I’m working on Brito’s retrieve.

Until now, criteria has included interacting with the dumbbell without stepping on it (I extinguished that), any nose or mouth touching, front teeth, front teeth and nibbling, and slightly more than front teeth. Most of the time I hold the dumbbell but sometimes I put it on the ground

In this video I’m working on getting a full mouth bite on the bar; I click for his teeth all the way over the bar.  We’ve worked up to this behavior over two days with a few sessions each day.  His success rate is reasonably high at about 70% and his attitude is usually good.

I’ve started to push him away from the dumbbell to start the exercise; this builds speed and intensity towards the task.  Next I will push him away and I will keep the dumbbell moving slowly away from him (to increase drive to grab it before the dumbbell “escapes”).  I also reward him moving towards me (note the placement of the cookies) – this will help to create follow through after he is picking it up and handing it to me.

You’ll see that I am sometimes “pushing” the dumbbell into his mouth.  Shame on me!  I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I saw it on tape.  My goal for myself is to change that bad habit!

I added a new criteria midway through the session; turning his head to mouth the bar.  I also begin to change the height; both higher and lower than “nose” level.  All of these things encourage a deeper understanding of the correct behavior.

He did very well today; we had a lot of fun:).