ZG’s methods seem to work, and I’ve seen some research that back up some of his work. Any advice for different methods/resources for methods?
Our pup – Zelda – spent the first ~4.5 months of her life in a shelter in Hawaii, then was flown to Bellingham, WA to stay with a foster family with two other dogs. There, she was given free range of the outside under supervision, and spent the nights in her crate.
She’s super intelligent. When we picked her up and drove her home to Seattle (100 miles), she didn’t know any commands. Now, after 10 days, she knows her [new] name about 80%, sit 100%, lay down 50%, and we just started working on roll over. You may ask why we’re working on several things at a time. Frankly, I don’t think dogs can only learn one thing at a time – it really depends on the mood they’re in. She loves to lay down pretty much anywhere, so if she is, I work with her on roll over with a treat lure.
Today, I got her to play fetch after having gone for a potty and walk when I got home. I made sure that I was real low to the ground, as she responds better to that. She immediately wanted to play when I got into the “play bow”. We first played with her one stuffed toy that remains (I forgot it was still somewhat in tact). She kept getting distracted or bored with it, so I kept having to re-engage her. When she got completely tired of that toy, we used an antler. She really loved that because it slides across our hardwood floor. She got tired of fetch altogether after about 10 minutes, and only wanted to tear (not chew). I gave her some ice cubes because she loves them, and they’re super cheap. Hah!
