Mr. N is not a natural retriever both by nature and genetics-wise. His toy drive was utterly squashed as a puppy. When his foster got him at the age of two, he didn’t know what toys were or how to play with them.
He’ll play fetch occasionally when he feels like it with soft toys but only then. Basically he is not a “mouthy” dog. When presented with objects for shaping, his inclination is to paw at them or nose them.
I’ve wanted to teach him how to put away his toys for quite a while but I didn’t think it would happen anytime soon seeing as I would have to teach him fetch from scratch. In the past two weeks, he has progressed from refusing to putting his mouth anywhere near objects to fetching a toy and putting it in his toy box. Next, we’ll be working on fetching the rest of his toys and putting them away as well.
I’ll be sharing more about the training process and putting up a video of Mr. N putting away his toys for next month’s Positive Pet Training Hop on July 7th.
So proud of my little pup.
June 16, 2014 10:36 am
Oh yay Mr. N! Putting away toys is a high on my list trick. Tynan used to do it and, well, things have been quite a mess for a few years now.!
June 16, 2014 11:09 pm
I bet your crew could learn it in no time!
June 16, 2014 11:57 am
Good boy, Mr. N!
June 16, 2014 3:02 pm
Katy didn't have much toy drive when we got her from rescue. However, playing with Bailey has encouraged her to play more.
Congrats Mr. N.
June 16, 2014 3:06 pm
How impressive! I can't wait to see video! Chewy takes every blessed toy out of his basket every day. I need to teach him to put them away. He's quite mouthy. 🙁
http://www.dogtreatweb.com
June 16, 2014 11:07 pm
Sounds like a good trick for him to learn!
June 16, 2014 3:39 pm
Yay! Well done Mr. N!
Lots of Woofs from Earl and I at Earl's World!
June 16, 2014 3:48 pm
Good Job Mr. N!
June 16, 2014 5:05 pm
Wow! Can't wait to hear how you taught him to put away his toys! I am still afraid to stick my head in the toy bin…I only grab what's hanging out of it!
June 16, 2014 11:46 pm
I fetch, but I don't put my toys up, BOL!
June 17, 2014 3:43 am
Wow, can't wait to see video of that. Very impressive to even attempt! Rita's toys are all over the place…. I'm too lazy to even begin to teach her how to put them all away! (I'm almost too lazy to put them all away myself…) 🙂
June 18, 2014 9:37 am
Good job!
June 18, 2014 11:54 pm
Well done Mr N – You're so clever! Are you gonna try the laundry next? 🙂
I hope you're having a fun day,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
June 22, 2014 12:33 pm
That is a great trick to teach! I can't wait to hear how you did it, I might want to try that with Luke. We're always tripping over toys around here!
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets