Teamwork II by Stewart Nordensson

Author:Stewart Nordensson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Top Dog Publications
Published: 2011-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

A wheelchair is heavy and awkward for your dog to retrieve but with patient practice he can

learn to grab a strap or cord on the front and pull it to you. Nutmeg (yellow lab)

Even little dogs will happily bring you your shoes or anything else you teach them to retrieve

by name. Patch (jack russell puddin)

WHEELCHAIR—HELEN AND NUTMEG

Teaching your dog to pull something like a laundry basket or your manual wheelchair by holding a strap in his mouth involves several skills—take and hold, reverse, and pull. For your wheelchair, put a small strap somewhere in the front so the chair will roll forward.

Helen injured her spinal cord in a bicycle accident when she was 14 years old. Her wheelchair is lightweight and apt to roll away. She wanted her yellow lab, Nutmeg, to learn to retrieve it for her, so she wrapped a bungee cord around the front of the chair.

She told Nutmeg to take the strap and she played with it to entice her dog. Helen made sure the chair didn’t roll at this time. She wanted Nutmeg to get used to putting the cord in her mouth. When Nutmeg grabbed the strap, Helen praised her and told her to hold it. As Nutmeg became proficient at grabbing the strap, Helen began using the command, “take the chair” and encouraging her to grab the cord.

Once, as Nutmeg tried to bring the cord to Helen’s hand, the wheelchair moved forward. Nutmeg was startled and immediately dropped the strap. Helen told her to take it again, and praised and encouraged her. As the chair rolled a few inches, Helen praised. Then Helen took the strap, praised enthusiastically and gave Nutmeg a jackpot of treats. They practiced with the chair moving a few inches for several days. Nutmeg got used to the movement of the chair as she retrieved the strap. But she never liked it. Be patient with your dog as he works this exercise.

Next Helen pushed the chair about a foot away. This was simply a matter of Nutmeg holding onto the cord and pulling it toward Helen. When the chair was moved about six feet away, Nutmeg had to use the learned skill of backing up while still holding onto the strap. If she turned sideways, so did the wheelchair. So Helen gave the command “take the chair,” and as soon as Nutmeg had the cord, Helen told her “back.” (See chapter 8—Reverse). She took several steps backwards, pulling on the strap and the chair followed. Don’t be surprised if your dog drops the strap to obey the reverse command. He’ll have to be taught that he must do both things at once.

Helen and Nutmeg had to practice for several weeks before this process became smooth. A wheelchair is heavy and awkward and difficult to pull straight. You will have to figure out what works best for your dog to grab. It will take innovation and teamwork to make this exercise successful for you.

CONCLUSION

You can use this procedure with any

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