Do you have a dog who loves to scavenge? This is an important part of training your new puppy or your new dog. My process on “How to stop my dog scavenging on walks” is not at all complicated, however, it does take commitment and consistency.
Most of my dogs have been quite easy to train to deter them from scavenging on walks, and you guessed it, there is always one who is more of a challenge.
The challenge has been my latest Kelpie, who is now three years old.
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She has been taught right from a puppy the ‘leave it’ cue, and the ‘drop it’ cue. As she matured, I also taught her the ‘watch’ cue and the ‘touch’ cue. At our home of course, she responds to these cues if anything is on the ground that I do not want her to pick up, or, if she has something in her mouth and I want her to let it go now, she will respond to the ‘drop it’ cue.
These positive responses at home can give you a sense of safety and we tend to think wow, they have picked these cues up so well, this will be a breeze when we go out for a walk. I thought this, as this was the case with most of my dogs. Some of my dogs that I have raised may have needed more encouragement to respond to the above cues when we were out and about. My confidence remained intact after some further training, and it was in no time at all that I could deter my companions from scavenging.
How to stop my dog scavenging on walks was a question I was asking myself constantly with Twinkle!
Was Twinkle well-named? Yes, Twinkle was! Twinkle just loves life, she loves people, and she loves other dogs, life to her is a new adventure each day.
Did I consider using a muzzle? No, that option did not cross my mind, however, maybe initially in her case this may have been a better introduction to her world outside. If you decide to go this way, you need to prepare your dog to be comfortable wearing a mesh muzzle. This would require desensitising sessions at home before venturing for outside walks.
One afternoon I took my three Kelpies to the beach to stretch their legs and run free, and as quick as a flash, Twinkle picked up in her mouth a large jellyfish and swallowed it whole.
I was very concerned about this as I was not ready for this to happen. My first thoughts were, goodness I hope it was not poisonous, and then I was annoyed at myself for not being more observant. My home training of the ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ cues worked at home and worked with walks around our neighbourhood, but of course, Twinkle was on a leash, and I was more observant.
How did I let this happen? I was running these thoughts through my mind when within minutes she had gobbled something else down into her stomach. I was becoming distraught and I was debating whether to return home or walk a bit further, as my other two dogs were having such fun.
I put Twinkle back on her leash and let my other two dogs enjoy their running around on the sand, but as we continued our walk, Twinkle became quite agitated. She kept pulling towards the green vegetation along the embankment of the beach and I realised she was wanting to look for grass. I reluctantly let her off the leash to let her find just the right grass to enable her to bring back up the jellyfish and whatever else she had swallowed.
Within a short time, she found the right grass, which helped her dislodge the ‘stuff’ she had gobbled up. She was now quite quiet, so I had to call back my other two dogs to be attached to their leashes and return home.
Twinkle is now being trained until these cues are automatic, plus when we now go to the beach, she is attached to a 15-metre lead until I am satisfied that she will respond to the ongoing training.
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Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration,
Robin Oliver of Robin Oliver Pet Dog Training
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog
