little when it comes to that. Not because he's a pit, but because he's HUGE and I don't trust other people to select good equipment.
It was a better result than the usual, at least they weren't barking and lunging, but he's not the guy I want to fire up anymore than his usual reaction.
With him, I think we would need a lot of distance and a really good food reward. Maybe a half mile or so. And bacon. And a starving dog. :p
She always works better for a toy, and the beauty is that she isn't picky. We've played with pinecones, sticks, rocks, old gatorade bottles and other random found items.
As long as she can chase it or tug she will do anything.
Reg: 12-06-2010
Posts: 721
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
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I do this too. I get tired of treats and its fun to play with my dog. I figure if I have become more interesting to him then another dog or whatever, that is good. I never thought of firing up the other dog, but we aren't that close, usually the other dog hardly knows we are there. I use a bag of tricks to get a nice walk, including treats, clicks, obedience manouvers, sticks, a tug toy, crossing the street, changing direction, throwing treats on the ground, telling Jethro its Sniff time... I use the play time to build our relationship, my trust in him, as much as his trust in me. It also helps to dispell tension. Especially because he loves to jump and catch things in his mouth. And I love seeing him fly through the air.
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