My Experience with "It's Yer Choice" so far

I've been playing SG's It's Yer Choice game with my three dogs lately and practicing a lot. The applications for fixing problems and having better behaved dogs is amazing. Indy got it right away because I've done a lot of "leave it" training with her. In the first session I was able to put treats on her front legs when she was in a down and she didn't try to steal them. Last night she was able to walk past a pile of treats on the floor when I called her to me. It was pretty funny because she walked by them she was afraid of them. During our training session I dropped treats by accident. Previously she would have stolen them, but she just stared at them!

Pax is very easy to train. It seems like he isn't paying attention (probably because I'm used to a border collie intensely staring at me), but he definitely is. He isn't extremely food motivated, but he is a food stealer (typical whippet). He was able to not steal a treat that I threw past him and no longer steals treats out of my hand.

Goose is more difficult to train in situations like his. It can be overwhelming to him and he'll flop over, panting and stressed. I like this game because it doesn't require any talking at all...so less chance of me getting frustrated with him and showing my frustration in my voice. When he flops over, I just wait patiently until he gets up and starts playing again. I use very high value treats for him. He didn't get it the first session. The 2nd session he was a little bit better.  It will seem like he is ready to move to the next step and he will do pretty well with a harder game, but then if I go back to the easy stuff he sometimes forgets the game. Last night he did great actually. He was also able to walk past a pile of treat on the ground and not steal them.

 I've found lots of applications for this game that naturally weaves into everyday life. I'm hoping that the dogs will stop obsessing over cleaning up under Finleys chair at the table. A friend that has tried it with her dogs said they have been better about trying to steal food. I can already see it helping with self-control, better stays and better focus. I'm excited to see how they progress as we keep working on this and finding new applications. Next I'm going to try it with toys and tugs.