Liam 1st class: Graduation at AKC STAR Puppy Class!

[Chris]

So, was Beckon fearful - or he just preferred a food reward? I think in this case, with Liam being fearful, she is just going to wind up with a shut down dog if she doesn't have a way to coax him out of his comfort zone. It's an important distinction to make, I think. A fear period may not be the best time to try to transfer the value of a reward. I really think this is too critical a time to be trying to get him to work for anything other than a super high value reward (in his book). A handling class is a whole different scenario than having a fearful dog in a CGC class.

Beckon was very fearful. The lack of food meant he focused on me and my praise and support. As we grew together as a team, he lost his fearfulness in class and eventually succeeded in Rally obedience! Now he is DH's service dog when he needs people to stay at a distance.

 

[Sharon7]

Trust your instincts, Gloria, you're the one who knows Liam the best. There are times I stop training Faith with food - like at agility, because she would lose her mind/focus if she knew I had food in my hand. She'd barge into the jump instead of going over, because her head was turned looking for my hand with the food. Plus she gets really grabby about food rewards - we call her the Shark. She does work really well for praise though, so at agility, that's what we use.