calliecritturs
Posted : 4/4/2008 11:49:33 AM
GoldenAC, you and I may be in the minority here, but I agree with you that dogs know the difference between truth and a lie. Altho I'd break it down to the word "trust" (Selli trusts that you will reward him for bringing you something he knows isn't his own -- subtle difference but he knows you see reality clearly and his efforts aren't in vain).
My example is food -- when I give a dog medicine (and I tend to rescue/work with sick dogs a lot) I NEVER "lie" to them and try to slip a pill in something to 'hide' it. first off, I think it's insane to try -- because dogs' noses are SO beyond ours that OF COURSE they **know** something has a foreign object in it -- they can SMELL it -- but if the item is yummy enough they will simply choose not to 'object' to the foreign object -- but don't for an instant think they don't 'know'. That's ludicrous.
So, I always chose to work with reality -- I show them the pill, and I tell them I'm putting it in ... whatever (and that tends to be individual to the dog --from braunschweiger to babyfood to butter and beyond -- whatever works with this dog and this particular med). But I give them a bit of the 'good stuff' and then SHOW them I'm putting the pill in and they trust me now to let them know when something is 'ok'.
Because sometimes with meds, either it will make them sick to their stomach or be unpleasant somehow *later* and I choose to tie it to the idea "this is helping you". Training them, literally, to TRUST me and TRUST the vet to make these decisions for them.
So I'd attack your problem from a trust angle. Similar to what you've done -- rather than reward a 'chewy' with THAT chewy (and I don't give my dogs rawhides -- sorry *grin*), you could give any number of other treats. From 30 seconds playing with a toy, to some other high value treat.
Guaranteed tho -- the 'reward' will have to be as high value as the coveted 'chewy' -- because once he decides he's not going to get THAT thing the behavior will diminish. You will have to occasionally offer the 'chewy' he's brought you AS the reward in order to retain that behavior.
So, if you want to explain it from logic/trust standpoint -- right now he trusts you to GIVE him the chewy AND he also knows you'll be pleased with him for bringing it to you. But if he decides you aren't playing 'fair' with him (and justice/fairness are also concepts dogs don't really share b/c what's mine is mine and what's yours is essentially mine too) -- and if he thinks you don't 'value' that thing as much as HE does, he may start getting ahead of you and taking the chewy into his own paws occasionally.
My bet is that emotional reward may figure high in this. So the bigger deal you make out of his return of Duffy's chewy and the more PRAISE you connect with it the more successful you will be in the switch. In other words combine the 'high value' treat you give in exchange with the VERY high value of your being 'pleased' with him -- two rewards for one behavior. THAT is a good deal.