[Dailydrool] Dog training and the dimmest bulb in our pack

[Val lbrewerzwick via Dailydrool]

My husband tells me that the dogs learn exactly what we teach them.  True, but one of our three is a strict literalist.  The other two easily make the little leaps between steps in a learning process leading to a goal.  Not Mila.

Mila likes to be on our bed but she does not simply jump up like the other two, (it is a low bed) and we do not ask her to.  Up to now when she has wanted to be on the bed (usually I would be sleeping on it or sitting on it reading), Mila would come to the head of the bed and bark loudly for assistance.  I would drop what I was doing and lift Mila onto the bed.  I decided this was a problem (mila is heavy and sometimes she would wake me) so my son built a gradually sloping ramp at the foot of the bed for Mila to use.  Nice ramp.

Mariah and Ipo both said, "ooh, nice ramp!" And began using it immediately rather than jumping up and down.  MIla watched, but would have no part of it.  So again and again I placed her at the bottom of the ramp and walked her up it.  "Okay"' said Mila, "not too scary" and she would now go up the ramp without resistance IF I held her collar and walked her up it. 

Mila had now learned to go to the head of the bed and bark for me to get up and walk her up the ramp by the collar.  So next i stopped holding her collar after I positioned her at the bottom of the ramp and shescampers up without difficulty.  but Mila still comes to the head of the bed and barks to be placed at the bottom facing the ramp. Far be it from her to just walk up the ramp.

I have now gotten Mila to the point that if I turn her head away from the head of the bed and give her a push towards the ramp she will take two steps and scamper up the ramp.  But Mila  still comes to the head of the bed and barks at me to do my part to start the routine.  And the reward is getting up on the bed!  We are about a month into this exercise.  Patience. She is so different from the other two.

Val of Hawaii with Mila, Mariah, and Ipo vlbzwick at yahoo.com