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Originally Posted by Methical
What about if your dog habitually vomits any food given to her that isnt damn James Wellbeloved or atleast, hypoallergenic ? I mean, shes a lab so shes gonna love it whatever but would u say its the variety of food that excites the dogs mind or just the prospect of food?
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It depends on the dog. Some dogs just love food - any food. A very food orientated, greedy dog will work for plain ol' kibble, in which case you are lucky and can just use portions of his usual food ration for training. My dog however isn't THAT fussed about grub - which is why I have to make sure that whatever reward I use is VERY high-value. The important thing is to choose whatever your dog prefers - sometimes it's toys, sometimes it's food. Sometimes it's the opportunity to sniff stuff. EG if you've got a dog who loves food - use his normal food for low-distraction situations but you'd probably want to switch to what HE considers more "high value" treats in a situation where there were more distractions. If your dog loves to play tug more than anything else in the world - use a game of tug as your reward.
If your dog LOVES sniffing in the grass above all else, then sprinkle some food in the long grass when he comes back to you, and help him look for it
In the case of a lady I know on another forum, who works her dogs in working trials and Schutzhund (SP), her GSD loves to bite (controlled, police-dog type biting obviously) - so that is his reward for doing what she asks. Know your dog, and what HE considers the best thing in the world, and you are halfway there
As to variety - as far as I'm aware, there are two schools of thought on this. One theory is to sometimes use high value rewards, sometimes not so high value. This works on the theory that you then become like a human slot-machine - the dog works harder knowing that he will get a reward, but hey - sometimes it's a GREAT reward!!
Other people think that if you mix n' match like that, the dog will view the not-so-high-value rewards as a bit of a disappointment, and not try so hard. Trial and error, really.
Are there any treats or special food he CAN manage?
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Also, one other thing i need to iron out before. When she does decide to chase you as you are running away, she'll put a quick end to it by biting the nearest limb and dragging you to the ground, if you resist then she will simply bite harder and begin to shake from side to side untill flesh or clothing begin to tear.
We have never allowed her to jump and always give a "No" and ignore her when she does it, but jumping seems to be reward enough for her. I dont want to be running away from her, she jumping and biting me and then me turning and giving masses of wonderful treats for it, that surely will tell her that jumping up and dragging owner to ground = nicer food than usual.
Any ideas ?
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Does she like playing tug with toys? If she's playing tug with your person, presumably she does LOL! If so, teach her to play tug with you. There is no reason not to play tug with your dog as long as YOU control the game, and the dog will release on command. Practise at home - encourage and praise for grabbing the toy - if she grabs anything inappropriate, screech "OUCH!!", stop playing IMMEDIATELY and leave the room for a few minutes. Teach her that:
Playing with toy is fun.
Grabbing anything other than the toy leads to the game stopping, and a few minutes boredom.