Flirt Pole she wont let go till I get the knife

[Micky]

Stella now 8 month has learned how to drop things and most of the time there is no problem and she does what she has been told. Of late there is a slight problem with the Flirt Pole, we have an old glove attached to it and under no circumstances does she let go, once she has the glove it is hers for ever. I have tried to ignor her and walk away, she will sit there for hours when I get back ou she takes the glove. I have tried to redirect she has none of it, I have tried to get her fav tread she doesn't let go, the only thing which works is to take cut the glove from the pole, take the pole and leave her there, then she will come in and leave the glove outside looking at me kinda, what the **** did you do.
Here is my ? how do I make her drop the glove any ideas. Thanks

[szariksdad]

I think it sounds like she thinks the glove is hers and not yours. So teach her it is your glove and you are letting her play with it so when done. Have her out and then tell her all done or finished and walk away with the flirt pole with glove on it.

[Chris Wild]

Sounds like she simply needs to be taught the out command. Starting with a lower value resource until she understands what the command means, then gradually moving up to higher value ones like the glove.

[Chris Wild]

Originally Posted by szariksdad

I think it sounds like she thinks the glove is hers and not yours. So teach her it is your glove and you are letting her play with it so when done. Have her out and then tell her all done or finished and walk away with the flirt pole with glove on it.

This whole "all the toys are mine" concept that so many people get hung up on really has very little to do with this, or anything else, honestly.

But beyond that, the attitude described of "it's mine and you can't have it since you didn't out" will just make the dog less likely to out and more likely to hang on because everytime she lets go she is punished, not rewarded.

If one always equates letting go with the end of the game, then of course the dog isn't going to let go. Why would she? It is in her best interest not to because when she does it means all the fun goes away. Dogs learn much better when we show them that the things we want them to do bring reinforcement in the form of getting things they like. Certainly not in the form of removing things they like.

Right now she is reinforced for keeping the toy. Nothing good happens when she lets go. And having the toy in her possession sure beats having no toy at all, or ending the game.

Easiest way to teach an out is to make it GOOD for the dog to out. Not bad by ending the game. Trade for a higher value item, so the dog learns giving up what she has is an opportunity to get something even better in order to establish the understanding of what "out" means and the dog seeing it's a good thing to do. Then move onto showing her that letting go brings the prey alive again, making the game resume and things even more fun. Lock up the toy so there is no reinforcement and no fun in her holding on, and wait her out. When she lets go, play again. Not the opposite.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Just wanted to highlight the following to make sure people just see this is another TRAINING issue that we can fix. Not a huge 'ALPHA DOG BOSS CHALLENGING ME OH MY GOSH' type thing

Easiest way to teach an out is to make it GOOD for the dog to out. Not bad by ending the game. Trade for a higher value item, so the dog learns giving up what she has is an opportunity to get something even better in order to establish the understanding of what "out" means and the dog seeing it's a good thing to do. Then move onto showing her that letting go brings the prey alive again, making the game resume and things even more fun. Lock up the toy so there is no reinforcement and no fun in her holding on, and wait her out. When she lets go, play again. Not the opposite.

[Micky]

Hi I may be did not make the post very clear,...Stella does know the Aus comand and is really great at dropping all sorts of things that she should not have or things that we are playing with like her ball or stuffies so Aus is not the problem. When we play flirt pole she does drop the glove and the games continues really well, she just gets to a point when she will not drop the glove no matter what, all the Ausing in the world will not work, neither does her favourite treat, cheese, she simply will not let go, so I then leave her with glove in mouth, pole on ground and walk away, she will sit and wait eventually drop the glove until I return to try to continue playing, that is when the glove is cut from the pole and game ends So maybe she has decided in her own way when the game is done. But thanks for the replies I guess I will just have to keep buying rope for the pole!!

[DolphinGirl]

I agree with the others on training Aus, which you stated she knows. Have you tried to pick her up to see if she'll drop it? One hand on the back of the collar and the other wrap around and pick her up by the belly. Most will drop the item once lifted.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by Micky

When we play flirt pole she does drop the glove and the games continues really well, she just gets to a point when she will not drop the glove no matter what, all the Ausing in the world will not work, neither does her favourite treat, cheese, she simply will not let go

Sounds like it could be one of two things.

1. She is finished and that is her way of telling you.

2. You don't let HER win often enough and she has decided to take matters into her own hands.

[Ruthie]

Originally Posted by Micky

Hi I may be did not make the post very clear,...Stella does know the Aus comand and is really great at dropping all sorts of things that she should not have or things that we are playing with like her ball or stuffies so Aus is not the problem. When we play flirt pole she does drop the glove and the games continues really well, she just gets to a point when she will not drop the glove no matter what, all the Ausing in the world will not work, neither does her favourite treat, cheese, she simply will not let go, so I then leave her with glove in mouth, pole on ground and walk away, she will sit and wait eventually drop the glove until I return to try to continue playing, that is when the glove is cut from the pole and game ends So maybe she has decided in her own way when the game is done. But thanks for the replies I guess I will just have to keep buying rope for the pole!!

Stop using the glove. You are reinforcing bad behavior. Try something else on the flirt pole or stop playing with it.

Bison went through this phase too with the squirrel that comes with the pole. We had to put it up for a few months because what was happening is just as Chris described. He learned that if I let go, the game ends.

When I re-introduced the flirt pole, I let him carry the toy inside and hold it for a bit. Then did just like Chris described. Completely ignore the squirrel and get out one of his favorite treats, like Frosty Paws. Once he is engaged in the treat, I pick up the pole and squirrel quietly and put it in the closet.

[Ace952]

If she knows Aus and can do it with any other object in her mouth and won't with the glove, then she needs a correction. Choker or pinch.