# Better accuracy? Punctured thumb. :/



## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

So yesterday after a fun day at the lake I left my dad and dog to the front room while I edited pictures I took. Shortly after my dad came into the room to show me Dinozzo punctured his thumb. 
We use the "leave it" command for him to drop stuff or to just leave something (like when I want him to stop sniffing the grocery bags). Though I probably should use two different commands he does the behavior I want in both situations. For me he does the command perfectly & consistently. For my dad not so much.

Dinozzo got a hold of a Halloween costume hat that I can put on his head. Its a viking hat and stuffed much like a toy. He didn't leave it when my dad told him to. So my dad went to grab it. Dinozzo went to grab it back and that's when one tooth punctured my dad's thumb. 

I don't think this is a guarding issue as he doesn't growl or bite at us. He was just going for the toy hat and got my dad. Even my dad said it was just an accident. 

The thing is when I play tug with him with stuffed toys I have to be careful where I hold the toy or I know he's likely to get me when he is going for the toy. It's like his awareness or accuracy is off. I'm probably not explaining it well or using the best words.

I'm going to get my dad to work more on the commands with Dinozzo. Is there anything I can be doing differently as far as it comes to when playing with toys and making him more aware of our body parts that are holding that toy? 

On a side note he's a one year old intact male. Barely food motivated & only slightly more toy motivated. He is 100% water/garden hose motivated. Too bad I cant fit a garden hose/water in my pocket....


----------



## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

And yes I know it sounds funny to say he is garden hose motivated. LOL


----------



## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

You can make a tug out of hose and you can buy lengths of hose from different places for that. Garden hose doesnt work real well, it doesnt hold up. I've used the ones they sell for washing machines though, they were pretty good.

I use leave it like you are. Kind of a general knock it off. If you are going to tug with him, I'd teach him to target the hose between your hands. If he touches your hand at all, the tugging ends. NO ! and let him think for a minute then start again. Not too wild, a little calmer in the beginning so you can focus on the targeting.


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

This happens frequently with Fiona. I bang a finger against a tooth or get a nip playing. Her trainer says it is my fault. Hand near mouth means teeth in skin. We taught Fiona drop it command. She loves to chew on the tennis ball and to get it out of her mouth was a fight. Now I say drop it and she does. But the stinker will also go back after the ball when I bend down to pick it up. If her tooth contacts my skin, I act like I have been shot. Very dramatic. Fiona will drop the ball to see if I am ok.


----------



## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

I've been nicked before playing tug of war. Both times it was my fault. I had my fingers too far down the rope holding on each time. Both times when she felt it was my finger she dropped pressure immediately. She never broke the skin but my fingernail had a big black mark on it that had to grow out each time. I have to remember not to be so careless. She gets very into tug when we play and is very quick so each time it was totally an accident on her part and fault on my part. She has no problem with drop it or leave it when I need to get something from her so I blame these nicks on my being too lax at those times.


----------



## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

Sorry for not being clear about the hose. We don't play tug with it. He loves to chase the water coming out of it. His attention is astounding when I have the hose.  
Thanks to all who responded. I just felt like a failed owner after that happened. Will keep working with him.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I've had blood drawn WAY to frequently with my girls. I can have a 4' long toy but they still seem to want to grab for the portion my hand is holding.

If I want them to drop something, works best to use my 'drop it' command and have them 'sit' back from it. Or if I switch out for something else they want. 

NEVER have I bled because they are being 'aggressive' it's always been play (over the top, but play). But it still hurts. I still bleed. So I just am becoming smarter at how to manage this and teach my girls.


----------



## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Tell your dad to keep his hand out of the dog's mouth... That's what my prior club would tell people when their hand got in the way working the dog.


----------



## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Tyson got my pretty good, i was splashing him with water (he loves it) and he miscalculated were he was putting his crazy jaw and nailed me, a full grip lol punctures and bruising and swelling- Tyson did not care


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Steve Strom said:


> If you are going to tug with him, I'd teach him to target the hose between your hands. If he touches your hand at all, the tugging ends. NO ! and let him think for a minute then start again. Not too wild, a little calmer in the beginning so you can focus on the targeting.


That's what I do too. Part of getting him to target correctly is for you to learn to present the tug correctly. We worked with Lisa Maze, who is Michael Ellis's business partner in the Loup du Soliel kennel, and she said a shorter tug is actually better than a longer one for teaching to target the tug because the area the dog can grab is very clear.

And I totally agree with Steve that it's best to work on the targeting in a calm, controlled way at first - if he can't do it right under those circumstances he's not going to be able to do it when he's amped up and chasing after it. She had us hold the tug square to the dog's face, not angled, and with a big, powerful dog you can hold it off to one side so the dog isn't driving right into your body. 

For your dad, I'd have him work on presenting the tug properly, getting a good "out", and teaching Dino that he's not to take a toy until released to do so. You can actually work on this with a variety of things. With my dogs they must sit and make eye contact, even if I'm waving a tug around (or a bully stick! :wild, until I say "okay".


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I still occasionally get nailed in flyball because the tug is very long, dragging behind me while I run away, Halo is super amped up, and she's grabbing at it on the run so it's a bit more challenging to target correctly. It doesn't matter so much where she grabs as long as it's not my hand, lol. She's much better now than she was when we were first starting, she nipped my arm a few times in the beginning, but I do still occasionally get some teeth. 

Here she's targeting perfectly - right on the Orbee ball, and not too close to my hand:


----------



## Ace GSD (May 30, 2014)

I got it sometime when we play fetch.... if i get my hand too low before fetching he will get me


----------

