Kibble Drop

A new game?

For our next food puzzle, we tried Kyjen's Kibble Drop. It has an opening at the top that you drop food through and it can fall into one of four tubes. The dog has to sniff out which tube has the treat and then open the flap.

This one?

To start out with I put food in all four tubes. Opening a flap that falls closed is more challenging than pulling out a bone or pawing something along a horizontal access, so I made as easy for him as I could.

 This is definitely a more difficult puzzle for Cody, but he really wants to figure it out so he keeps at it! 

At this point I made a big mistake. Cody had worked the toy for two rounds of food. Sappho was on the other side of the gate, huffing and growling at me that she needed to go outside. I get up and run to the back door to let Sappho out, and return a minute later. Even thought it was a short period of time I was gone, it was long enough for Cody to work the toy and get no reward for doing so - very frustrating for him!

Still working it...

Using a lot more force than before I left.

 I had screwed up majorly, and now I had a dog who felt that he couldn't get the food but was still hungry. I tested the waters to see if I could settle with me helping him with the puzzle to get his food.

Nope. That frustration he shows shoving into me and grabbing it as fast as he can one of his signs that he's getting too over-aroused. I don't mind some frustration, but I never make them feel frustration intentionally. Every dog will encounter a natural amount of frustration in their life and as you train them. There is no need to add more than what will naturally happen!

What I needed to do is to allow him to get the rest of his meal, end the session on a good note, and do it in a way that expended either physical, mental, or both energies so he could release that frustration tension.

I took the rest of the kibble and we played a bit of kibble chase. I threw a kibble somewhere on the floor so it skittered a ways, and as soon as he touched that kibble I threw another in a different direction. Very easy, but engaged the eyes, nose, and the brain to pinpoint the direction. It uses both physical and mental energy. It has a 100% reinforcement rate so he is rewarded each time he makes the effort. He has fun doing it, and he gets his calories.

The Kibble Drop will come back. But since I made an error that turned it into a source of frustration with Cody it has to come back at a later time once Cody has been successful at a couple other puzzles. Good thing we have plenty other puzzles to use!