Teach her to carry my purse?

[Tiffany05]

I saw someone who had taught their dog to carry their purse and I thought it would be a perfect idea for a job for Misty. I figure it will give her something to concentrate on while walking, thus walking better and also make her feel important by giving her a job. And yes, I do have a backpack for her, but it doesn't seem to make a difference for her. Plus, I just think it is a neat thing for her to learn.

So far I can get her to hold it in her mouth at my side until I take it from her and treat her. Most of the times, I can even get her to walk a few steps while carrying the purse, but when I stop, she just drops it. Also, she just seems to get bored or frustrated and leaves. I feel she just doesn't like this command. I keep the training sessions short and use different treats and alternate using a ball as a treat (she likes both food and play as treats).

So how do I A: engage her more and B: get her to walk and then stop while carrying the purse? Thanks!!!

[Shaina]

You need to start by really getting her to know "take it, hold it". I use different items with my dog and now she can hold anything that will fit in her mouth. I use my hands to tap her top and bottom jaw and tell her "hold it". If she drops it, I make a silly deal about it "ohh noooo, what a bad girl!" and then I start it over again. I don't yell at her btw, it is more of what you'd do in a halfway kidding voice lmao. Once she REALLY understands "hold it" and can just sit and hold it for a long period of time, then I proceed to teach her to heel with it, down, sit, come, etc. I always give her the "out" command randomly so she understands that I will tell her when to let it go. It takes a long time, don't give up!

[Tiffany05]

Originally Posted by Shaina

You need to start by really getting her to know "take it, hold it". I use different items with my dog and now she can hold anything that will fit in her mouth. I use my hands to tap her top and bottom jaw and tell her "hold it". If she drops it, I make a silly deal about it "ohh noooo, what a bad girl!" and then I start it over again. I don't yell at her btw, it is more of what you'd do in a halfway kidding voice lmao. Once she REALLY understands "hold it" and can just sit and hold it for a long period of time, then I proceed to teach her to heel with it, down, sit, come, etc. I always give her the "out" command randomly so she understands that I will tell her when to let it go. It takes a long time, don't give up!

Thanks so much for the response! I was just taking it from her mouth randomly and giving her a treat, but I think by giving her the "out" command, that would be much more understandable. I do have a "take it" command, but I don't use it for this. Instead I made a command "carry it" where I'm trying to have the incorporate both the "take it" and "hold it" into that one command. Do you think that is okay?

And don't worry, giving up is not my thing!

[Shaina]

I actually recorded a video for you! We are using a flashlight which is a more difficult item for her as it is not even (has a huge magnet on it) and is a weird texture. She is 11 months and we haven't been working on this for very long, but the beginning where I tap the nose and tell her "hold it" should last a few good sessions, then I start stepping away and telling her to hold it without touching her. When I walk back up to her I tap her nose again so she knows that just because I return does NOT mean to drop the item. Giving one command should be fine, I just used two because I spent so much time with "take it" in the beginning. I make it fun but not so exciting that it causes her to lose focus. I would definitely put in the out command, as otherwise she'll assume that certain body positions mean out or that she can drop it whenever she wants.

Don't mind my dress, it is almost 2 and I have yet to get ready for the day! LOL Hope it helps a little bit.

Working on "Hold It" - YouTube

Edit: Oops! looks like the sound is NOT synched with the video.. stupid webcam. Obviously say the cues at the right time.

[Bismarck]

great video, thanks for that.
something new to teach biz

[Shaina]

The hardest part is getting the dog to accept taking the item. I stand next to my dog and pull her lips up, place the item in her mouth, and then put my hands lightly over her snout and repeat the process MANY times, always rewarding. Some dogs will really fight taking things, but my dog was pretty easy about it. She will hold spoons, sticks, water bottles, etc.. but it took a while to get to that point. Glad you liked the video

[AbbyK9]

I think Shaina gave you some very good advice on teaching your dog how to take and hold an item. Your dog really needs to understand the "hold" before you can start walking with her carrying the object. I've always reinforced "hold" by placing my hand under the chin, rather than around the snout, as Shaina does, but either way will work for you.

I suppose my question would be how far you want your dog to carry the item? You mentioned "giving her something to do on walks". How far and how long do you walk? I wouldn't expect my dog to carry an item in her mouth for me for an hour - dogs need to be able to pant, especially when it's warm, and they can't do that if they're holding an item.

This was actually discussed at length during WWI (and again WWII) where dogs were trained to "alert" their handler of nearby enemy forces or wounded soldiers by holding a bringsel (an item that was attached to their collar) in their teeth on returning to their handlers. But because some of the dogs ran longer distances, they often came back not holding the item because they'd dropped it needing to pant and breathe.

Just something to think about.

[Tiffany05]

Originally Posted by Shaina

I actually recorded a video for you! We are using a flashlight which is a more difficult item for her as it is not even (has a huge magnet on it) and is a weird texture. She is 11 months and we haven't been working on this for very long, but the beginning where I tap the nose and tell her "hold it" should last a few good sessions, then I start stepping away and telling her to hold it without touching her. When I walk back up to her I tap her nose again so she knows that just because I return does NOT mean to drop the item. Giving one command should be fine, I just used two because I spent so much time with "take it" in the beginning. I make it fun but not so exciting that it causes her to lose focus. I would definitely put in the out command, as otherwise she'll assume that certain body positions mean out or that she can drop it whenever she wants.

Don't mind my dress, it is almost 2 and I have yet to get ready for the day! LOL Hope it helps a little bit.

Working on "Hold It" - YouTube

Edit: Oops! looks like the sound is NOT synched with the video.. stupid webcam. Obviously say the cues at the right time.

Thanks so much for the video!!! That was very helpful!

Originally Posted by AbbyK9

I suppose my question would be how far you want your dog to carry the item? You mentioned "giving her something to do on walks". How far and how long do you walk? I wouldn't expect my dog to carry an item in her mouth for me for an hour - dogs need to be able to pant, especially when it's warm, and they can't do that if they're holding an item.

Yeah, I had been thinking about that. Good that you mentioned it. I'm sure it would all depend on the weather for how long I'd have her hold it. If it is hot out, she probably should only carry it for a very very short time; if it is cold, obviously, longer. I would probably play it by ear and watch her very carefully. I wouldn't expect her to carry it for an hour either, though.

[doggiedad]

i think you can train your dog to carry anything. don't wait
untill it's time to go for a walk to teach her to carry things.
you can have lots of short sessions in the house. you said your dog walks away from you during training. keep her leashed during training.
i think part of teaching my dog to carry things and to pick
things up when i drop them came from teaching him "find it".
i hide something and my dog goes and finds it but he brings
whatever i hid to me so he's carrying things. lots of times i buy
a news paper so he can carry it from the store to the car.
when we go shopping i always put something in a bag for him
to carry from the car to the house. if my dog is carrying something
and he drops it i say "bring it here" or "get it" and he picks whatever it
is back up. make sure whatever it is you want your dog to carry it's
easy for her to carry. when my dog carries the news paper i roll the paper
up and put a rubber band around it. when my dog is carrying
a bag i tie the top and i'm holding the bag with one hand
near the knot and the other hand to the opposite side so
i'm placing a length of the bag in his mouth.
imagine giving your dog a stick but hand is at one end of the
stick and the other hand is at the other end of the stick.
your holding the stick east to west and you put it in your dogs mouth.
start having your dog hold things for a short distance. teach
"leave it" or "drop it" or some command for you dog to release
what she's carrying. put a treat in your hand bag and have
your dog carry it a short distance. stop, take the hand bag
(give your release command) from her and treat and praise and do it
all over again after a few steps. my dog liked carrying his toys or bones
so i put them in the mix of things to carry.

[Tiffany05]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

i think you can train your dog to carry anything. don't wait
untill it's time to go for a walk to teach her to carry things.
you can have lots of short sessions in the house. you said your dog walks away from you during training. keep her leashed during training.
i think part of teaching my dog to carry things and to pick
things up when i drop them came from teaching him "find it".
i hide something and my dog goes and finds it but he brings
whatever i hid to me so he's carrying things. lots of times i buy
a news paper so he can carry it from the store to the car.
when we go shopping i always put something in a bag for him
to carry from the car to the house. if my dog is carrying something
and he drops it i say "bring it here" or "get it" and he picks whatever it
is back up. make sure whatever it is you want your dog to carry it's
easy for her to carry. when my dog carries the news paper i roll the paper
up and put a rubber band around it. when my dog is carrying
a bag i tie the top and i'm holding the bag with one hand
near the knot and the other hand to the opposite side so
i'm placing a length of the bag in his mouth.
imagine giving your dog a stick but hand is at one end of the
stick and the other hand is at the other end of the stick.
your holding the stick east to west and you put it in your dogs mouth.
start having your dog hold things for a short distance. teach
"leave it" or "drop it" or some command for you dog to release
what she's carrying. put a treat in your hand bag and have
your dog carry it a short distance. stop, take the hand bag
(give your release command) from her and treat and praise and do it
all over again after a few steps. my dog liked carrying his toys or bones
so i put them in the mix of things to carry.

Thanks for all the tips! Very helpful! I actually didn't think of putting her on a leash.