ROTT N CHATTER, October 1992, Volume 1 Number 3

 

                       I DARE YOU TO TAKE IT !!

 

   That's what Ruth Still's favorite Rottie in North Carolina seemed to say

when he had something that he didn't wish to give up.  Here is the training

tip and an excellent Behavior Modification technique for this month.

   My Rottie had a toy and I knew he would bite if I tried to take it from

him.  I momentarily let him think he won.  I then returned with his favorite

treat in my right hand and I showed it to him.  Now I had something that he

wanted far more than his toy and I wasn't going to let him have it.  He

dropped the toy and I picked it up, showed it to him and then gave him the

snack.  Next, I put the toy up.  I set up the scenario 7-8 times a day and

used the command 'RELEASE' everytime I asked for the toy.  (Giving a single

word command such as 'give' or 'release' is VERY IMPORTANT, but be

consistent).  Everytime I took the toy I gave him a treat or snack.

Eventually, I placed the snack across the room on a table.  I would then

walk up to him and say 'RELEASE'.  He would immediately release his toy and

then run to where the treat was located.  I began to replace the snack-

reward with lots of petting and verbal praise until I was able to completely

eliminate it.  I now have a Rottweiler that has proper behavior TOTALLY

ingrained in him.  Be sure your Rottie always gets an abundance of praise

for his/her correct behavior.  These results did not occur overnight.  I

made sure I did this training EVERY DAY for about three weeks to be sure the

behavior was ingrained solidly.  It took a lot of time and patience but it

was well worth the effort.  Rottweilers love to make 'trades', so don't just

yank things from them and then walk away.