Training a dog to hold a toy can be quite a challenge and many dog owners wonder how on earth to accomplish that. The task of holding a toy or any other item in the mouth can be helpful for training several tricks (such as putting toys away in a basket or retrieving items dropped on the floor) and is often used in service dog training. Many dogs have a natural inclination in picking up a toy and walking around with it, but things get problematic when we want the dog to perform these actions on cue. There is really no rule set in stone on how to train this, and often it takes multiple tries of different approach and see what works best.
Training to Pick Up a Toy Through Shaping
In shaping, you reward successive approximations of the final behavior in a step-by-step fashion. This is best accomplished by using a clicker (or alternatively a verbal marker such as “yes!”) and high value treats.
It might not seem like it, but picking up an object and holding it in the mouth is made of several small components of behavior. To get a good idea, watch a video of a dog retrieving a ball. We consider retrieving the ball one action, but it is actually composed of many subsets of behaviors.
First the dog looks at ball, then walks towards the ball, then lowers the head, then opens the mouth, then grasps the ball with the incisors, then raises the head, then walks with the ball in the mouth, lowers the head and drops it in the owner’s hands.
To shape a dog to pick up a ball you would therefore place a ball in the middle of the room and click and reward for looking at the ball, then walking towards the ball, then for lowering the head towards the ball, then for sniffing the ball, then for mouthing the ball and then finally for picking up the ball.
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When your dog finally picks up the ball, it is imperative that you click for picking it up, not dropping it. You need to be very fast in clicking, because if you click too late when your dog drops the ball, this can prove deleterious.
In shaping, you will therefore progress through these steps, retrogressing as needed should your dog appear stuck or confused. For example, if you have progressed to the point of your dog mouthing the ball, you no longer need to click for simply sniffing the ball. However, if your dog stops mouthing at some point, you can go back to clicking the sniffing and wait for the next mouthing to occcur. Just make extra sure you don’t miss clicking and rewarding this mouthing or it may disappear from your dog’s behavior repertoire for some time.
Once your dog picks up the ball more and more, you can add the verbal cue “get it” followed by pointing at the item you want picked up.
Help, My Dog Won’t Pick Up the Toy
[adinserter block=”1″]What if a dog is reluctant to pick up a toy? There are several troubleshooting options to go through in an effort to making the action more interesting and pleasurable for the dog. Following are some options:
- Try using a novel toy. The novelty of the toy may help encourage a dog to readily pick it up.
- Moving the toy around often entices a dog to interact with it. Get the toy, tie it to a string, and move it about with your pup chasing it. Then, put the toy in reach and readily pointing to it saying “get’it!” in an exciting tone of voice.
- Try toys with different textures and qualities, perhaps your dog has a preference for picking up toys that are fluffy or bouncy. A service dog foster dog I had in training once was reluctant to pick up any type of stuffed toys, but her mind changed totally when I used a tug toy covered in real bunny fur which gained her interest.
- Try seeing whether your dog prefers picking up toys from your hand or from the floor. Stick with what is easiest at first.
- Observe your puppy during the day and see whether you pup has a preference for picking up a particular toy. Practice with that toy.
- Never get frustrated. It is easy at times to get frustrated when things don’t work out as we would like. Dogs can feel our frustration and if we say “get-it” in a tone of voice that denotes frustration, they the dog may perceive it more as “leave it” than “get it.”
- Practice in quiet rooms where there are no distractions. The only “distraction ” should be the toy being moved around.
- Keep treats used for rewarding out of view and use non-smelly treats if these distract the dog. Some smart dogs smell the treats and don’t want anything to do with the toy because they want the treats.
- Playing with a tug toy may be a natural way to encourage the pup to “get-it.”
- Long toys may help encourage the pup to grab one end and and then the behavior can be put on cue.
- Make training sessions brief and fun. If you ever notice a blank stare it can mean the dog is not sure what to do next or it may be too tiring (clicker training can be tiring) and the pup needs a break.
- If the dog seems confused, it’s OK if you’re using shaping to take a step back or two.
How to Train a Dog to Hold a Toy
Getting a dog to hold a toy is an extra challenge. You are raising criteria because you will be adding duration. This is often a challenge to train for many dog owners. Some dogs may take days, weeks or months to learn.
Most likely, the challenge occurs because dogs are used to being clicked and rewarded for motion behaviors, and the dog doesn’t perceive holding an item in the mouth as a behavior. It’s more of a static thing.
There are different ways to train a dog to hold an object. It ultimately may boil down to what the final goal is. Do you just want your dog to hold an object in his mouth and just sit still or do you want him walk around carrying it? Is it part of a retrieve? Following are several options to train a dog to hold an item in the mouth.
The Most Common Method
This is the typical way dog owners attempt to train their dog to hold a toy and come to them. It might work well in dogs with a strong predisposition to retrieve stuff, but not all dogs are blessed with these instincts. This training method is one of the main reasons why dog owners often get frustrated in training dogs to retrive items because it has a chance for failure.
Wiggle the toy to stimulate your dog’s prey drive and then toss the toy in front of you in a hallway preferably so that your dog’s only option is to turn around and move towards you. If you want to build anticipation, you can try holding on to your dog’s collar (avoid this if your dog resents being held by the collar) as you toss the toy. As soon as your dog moves a bit as he is ready to run, say “get it!” pointing at the toy while letting go of the collar.
Walk backwards as the dog comes back towards you, and trade the toy for a treat, or if your dog loves playing with balls, trade the toy for a second ball that is tossed again.
Back Chaining Method
A dumbbell (some dog onwers use a wooden spoon) or a long toy comes extra handy for this task because it’s easy to grasp and the owner can easily hold on to one side. Dumbbells are often used for formal bird dog training and in the sport of shuhtzhund. Backchaining is one of the best methods to train a dog to hold a toy and bring it to you.
You would start by sitting down and holding the dumbbell and click/reward for duration when the dog mouths it. Moving the dumbbell slightly as the dog mouths it can help trigger a bit of opposition reflex, enticing the dog to hold on more strongly (watch your fingers!)
The goal is to reach mouthing lasting 5 seconds, at which point, after several reps of five seconds, you can start trying to take your hand away briefly and click reward for holding it without the hands on it. Fade your hands holding the dumbbell gradaully, maybe starting removing one hand and then the other very quickly for split seconds at first.
Afterward, add some criteria. The goal is creating some muscle memory of the dog reaching down with the head and then lifting the head up while holding the dumbbell. To accomplish this, move the dumbbell gradually closer and closer to the floor while it’s still in your hands and lift it up slightly as your dog is holding it, click/reward. At some point, when it’s on the ground and your dog mouths it, lift it and click/reward, and the next time, let ge of it briefly: your dog will likely mouth it and lift it up slightly putting it back in your hands. Next, you can add some distance. Place the dumbbell on the floor but a bit more distant gradually increasing distance.
The Reverse Luring Method
[adinserter block=”2″]This method is mentioned in the book “Retrieving for All Occasions: Foundations for Excellence in Gun Dog Training” by Elsa Blomster, Lena Gunnarsson. Reverse luring is the total opposite of luring. In luring, you use the presence of food to get the dog to perform a desired behavior. In reverse luring, you use the presence of food to prevent your dog from performing an undesirable behavior. In this case, the undesirable behavior is dropping the dumbbell.
This method focuses on adding the distraction of the food (to keep the dog from focusing on the item being held in the mouth) while providing a strong feedback system.
Simply, present the dumbbell, when your dog picks up the toy or dumbbell, you present your open hand with a treat in it. If your dog drops the dumbbell to get the treat you say “oops!”and close your hand or move it away. Try again, present the dumbbell, when your dog picks up the toy or dumbbell, you present your open hand with a treat in it. If your dog shows any attempt to drop the dumbbell you move your hand away. When your dog holds it for a second, you click (or say “yes!”) and give the treat. You then progress gradually.
Help, My Dog Won’t Hold the Toy for Long
There may be several causes as to why a dog won’t hold a toy for too long. Often, this happens because the dog is so eager to get the treat that he can’t wait to drop the toy so his mouth is free. Therefore, many dogs drop the toy too fast before it’s delivered. Some other dogs simply don’t seem capable of multi-tasking. It’s as if they can’t focus while holding something in their mouth. Following are some tips:
- Differential reinforcement. Start clicking and rewarding only the longer holds. Set a criteria. Start with clicking and rewarding 1 second holds, then 2 seconds and so forth. Your dog may get initially a bit frustrated as first when the brief split second holds go unrewarded. This frustration though often will lead to the dog trying harder. Don’t ask too much though or your dog may give up. Make sure as you progress to longer holds that mix in some shorter ones every now and then or your dog may pick up a pattern of things getting more difficult, leading to fatigue and frustration.
- If your dog knows the “drop it” cue, you can work on getting a better hold using that as he’ll be waiting for your cue. Start to always cue “drop it” right before it happens, click/treat. Once the dog associates the “drop it” with the reward, it becomes pretty easy to stretch out some duration.
- Consider that puppies who are teething my not be too eager to hold items in their mouth if their gums are sore. Same goes with dogs with gum or dental problems.
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