Always Bring A Toy!
You may have heard people say “You can’t rely only on treats! If you do, your dog won’t listen to you unless you have a treat!” In many ways, this is accurate. After teaching the dog an initial behavior, you must find other ways to maintain it or they will indeed only perform if you have a treat (there are exceptions to this rule, I will write about it later). Most people don’t deliver a treat every single time because we don’t always have treats on us, but many people teach a trick (such as roll-over) and find that the dog refuses to perform unless you get out a treat to lure it with.
There are lots of other forms of reinforcement besides training treats. Chews, games, activities, people, going outside.. The list of things your dog finds fun are endless, if you know how to look for them.
Take this ball in a sock toy. It’s fun to pick up, carry and swing around. It’s easy to locate, it’s soft, and it squeaks (well, it used to.) It’s perfect for carrying, fetching and playing tug. It’s an excellent toy.
Lately Paisley’s been a bit difficult on the leash. Oftentimes she’ll just plop right down in the grass, get comfortable, and refuse to budge. By making good use of this toy, I was able to motivate her to move around the area. Within 5 minutes she had peed and pooped, and was ready to go back inside.
I would toss the toy, Paisley would run after it, carry it around for a few moments, then plop down to chew on it. Because it’s not a chew toy, I would take it away from her by trading for a treat (yes, you do use them in certain situations!) and then tossing the ball again. We romped around outside for about 15 minutes doing this. She had a great time!
So the next time you take your dog outside, consider bringing a toy and building their relationship with it. The more places they play with their toy, the stronger the bond!