Hold
Prerequisites: your dog needs to be able to pick up something you give them, like a toy. If your dog doesn’t pick up toys or objects then see the “put your toys away & Reviewing Fetch” videos for tips on how to shape your dog to pick up things using a clicker. A chin rest is very helpful.
So for each object you start working on hold with you want to begin with having your dog in a stationary position, this can be a sit, stand or down in front of you. Choose depending on your dog and how they are most comfortable. If your dog has strong retreat possession issues like Nick, the first step is getting the mouth on the toy in a stationary position, it doesn't matter how good his hold is if his instant desire is to leave with it. So first I work on clicking and rewarding him for putting his mouth on the object while he is sitting. If he stands up I don’t correct, I just click and reward before he leaves and then next time I am faster to click while he is still sitting. But goal #1 is simply stay sitting and touch object with your mouth. If you look at some of our early clicks in both videos you will see just the slightest of open mouth as he pushes his nose at the toy. It’s very noticeable in the videos with the other objects, with each one you can see how I have to start back over at just clicking him for hitting the object and then move my clicks to him using an open mouth to finally a grab.
Some dogs have very natural holds (Emily) and some do not (Nick) a dog like Emily you can shape to hold in a couple sessions, Nick took me several months and many different angles to get him to really grab and hold without wanting to leave. With a dog like Emily who naturally will grab things and not run away, your task is teaching the still position and duration of the hold. Vs a dog like Nick where you are fighting against an impulse and having to build in a desire to stay with you and not feel uncomfortable having your hands near their stuff. This difference is inherent and not something one has done wrong, some dogs are more naturally possessive and this trait makes them uncomfortable having things in their mouthes in very close proximity to others. This is actually a VERY good way to help dogs overcome resource guarding if you proceed correctly and take very small careful steps. (Let me know if this is the case with your dog so I can help coach you through)
Since one of your hands will be busy with the toy it’s easier to use a marker word instead of a clicker.
Have treats in one hand and your toy in the other with your dog facing you in a sit, down or stand (be sure your hands can be level with the dog’s nose with the position you choose so if using a down you will be sitting on the ground, using a sit with a small dog you might need to be on the ground as well or a small stool)
Place the object in front of your dog’s nose, don’t shove it into their face, place it a few inches away so they can choose to reach for it or not.
As soon as the dog’s nose moves towards the toy, mark and reward, even before they reach it the first time is ok.
Systematically wait for more contact with the toy until the dog is grabbing the toy.
This can take a long time for a dog if you are holding the toy instead of throwing it or playing with it. It took me several days to move from Nick pushing it with his nose to an open mouth when he was a puppy.
I strongly encourage you to teach your dog a chin rest for use of teaching hold. If your dog is comfortable with you having your hand under their chin you can really speed up a hold!
Once your dog is grabbing the toy enough that they are moving the toy start to either put the toy on your legs or if you are on the floor sitting place it on the ground and see if the dog is grabbing the toy enough to move it.
Once my dog is taking a full hold of the toy then I start to place my hand under their chin after I let go. It’s a very subtle move, you softly bring your hand under, you are not pushing their chin so their mouth closes, you just keep their heads from dropping so the toy doesn’t fall out of their mouth. At first you only do so for a split second.
Gradually build the duration of your chin rest with the object in their mouth.
Then start to drop your chin rest hand away once you see they have built some duration.
Use your verbal hold cue once you have enough duration to be able to move the chin rest hand away.
Add a Give or drop cue at the same time you add your hold cue so they understand the duration is until they hear the drop cue.
Once your dog has mastered holding a favorite toy until you give a release then you can move on to using various other objects.
With each new object you need to go back to square one until you have taught enough objects for the dog to generalize the hold behavior.
Once your dog has generalized the hold with multiple objects work on changing your dog’s position so they can do it no matter what position they are in.
Then see if you can have your dog change positions while holding, can they stand, take the object and then sit while still holding it. Can they hold it and take a couple steps towards you? Can they hold and sit up? Can they hold and lay down? Once you get to this point you can teach some fun more complex tricks like rolling themselves in a blanket, or carrying baskets.