Vacuums and Protecting

[Mahealani770]

O.G. - Thanks. I will print out your instructions and give it a shot.

About feeding Nicky his kibble by hand..
Does it matter where I do it? Nicky is very picky about eating. He takes one piece of kibble at a time and runs somewhere to eat it..usually he won't eat unless we're there and he'll bring it into our bedroom and eat it at the foot of the bed, or he'll take it under the dining room table. So should I sit on the floor somewhere when I think that he's hungry enough to take it out of my hand? And, should I sit on the kitchen floor as close to where I have his dish as possible?

About the milkbones, rawhides..
When I give Nicky a chewy, I make him sit, he politely takes it from my hand and runs off with it. What if he won't nibble the bone/rawhide from my hand at all? Also, if I can get him to nibble on the milkbone (not so high-value item) while I'm holding it, do I eventually let him have it or do I let him nibble for a certain amount of time and then put it up? I've never given him a milkbone so I'm not sure what it's made of (crumbly or chewy). Same thing goes for the high-value item..his favorite flavored rawhide...you said I should eventually let him have it but what about the times in between this training? He works on a rawhide (in the shape of a bone) for about a week until it's gone. Is he only allowed to have a chewy when I'm holding it or is he allowed to have it between training sessions? I hope I'm clear in my questions and sorry for so many of them..I just want to make sure I do this right
Thanks again,
~M~

SarahLynn - Time off of work for stampeeding? What the...

PuppyLuv - It's all good

[OntarioGreys]

Dog often tend to like to eat on carpeted area, just sit on the floor on a mat for feeding the kibble it is less threatening that way, a milkbone is a dog biscuit, so any type you use now is fine, and let him have it after a bit of nibbling , you want him to learn you are not going to steal his food, it is about teaching him trust, you are also teaching him you are the alpha and that the food is yours until you decide when he can have it and it also teaching him to be comfortable eating with you near him. The reason they growl is because they are afraid you will steal the food from them, so this training is to teach him he does not have to fear that you will do that to him, which is why you will allow him to have it after he spending a bit if time gnawing on it and getting praised for being a good boy.

You are not going to give him any rawhides until you get to that stage of the training, when you get to that stage because the rawhide last so long, pick up the rawhide only when he can't see you do it, like when he is outside, when you have done a couple weeks of rawhide training, then start swapping/trading treats like a biscuit after he has spent a half hour of so chewing when he is starting to get a bit bored with it, and the new treat will look more apppealing to him, offer the treat a foot or two away from the raw hide so it is in arm reach but not near his teeth, it is better if you can get between him and the rawhide so he does not notice you picking it up while he is focusing on the new treat. Don't try to take the rawhide away unless he is willing to trade treats. trust takes time to build it won't happen right away, but gradually he will improve and be less possessive with you.

[Mahealani770]

Scott - Thanks for those links on the Bullmastiff..I made my partner sit down and read everything and when she got to the "Bullmastiffs slobber ALOT" part, she didn't want one..lol..wooo hoooo! No big dogs!
She then moved on to wanting a Great Dane but was really concerned with all the health ailments that come with age. She didn't realize how hard it is on big dogs, especially when they get older .

Ontario Greys..
Thanks so much for the detailed instructions. I printed them out and promptly started training as soon as I got home from work yesterday. I filled Nicky's food bowl, held it in my lap as I was sitting on the floor, had him sit in front of me, and I began hand-feeding him one kibble at a time. He took each piece very gently and I praised him each time. He seemed a little annoyed at being petted on top of his head and I'm not sure if it was because it was dinner time and he just wanted to eat, or if it was his normal "I don't really like being touched on the top of my head" reaction. I think he doesn't like NOT being able to see where my hand is at and who knows what his previous owners did to him to make him feel like that. So, I do a little of petting under his chin but had to wait until he swallowed his food. Anyway, I did this with about 10 pieces of kibble, he eventually laid down and just enjoyed the hand-feeding session..lol..and then I let him eat the rest. However, I kept my hand in his bowl, laying on top of his food. He politely ate around my fingers..lol I know that this was not part of your instructions, but I wanted to see how he would react to my hand being plunged into his food. He didn't react poorly at all so I guess that's a good sign. Every now and then I tried petting him a bit while he was eating but he looks pretty scary as he shows his teeth when he eats, so I quickly lost the nerve after a short while and then just let him eat in peace..lol..
I started the same thing this morning. I got his bowl, sat down with it in my lap, hand-fed for while, pet, praised, let him eat what he wanted, and I took the bowl away when he lost interest. So, what do you think? Pretty good for the first 2 times, eh?

The only thing is, it's breaking my heart to see him walking around searching for his chewy He has one kind of chewy that's white and flat..not a high-value item for him. But then he has a very high-value chewy..the flavored bone shaped rawhide. Since he's not allowed to have either right now, I'm going to go out and buy some milkbones today, unless you want me to wait on that part of the training? I just feel bad for him. He looks so bored, but he will not play.

Oh..and as far as the vacuum goes. I took it out of the closet and have had it sitting in the middle of the living room since I got home yesterday. I called him over to it, he sat in front of me, and I petted/praised him. I tapped the front of the vacuum and he sniffed it, then I praised. He didn't bark once, but I think that's because I haven't turned it on yet..lol... so we'll see how that goes when I graduate to actually running the vacuum.

[Scott_B]

Your very welcome. The slober turns off alot of people