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"Sit" (for puppies)
Use the treat to guide your puppy into the sit position (treat just above nose, moving slowly towards the rear. He only gets the treat when his butt hits the floor (no treats for jumping up).
When he sits, pop the treat in and say "good boy" in a calm but happy tone. You want him to hear that praise phrase whenever he gets a treat. (i.e. good boy=treat)
Repeat this process 20 times. He should give less and less resistance and should be sitting quicker each time.
Next, ask him to sit using your hand signal (a treat in your hand just over his nose). If he sits, praise and treat. If he doesn't sit, pull up GENTLY on his leash or collar and push down on his rear so that he sits. This is how you will enforce your command if he chooses to ignore it.

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Objects:

Practice getting her used to your being close to her while she has a bone or some other valuable object. Hold a special bone or object and offer it to her, allowing her to take it but don’t let go of it. Allow her to chew it for awhile, then offer her a special treat (it has to be very special), while you say “ thank you”. Withdraw the bone while she is chewing the treat. She does not get the bone again until she sits, and lays down. Then repeat the whole process. If she decides the treat you’re using is not worth exchanging the bone for, just use something even better . The goal: to have her think that giving an object up does not mean she’ll never get it back; she will be getting a treat, and eventually be getting the bone back, too.

Make sure you are puppy proofing as much as possible- avoid all situations that make her possessive, until you are ready to set her up.
If she has a possessive episode, use the throw chain as a correction and after you get the object away, ignore her completely (no eye contact, petting, talking: cold shoulder) for a while until she starts to wonder what’s happening and comes to ask for attention. Ask her to sit before she gets attention. Make it short. You want her to crave your interaction. This puts you in a higher position (dominant).
When she is coming to you for attention and sitting to ask for it reliably, start the next phase. Put her in a situation where she is alone with a bone. Leave the room. (If her possessive trigger starts when you come over to her while she’s with a bone, you must be ready to predict that moment.) Set her up to think you’re coming over. The second she normally starts clutching it is the second you will clap once, and bounce a ball or squeak a toy, give very happy praise and make a big party out of it. Don’t wait until she is growling and snapping = too late. You will keep practicing this with the goal of making her react happily BEFORE the hand clap. You will be trying to reprogram her to think of your coming over as a happy thing. This has to be done constantly and consistently to get that reaction.

Continue reading... "protocol: sophie food & object possession desensitization"