DOG LOVERS: I have a year to teach my dog to fetch a beer from the fridge!

[aardvark]

I'm surprised nobody has asked this yet. What do you get if you win the bet?

 

[shroomzofdoom]

Ok, first things first. If I win, I get a dinner; all I can eat all I can drink--any place of my choosing. More a gentleman's bet than anything; but now the pride of my dogs is at stake.

Mbasile and ohad thanks for the insights….
I've always been the sort to do things myself. My dogs are pretty obedient, and I find that when I provide sound leadership they'll do anything. (Unless there is a rabbit or squirrel around!!!) I really can't work with a Boxer that hasn't had some exercise. They are just too…Boxer. You really have to walk a Boxer for at least 30 minutes before its mind is even close to being focused. My dogs respond well to assertive leadership, when their mommy is around they get away with a ton of stuff, when I am around they are very well behaved.

I have been reinforcing ‘fetch on command’ and rewarding them for bringing me toys by name. Since I am replete with home brew I’ve not been very motivated to head to the liquor store for a six of ‘BMC and be sure they’re in PLASTIC bottles please’. Ah hell, maybe I can find Miller Lite, that ain’t too bad to make shrimp with.

All I can say is that I am glad that I made the bet for Super Bowl 2011, I’ve done so little in this time. We did have a hefty snowfall this week and I’ve been stapled to my couch while my dogs sleep 22+ hours a day. We’re getting more snow tomorrow, and my snowboard and gear are packed!!!

Hang in there, I’ll post more soon. I haven’t forgotten my commitment I am just too busy being a bad dog owner this week. For now, here are Ike and Bella enjoying the snow.

 

[Rockchalk]

In the retriever training world (hunting dogs) there's a training technique known as "force fetching". I wouldn't recommend it on a boxer but my Labrador has been through it. He'll pretty much retrieve on command whatever he's capable of picking up and they'll go through any cover and water to retrieve a training bumper or bird. I'd bet I could get my pooch to retrieve a beer out of a fridge in a day... I'd suggest using a dedicated beer fridge though. :cross:

 

[DrDirt]

This is possible. I taught my Rottie to do it back in college.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

Dr Dirt, I'd love to hear more about your techniques and how you went about the training. Please let me know how you did it!

Rockchalk, I've read alot about forced fetching. Boxers work well with positive reinforcement, and seem to develop an independent streak whenever negative reinforcement is used. The only time I use negaitve reinforcement is on critical training. (STOP command, when crossing a street, MOVE command when I am carrying an armload of goods and they are under foot, DOWN command when Bella decides to rear up and kiss people, NO, etc)

I figured I'd clarify the physical layout a bit, etc):

We have an upstairs kitchen (main) and basement kitchen, we do most of our hanging out in the basement where the fridge is mostly beer. I am starting to design the removable strap for the door, but for now I am using a towel for training.

I now have Ike able to walk across the floor to get treats. While still tentative, he will cross the floor more easily now. I am going to moisturize his pads a bit, he has very dry pads which leads to slipping. Bella has no fear of the floor, her pads are also not as rough and seem to give her better traction. I think we identified the source of Ike's floor fears.

They are both readily accepting treats that are placed on the bottom shelf (beer shelf) of the fridge. I next started leaving the door slightly ajar so that they were forced to 'nudge' the door with their noses to swing it wide to get the treat. Bella seems to lead in the nudging exercise. The next step was looping a towel over the door and wrapping a piece of treat in the corner of the towel to encourage the dog to grab, then tug on the towel. In this exercise, the door is left slightly ajar, the dog is forced to give the towel a gentle tug, the door opens and the reward is waiting. I am working on controlling the momentum of the swinging door, right now the movement of the door causes some fear with the dogs. Which we'll overcome by enforcing that if they do the task, they get a treat.


While I never would have thought that training could be done at the same time. Forcing one to sit, while I work with the other is showing them that there are rules to the game we're playing. Even modest success is rewarded with a treat, when they overcome an obstacle they get tons of praise and 'good dog'. Bella was not catching on to the towel idea very well, until she saw Ike complete the task and get praise. She now pulls the towel, but pulls it so hard (like tug of war) that the door swings hard, crashed the wall, etc and scares the crap out of her. Much work to be done.

This week, I AM going to acquire some plastic beer bottles and work on differentiation training. They need to be able to identify a 'cerveza' on command.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

Ok, so it all starts with baby steps....For this test, I used a t shirt looped over the door and the door was slightly ajar to help him get started. It's important to me that he recognizes the task of door opening with getting rewarded at this stage. Once he has that, we have a foundation on which to build.

As we progress, I'll change out the t shirt for a canvas strap that's velcro'd to the door (removable). Eventually, Ike will be asked to pull the door when sealed/closed. Part of the bet includes the qualification that the door must be closed when complete. I am going to try to adjust my door to close slowly rather than asking him to do it. But I have no doubt that Ike can do anything with the right training and guidance. AND COOKIES!


First Ike had to overcome fear of the Pergo floor in order to complete this task. In the video, you see that he doesn't open the door all the way but knows if he tries to push his way in, he'll lose traction and slip. What does he do? HE KEEPS AT IT. Second attempt successful, and watch how he looks the door back all the way to the wall. Last few times it hit him when it swung closed. He's making such great strides, I am proud of him!!!!!

Bella really won't grab the pull at all and doesn't seem to get the exercise at all. Rather than pushing forward with Ike. I am going to isolate her for training a bit. I am not ready to give up on her yet. But she is clearly not as interested in this as Ike is.

 

[HPDrifter]

Nice ! Well done!

 

[thataintchicken]

My Doberman, as smart as she is... would not be able to fetch beer.

She is good at drinking it and guarding the brew kettle from interlopers though.

 

[doctorRobert]

Why on earth would you teach your dog how to get in the fridge? That's like teaching your kids how stand on a chair to open the cookie jar?

 

[steinsato]

I have a border collie (smartest dogs in the world). Wonder if he could learn to pull a chair up in front of my kegerator and pull a draught for me? Then very carefully bring me a pint without spilling it then run back to the kegerator and put the chair back where he found it. :rockin: I'll start working on this LOL

 

[brewkrew]

Why on earth would you teach your dog how to get in the fridge? That's like teaching your kids how stand on a chair to open the cookie jar?

If you read the thread it is pretty clear why he is teaching his dog to do this. Also I don't get why people are so worked up about teaching a dog to get into a fridge. If you can teach them to get into the fridge and specifically grab the beer, why is it hard to believe they won't grab anything else? Haven't you ever seen a well behaved dog sit 5' away from a juicy steak and not get it until the owner says it is okay. Dogs are amazing things!

 

[doctorRobert]

If you read the thread it is pretty clear why he is teaching his dog to do this. Also I don't get why people are so worked up about teaching a dog to get into a fridge. If you can teach them to get into the fridge and specifically grab the beer, why is it hard to believe they won't grab anything else? Haven't you ever seen a well behaved dog sit 5' away from a juicy steak and not get it until the owner says it is okay. Dogs are amazing things!

Ok Mr. Literal. I was merely raising a point that most people don't want dogs in their fridge. I get it, I think it's a neat trick, but relax for a second, it's a valid concern for anyone.


And yes I have seen a well behaved dog. The problem lies when the dog is not being seen. I'd admit, some dogs can be trusted with a steak, but only when the owner is near by.

Now put that same dog 5 ft away from the steak and the owner watching tv in the other room, and see how long that steaks last. Now I'm assuming the owner isnt going to watch the dog go into the fridge, as that defeats the purpose.

 

[brewkrew]

Ok Mr. Literal. I was merely raising a point that most people don't want dogs in their fridge. I get it, I think it's a neat trick, but relax for a second, it's a valid concern for anyone.


And yes I have seen a well behaved dog. The problem lies when the dog is not being seen. I'd admit, some dogs can be trusted with a steak, but only when the owner is near by.

Now put that same dog 5 ft away from the steak and the owner watching tv in the other room, and see how long that steaks last. Now I'm assuming the owner isnt going to watch the dog go into the fridge, as that defeats the purpose.

Solid point. Just speaking from experience, I had a lab at my parents place that I would trust with my life, literally. He was an amazing dog. I think he could have been trained to do this, and I don't think it would have been a problem with him going in the fridge. It's like a dog being trained to not go upstairs. Unless you give a verbal command they aren't going to think to do it. I wish I could teach my Shiba Inu I have now to do it, but she is a much more independent dog. She I would never trust with the key to my fridge.

 

[arturo7]

How do you keep the dog from getting into the fridge when no one is around? Simple, remove the towel from the door handle.

 

[FreeM80s]

Will be trying this with my pit whenever I get bored this weekend.

 

[brewkrew]

Those videos are almost as epic as brewing your own beer.

 

[ChshreCat]

My dog, I can set a steak on the coffee table and leave for as long as I want and there'll be a puddle of drool on the floor next to it, but the steak will still be there. I know it because I've done it! But I can't say that for most dogs. I can even drop a piece of food on the floor in front of him and if he doesn't think I did it on purpose, he'll wait to be told he can have it. He's a strange dog, but it's nice sometimes.

 

[MVKTR2]

Well I posted this in another thread on the same subject, it had a link to this thread so I'll share here.

I have a boxer, way too freaking intelligent & independent. I started teaching her this trick only to have her learn to open the freaking fridge on the second try. At which point my wife & I looked at one another and said, 'this is a bad idea'. At that time we had a toddler so we had a child-proof latch on the fridge. But without the latch it would only be a matter of time before the dog decided to go 'fridge diving' while we were out of the house! I should also mention I already had her fairly well trained to pick up a bottle so connecting the dots wouldn't have taken much time at all.

I say it's a bad idea unless you want to live with a child-proof latch on your fridge door till said dog dies. At least it would be with my hunk of boxer love! She already opens the pantry door to grab a snack of bread when it's not closed securely. Yes she opens doors with her paws on the knob if they're not totally shut/latched or use her mouth if something is hanging on the knob. Even figured out how to unlock doors by turning the knob. In my instance I have little doubt that my dog would take to pawing open the door even if you removed the towel from the handle when she decided it was snack time and no one was around.

Something to note on the wikipedia intelligence rankings it clearly states where some of the weaknesses are in the process. It's basically a measurement of trainability, not thinking or problem solving, ie hunting dogs, tracking, etc. I'm sure there are boxers that are slightly less useful or intelligent than a rock, but in general I've heard most people including some dog trainers say they're a fairly intelligent breed. Training however can be a challenge at times due to independence and/or stubbornness. They were the original police dogs in Germany because of their giftedness at discerning friend from foe. However they've changed quite a bit as a breed since the turn of the last century. Mostly I think trainability depends on the individual dog.

Good luck, should be doable with patience and repetition no matter the dog in question.

Schlante,
Phillip

 

[Rockchalk]

I think A "well trained dog" could handle not tearing into a refrigerator anytime it pleased. The problem is about 98% of dogs aren't that well trained. I've already stated here that I could teach my lab (like the one in the video) to fetch a beer this afternoon probably... he's well trained. My sister has a equally smart (and very expensive) lab that they can't keep off the counters. That dog is in EVERYTHING... he's not well trained.

 

[Joker]

I think I would only do this with a beer only fridge. I also think once you train the dog to open the fridge it is going to sometime and help itself to the lovely smells it encountered the last time it went to get you a beer.

A friend of mine had a German Sheppard that taught itself to open the fridge and then taught itself to eat all of the Thanksgiving dinner contents stored inside.

I think you are playing with fire if you are teaching your dog to get into the only fridge you have, again I vote beer only fridge to be safe and keep your pooch out of future trouble.

But I hope you win the bet.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

Guys, I am really sorry for not updating this thread more often. Let me address some questions and update you on my progress.

Long story short--the bet is still on. I took some time off of this to have a summer and build a kegerator. Since I have about 8 weeks before to onset of snowboarding season...Ikey is going to have to learn quickly!

First, some answers:
-Ikey's a smart boy, he knows he's not allowed in the fridge without being issues the proper command: CERVEZA (cool, huh?)

-When we leave the house, my dogs go to the bedroom so they are never unsupervised around the fridge.

-The fridge has NO handles, none. No way he could get into the fridge unless it's been 'set up' first. The setup involves looping a leather belt over the top of the door and latching to the inside. When the CERVEZA command is issued, he pulls the belt and we're fetching

So now, Ikey will fetch a brown plastic beer bottle with the command 'bring me cerveza' and he will open the fridge door and fetch a treat when given the 'CERVEZA' command.

I think we're close, but next steps are to tie the two together. I want him to open the door, bring me the plastic bottle gently...and then we'll gradually work on replacing this with glass bottles, then onto full glass bottles.

Now the update:

Ike was a rescue and we're not sure what his old 'fetch' command was. we tried some things but he's getting confused. He (like most Boxers) is an 'occasional fetcher'. So he seems to like 'bring it' We say 'bring me the tire' or 'bring me the rope' he'll do it.

Right now, I am using brown plastic soda bottle with a beer cozy on it to give him some grip. He's fetching the bottle but his grip is to aggressive. I need to combine this with the 'easy' command so he doesn't mess it up.

 

[rtt121]

subscribed

 

[Rockchalk]

It's always best to stick to one or two word commands with dogs and be consistent with them... sit, stay, here, heal, fetch... cerveza.

I could see where he would get confused by using the command cerveza to fetch a bottle and also to open the fridge to get a treat... two different demands.

I'd back up a bit and have him retrieve the bottle using the cerveza command then when he brings it to you give him a treat.

Do it repetitively at longer distances getting closer to the fridge. Then put it in the open fridge... then a slightly opened one he needs to nose open... then let him open it. It's all repetition but DO NOT try to do too much in one training event... maybe 3 to 5 retrieves then quit. You want them wanting more and always end on a good retrieve. Try to make it fun for your dog and use a lot of praise and keep the treats flowing.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

It's always best to stick to one or two word commands with dogs and be consistent with them... sit, stay, here, heal, fetch... cerveza.

I could see where he would get confused by using the command cerveza to fetch a bottle and also to open the fridge to get a treat... two different demands.

I'd back up a bit and have him retrieve the bottle using the cerveza command then when he brings it to you give him a treat.

Do it repetitively at longer distances getting closer to the fridge. Then put it in the open fridge... then a slightly opened one he needs to nose open... then let him open it. It's all repetition but DO NOT try to do too much in one training event... maybe 3 to 5 retrieves then quit. You want them wanting more and always end on a good retrieve. Try to make it fun for your dog and use a lot of praise and keep the treats flowing.

Exactly my thinking across the board. I am going to post up some vids with our progess this weekend. The command we settled on is 'Bring Cerveza'...though he knows what to do when I hook the belt to the door now. lol

 

[chapa]

Subscribed. Would love to see some video

 

[Homercidal]

DO you think it would have worked better to teach him to fetch the beer for you, THEN teach him to open the fridge? (Start with door open)

The way I see it, teaching him to open the door is great, but he may think his task is done once he's got the door open and gets a treat. The other way, he knows he's supposed to fetch the beer, but the door is in the way. Once he figures out that he can open the door, he will instinctively do that in order to complete the fetch command.

Just a thought. I am only thinking that now you got him opening the door, he will be less likely to move to the second command of fetching because he thinks his task is done and he gets a treat.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

DO you think it would have worked better to teach him to fetch the beer for you, THEN teach him to open the fridge? (Start with door open)

This is a really good point. I actually hadn't thought about this. I will try this in our next training session as well.

Beleive it or not, the hardest part is getting him to fetch INDOORS. Outdoors he's automatic, you throw--he retrieves. INDOORS, he grabs the toy and plays with it. So I've been doing what trainers call 'capture' where you catch the dog doing what you want, and reinforce it with the proper command and treats.

Then we go downstairs top the fridge and play fetch in the general direction of the fridge.

I am going to post some vids this weekend of our progress...stay tuned and THANKS for the feedback!

 

[rkzink]

Any videos to post?

This is awesome!

 

[gicts]

Would it be cheating if you covered the bottles to mimic the toy/ guard against their teeth?

 

[TheCarnie]

Any Update on this yet?