A quick note... I solved Gimme's uncertainty about releasing to her special bowl by increasing the value of the treats in there. I had been using up some peanut butter chips which were inadvertently melted into one large clump, and then broken into chunks. Gimme loves her PB chips, but she really LOOOOVES peanut butter from the jar.
Once I was using a bit of PB from the jar in the bottom of the bowl (with some cheese pieces and commercial treats on top for volume), she only hesitated once. Suddenly the word "yours" had dramatic relevance to her. We alternated off and on between charging and self-control.
Eye contact turned out not to be a factor. She quickly learned to offer me behavior to get her "yours" release, though the palm "touch" was hard because it meant she had to move a little away from the bowl. She offered me "sit", "down" and "pretty" to earn the "yours".
The hardest trial was the time I cued her to "heel" and moved away. She was primed to dive on the bowl and for the briefest instant, as she lunged toward the bowl, I thought I'd set too big of a challenge, but she caught herself and turned to heel with me for a couple of feet, It wasn't her best heeling, but I was very pleased with her effort and released her to "yours" the moment she was well into position.
Interestingly she finds this much more exciting than knowing I will reward her with PB from my treat pouch. I believe the dash to special bowl increases the value to her. I look forward to working some more with this... and then to see what comes next on the DVD set.
Cool beans, I say...
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