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Thanks, Allie, for your response.
Whenever I have something on hand, I do reward her for moving away from a resource—just like you said. But there isn’t always an opportunity, simply because I might not have anything the dog would want in that moment. Still, I try to always give her a treat in exchange when I use the “drop it” command.
Until now, I only brought toys out of the car if someone forgot theirs, just so they could play with their dog too. But I noticed certain behaviors in KJ when she managed to snatch someone else’s tug toy (at the time, all the other dogs were on leash). I also try to explain early on to my clients what dogs fight over and what their “social rules” are. I also make a point to remind people not to pet dogs that aren’t theirs—because your dog might attack other if it feels the need to protect a valuable resource like its human.
As for holding the leash—that’s a good point. I need to pay more attention to that. It really just takes a bit more discipline on my part…
And her toy drive compared to her food drive? It’s like she’s never seen food in her life! 😄
Thanks again for all your advice—I WILL DO BETTER! 😄
