Today was waaaaay too stressful for me to feel able to properly work on the protocol, so I did grooming and more tug training with both dogs.
As soon as I got settled on the floor with the brush and his dinner, Maxwell just flopped down next to me. He is now very good about brushing, and barely showed annoyance even when I did his breeches. In fact, when I paused to empty the brush, he muzzle-punched my hand to make me start again. I ended up with enough Aussie fur to cover a small puppy. Will he ever run out of undercoat?
I was also happy to see that his tug continues to improve. The very first time I asked him to 'take it' he gave a wonderful yank and earned a nice handful of kibble. Throughout the session, I would estimate that at least 50% of his bites included a light tug or better, which is a huge improvement over his old hold-but-don't-pull.
To test this new-found enthusiasm I tried a few different things. First, I tried playing Gimme A Break between tugs, to see if reducing the pressure to perform would help even more. Instead he just got distracted looking for more kibble on the floor. So scratch that idea. Next I asked him to wait while I walked 7 or 8 feet away. On my release he happily ran for, and grabbed, the toy. Lastly, I just held the toy neutrally to see if he would offer a tug... and he did!
Sadie was much less happy about the brushing, but did fine. Anything to get food.
Her tug has improved even more than Maxwell's. She now eagerly seeks out the toy with a strong bite to earn her kibble. Not that many actual tugs, but this is an enormous improvement as it is. She would jump for the toy, run to it, follow it around as I ran... anything I asked. And for the first time, the food reward didn't actually trump the toy. After her reward she would seek out the toy instead of just sitting, looking pathetic, waiting for more food to appear.
In fact, at one point I dropped a single piece of kibble that she didn't see. I bent down to retrieve it, and she tried to snatch the toy from my hand. Now, I know that I do NOT want my dogs to learn that simply taking things from me is OK. But I also DO want them to be extremely enthusiastic about tug. So I gave her a hearty "yes!" and a huge fistful of kibble. I'm more than happy to reward her offered tugs, since I know that she has extremely good self-control if I ask her to wait for something. I'll start by getting the best tug I can, then put the manners back in.
Overall, an excellent night of training!
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