- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Here is how I teach "give".
- Firstly, resolve to never take anything away from your puppy. The easiest way to get a puppy who doesn't want to give you things is by taking them from him.
- Sit on the floor and play gentle tug games with your puppy and a favourite toy. Make him "chase" the toy across the floor, let him tug it and let him win it. Encourage him back in and play a bit more tug again. If he drops it, animate it again or toss it a few feet away. Playing this in a hallway means he can't run off with it, and the game keeps coming back to you. He is learning that bringing you toys makes for an amazingly fun game. My puppy would launch herself into my lap for these games, she was so keen to be close. Not all will be as tactile.
- Once you've played this game for a while (several sessions), you can start putting the "give" on cue. Get a treat in your hand and, while he's tugging, make the toy go "dead" and hold the treat over his nose. When he drops the toy, whip it away while he eats the treat, then bring the toy back out and start the chase/tug game again. He is learning that dropping the toy gets him a treat and a continuation of the game. He doesn't have to judge whether the treat is worth it, because it's a win-win.
- When he has the idea of this, you can start "faking" the treat. So, hold your finger and thumb the same way as if you were holding a treat. When he drops the toy, show him there was nothing there, but give him a treat from your pouch, and then re-engage with the toy as before. He is learning he doesn't have to see the treat, it will come whether it's in view or not.
- When you can bet on him dropping the toy when you present your fingers, add a verbal cue. Do this before you present your fake treat. So, "give", then give your visual cue (fake treat). When he drops, treat and re-engage. Make sure they are very distinct - "give" then fingers, not both at the same time. Once you have done this a few times, try waiting a moment or two after saying "give" and see if he drops the toy. If not, that's fine, he just needs a few more repetitions, so present your fingers and go back to "give" followed by fingers before testing it again. Eventually, he'll anticipate that "give" means the same as your fingers, and you can fade them out.
- Add a bit of movement. You should now have a puppy who realises the game is best with you. So, let him "win" the toy and then run backwards a few paces, encouraging him to you. Start the game of tug again when he gets to you. One time in ten, ask for a "give", then return the toy, or toss it for him to chase and bring back again. When he has the idea, you can introduce your "give" cue as he is approaching you.
- You can end a session by taking away the toy, but make sure he gets a jackpot reward then. But he will have learnt that most of the time, giving you the toy means he gets it back. This is the most important lesson.
- Play this game with lots of different toys and even household items - tea towels, shoes, wooden spoons. Anything you're not too precious about. This way he learns that giving you anything is a good thing.
- If he grabs something he shouldn't, don't chase him. If it's something precious, get a handful of your premium treats and throw them on the ground. Teaching a "scatter" cue for this is really useful. You do this simply by, every now and again while at home or on walks, throwing some treats on the floor and shouting "scatter!". He will soon associate the word with coming to you and finding good things by your feet. Don't use this as a recall - it's a special cue that shouldn't be tainted by anything bad (like going on lead, being held for a shot etc) happening afterwards.
- If he has grabbed something you don't want him to have, but isn't actually precious or dangerous, play the "give" game, returning it to him ten times before you take it off him for a jackpot. I do this with old bones we find on walks (there are lots of very old skeletons scattered around our land), or the odd half-decomposed rabbit leg. It's a bit disgusting, but it's all hugely valuable training. Every time he gets the best outcome (both a treat and the item back), you are paying in to the behaviour "bank account", making it more likely he will do it in the future. Every time you take the item away for good, you are making a withdrawal from this "bank account". So you need to keep it in a healthy amount of credit, or there will be nothing there when you really need to make a withdrawal.
I hope that gives you a good introduction into how to teach your puppy to actually want to give you things. There's a bit more to it for formal retrieves, but if you just want a puppy who will hand stuff over, that's a good start.
- Firstly, resolve to never take anything away from your puppy. The easiest way to get a puppy who doesn't want to give you things is by taking them from him.
- Sit on the floor and play gentle tug games with your puppy and a favourite toy. Make him "chase" the toy across the floor, let him tug it and let him win it. Encourage him back in and play a bit more tug again. If he drops it, animate it again or toss it a few feet away. Playing this in a hallway means he can't run off with it, and the game keeps coming back to you. He is learning that bringing you toys makes for an amazingly fun game. My puppy would launch herself into my lap for these games, she was so keen to be close. Not all will be as tactile.
- Once you've played this game for a while (several sessions), you can start putting the "give" on cue. Get a treat in your hand and, while he's tugging, make the toy go "dead" and hold the treat over his nose. When he drops the toy, whip it away while he eats the treat, then bring the toy back out and start the chase/tug game again. He is learning that dropping the toy gets him a treat and a continuation of the game. He doesn't have to judge whether the treat is worth it, because it's a win-win.
- When he has the idea of this, you can start "faking" the treat. So, hold your finger and thumb the same way as if you were holding a treat. When he drops the toy, show him there was nothing there, but give him a treat from your pouch, and then re-engage with the toy as before. He is learning he doesn't have to see the treat, it will come whether it's in view or not.
- When you can bet on him dropping the toy when you present your fingers, add a verbal cue. Do this before you present your fake treat. So, "give", then give your visual cue (fake treat). When he drops, treat and re-engage. Make sure they are very distinct - "give" then fingers, not both at the same time. Once you have done this a few times, try waiting a moment or two after saying "give" and see if he drops the toy. If not, that's fine, he just needs a few more repetitions, so present your fingers and go back to "give" followed by fingers before testing it again. Eventually, he'll anticipate that "give" means the same as your fingers, and you can fade them out.
- Add a bit of movement. You should now have a puppy who realises the game is best with you. So, let him "win" the toy and then run backwards a few paces, encouraging him to you. Start the game of tug again when he gets to you. One time in ten, ask for a "give", then return the toy, or toss it for him to chase and bring back again. When he has the idea, you can introduce your "give" cue as he is approaching you.
- You can end a session by taking away the toy, but make sure he gets a jackpot reward then. But he will have learnt that most of the time, giving you the toy means he gets it back. This is the most important lesson.
- Play this game with lots of different toys and even household items - tea towels, shoes, wooden spoons. Anything you're not too precious about. This way he learns that giving you anything is a good thing.
- If he grabs something he shouldn't, don't chase him. If it's something precious, get a handful of your premium treats and throw them on the ground. Teaching a "scatter" cue for this is really useful. You do this simply by, every now and again while at home or on walks, throwing some treats on the floor and shouting "scatter!". He will soon associate the word with coming to you and finding good things by your feet. Don't use this as a recall - it's a special cue that shouldn't be tainted by anything bad (like going on lead, being held for a shot etc) happening afterwards.
- If he has grabbed something you don't want him to have, but isn't actually precious or dangerous, play the "give" game, returning it to him ten times before you take it off him for a jackpot. I do this with old bones we find on walks (there are lots of very old skeletons scattered around our land), or the odd half-decomposed rabbit leg. It's a bit disgusting, but it's all hugely valuable training. Every time he gets the best outcome (both a treat and the item back), you are paying in to the behaviour "bank account", making it more likely he will do it in the future. Every time you take the item away for good, you are making a withdrawal from this "bank account". So you need to keep it in a healthy amount of credit, or there will be nothing there when you really need to make a withdrawal.
I hope that gives you a good introduction into how to teach your puppy to actually want to give you things. There's a bit more to it for formal retrieves, but if you just want a puppy who will hand stuff over, that's a good start.
