Premier MannersMinder Instruction Manual page 36

Chapter 8: Game 3 – Down Stay
Troubleshooting
If Fido gets up more than 2 times in a row at one
level, here's what might be wrong.
• You went to the next step too soon
or you skipped too many days
ing the last step)
between sessions. You can tell because Fido looks
interested in the treats but fidgets impatiently.
Solution: Go back to an earlier step.
• He's not motivated enough for the food. If you
completed the earlier step recently and Fido was
stable, then most likely it's the treat value.
• If your dog looks bored, then randomly gets up, or
if you switch to a higher value treat and he
suddenly looks more interested and does much
better, then motivation is the problem.
Just because an animal will eat a food when given
by hand or for free does not mean he likes the food
enough to work for it. If they don't want to work for
it, they are telling you they aren't that hungry and
they would rather have it for free. So, overall the
best course of action is just to take the
MannersMinder away and practice again later in
the day. Alternatively, you can use a real treat
instead of kibble. But remember dog treats that are
not nutritionally balanced should make up 10% or
less of his diet.
• If Fido whines, barks and or nose butts the
machine, refer to the section on barking or
pawing the machine from the Tone & Treat
section. Make sure you address this problem
immediately instead of accidentally reinforcing
the bad behavior or it will take longer to fix the
inappropriate behavior.
• Also, if Fido's too focused on the machine,
smooch to get his attention when he's lying down.
Follow this with a treat out of your hand for a few
sessions. This will take care of the problem.
Most dogs will focus on the MannersMinder in the
early steps of the "down-stay," but by :30 seconds
Step 9: Treats every :30 seconds.
Five correct trials in a row.
(before complet-
Checklist
❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏
Step 10: Treats every :45 seconds.
Five correct trials in a row.
Checklist
❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏
Step 11: Treats every :60 seconds.
Five correct trials in a row.
Checklist
❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏
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