Thank you for your suggestions. I like them both. I”m going to look for some fake lizards on Amazon and try that as well as try the other. I can take her out to the front yard where there likely won’t be any lizards.

Okay, I’m just here to say these puppies are adorable. I have nothing further to add.

Oh my goodness, @Handymandy , that is a challenge!
Do you think there’s any chance that you could substitute a fake lizard (maybe attached to a line so you can make it move swiftly) for Dolly to “catch” in your backyard in the evening, to see if that would satisfy her so that she’d pee afterwards? Or, do you think flirt pole play would satisfy…

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I have a similar situation with my foster dog, Dolly. She will pee and poop on our walks in the morning and I take her out to the back yard a couple more times during the day. But at night when we do our nighttime walk, she just wants to hunt – we have rabbits in our neighborhood as well as toads and lizards that she likes to hunt. She will…

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I am and will do!

OMD, @jenz — Brody is delicious!
Love your behind-the-gate first, then a focus on LLW to help calm a pup down before greetings. Thank you for sharing!
If you try the treat toss and then hand targeting with Brody, let us know how it goes. 😊

Finn is adorable!

Why is it the adorable ones always seem to pee? 😉

I am working with this cutie, Brody. It was only during our most recent session that he started to pee when he saw me. Dad said, “this” is new. He is almost 5 months old.

I like your idea of tossing treats away during the approach to focus on followed by the hand target!

…

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@bernerlabreclectus

Thank you for reading and, your kind words.

I’m working with a darling cocker spaniel puppy named Finn. He’s a naturally submissive and excitable fellow and when guests arrive at his home, he’ll pee. If he has immediate access to them, peeing may occur even if the person ignores him. It will happen for sure if they attempt to greet him. During my first lesson, even after 45 minutes and…

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What a great point, @MInhouse ! Thanks for the update!

Direct eye contact while pooping — priceless!! 🤣

I can only imagine the physical release this big dog needs in order to get relaxed enough to poo in that environment.

One of my girls really really prefers privacy for her normal bowel movement. “Going” on lead is tolerable only if the situation is desperate.

One thing that has seemed to help is if I pointedly turn away from her while…

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My heart hurts with yours, @jenz . What a beautiful boy! I’m so happy your loved U-turned into each other’s at that dead end road.

Sending you a virtual hug and hope you know you touched Kaiden’s life just as deeply. 🌈

It was actually something incredibly simple, and definitely something I had learned and should have known, but with so much to try to focus on I just hadn’t thought of it. When we got Nico we were determined not to give him any people food so that he wouldn’t become a horrible beggar like some of our past dogs. But as we worked our way…

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@catherine

Thank you for your kind words.

@jenz

What a beautiful tribute, Jen. Such a legacy Kaiden created for you. And look how many other lives you have influenced for the better through your behavior consulting! Wow. It’s so amazing how one dog can be such a catalyst for our own growth and the building of so much good in the world.

May you have peace as you grieve the loss…

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@MInhouse , I so enjoyed reading your post about Nico, which included so many nuggets of gold throughout!! I’m rooting for you both from the sidelines as you continue your journey with him and look forward to more updates.

I also really appreciate your comment about being thankful for his behavior issues. During the early years of my career,…

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This is just something that occurred to me recently that I find amusing so I thought I would share.

My pit/boxer mix, Nico, is a rescue. We got him from the pound when he was 11 months old. He had been there for about 6 months so he spent pretty much the entirety of his adolescent/teenage years in this high stress environment. We have no…

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Thank you.

I’m so deeply sorry for your loss, @jenz . Thank you for sharing your story about Kaiden. It was so moving to learn how he was a catalyst for the wonderful work you continue to do.

The silence that is left behind is the loudest thing I hear.

You found me 14 years ago wandering a dead-end street near the highway. You were frolicking, watching, and sniffing. Finally, you trotted over still sniffing, circling and staying close. You jumped in my truck like you belonged in it. You did. No one reported you missing in 3…

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In last week’s article, I mentioned a dog named Leesa who got jumpy and mouthy just before having to poop. George, a rescue dog currently in a pet/prison program, also displays similar behavior when he has to poop, typically going over threshold a couple of times every day. At 70+ lbs., that’s a lot to deal with.

In George’s case, things are a…

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@MInhouse , those special dogs really remain so tightly in our hearts. 💙

Maybe pinned was a bit of an exaggeration. She was a pug/shepherd mix, about 55-60 lbs. Not too large, but I never wanted to just push her off of me and this was before I had ever been to a training class or gotten involved with Catch so she had never been taught an “off” cue. She may not have been the best trained dog, but she was amazing…

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Oh my goodness, @MInhouse ! She must’ve been a large dog to be able to pin your down!

I once had a dog who would suddenly get very worked up when she had to poop, running back and forth and if my husband and I were sitting on the couch she would jump on top of us. The problem was, she would jump on top of us and not want to get off. We knew she needed to go, but couldn’t get up to take her out because she would have us pinned down.

Leesa is a young adult mix, normally mellow and sweet, and yet I observed her yesterday jumping repeatedly on her handler and grabbing his pant legs in a feisty way that isn’t a normal part of her behavioral repertoire. In Leesa’s case, we soon had our answer: she was in desperate need of a poop/potty break and once that was out of her system,…

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Oh my goodness, a boxing hamster! 🤣

Very interesting info! Now I know a little bit about rat behavior!

I had had several mice and hamsters as pets; I remember getting nipped as a child!

I had a Siberian Dwarf hamster that would actually “punch” several times in succession with his front feet! He was like a little boxer. He was a cutie but mean! He never liked being handle even as…

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I hear you, @jenz — wish we had the magic wand to make sure every pet parent has the time and motivation to put in the work to help their dogs be their very best.

Treasure’s initial sniffing off to the side has to do with the fact that food is regularly over there. And I moved my hand closer to entice him because I didn’t want him going to…

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Since you mentioned this was the first time he did this, do you think his approach was making sure his environment was safe first; like we may see in dogs? He seemed to take a wide swing out, acknowledge but avoided your hand, sniffed the edge then came in towards you, even sniffing like a possible displacement behavior. I love the whole grab…

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Our pet/prison program currently has a fearful beagle named Olive who joined the program three weeks ago. One of her handlers is really hard on herself and is disappointed she hasn’t made more progress with Olive to date. However, each week that I visit the prison to do our weekly lesson, I hear about very clear improvements they’ve made with…

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What a great example, @bernerlabreclectus !

A very interesting question, @bernerlabreclectus , and one I don’t have an answer for.

Forgot to say: Although, as an artist, I know yellow and blue make green. So, if they can see both yellow and blue, why is a combination of the colors difficult?

When I was training Paw Target with a sticky note to my former service dog client’s dog, Willow, I didn’t know this and was attempting to use a red sticky! Oops! I found out about dogs seeing blue and yellow much better, so I changed to a yellow one. She was far more into it and enthusiastic! Makes sense, right?

Exactly, @jenz ! Or a red ball on green grass!

Great info!

How about not throwing a green ball in the green grass?

Did you know that dogs only have two cones in their eyes for perceiving color versus the three cones that people have? Dogs are red-green colorblind. So while they can easily see blue and yellow, they’re unable to discern between red and green, possibly only seeing these colors as a yellowish-brown.

This topic recently popped on my radar as I was…

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Michelin stars — I love it, @bernerlabreclectus ! ⭐

@virginiad @catherine

That’s just pretty to watch and poetry!

Thank you for sharing. They are delightful to watch eat their “fine dining”.

I don’t know if I use this exact method, but I sometimes deliver a scatter feed jackpot in the yard for a really nice walk with two pups I walk daily.

It seems like Bean and Bond would give the…

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That time element is really important, and a very easy thing to implement. Solid gold tip!

@catherine , yeah, I bet some dogs derive extra reinforcement when they have to use their nose to sniff out the tossed goodies, or even chase thrown goodies, and both forms of delivery extend the length of the reinforcing event.

So I would say the difference between a jackpot and fine dining is the you are purposely drawing out the length of…

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YES! Though, I just call it a “jackpot” – Same, or different, from what you are discussing here?

Interestingly, my angel-dog Vizsla would light up way MORE when I scattered the food to sniff out, than if I fed her by hand. Considering how much she was into scent, that made total sense. The excitement of the “hunt” was the only reward that…

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