Hi,
I have a (normally) very well behaved English Cocker (Spango) - biddable, polite, calm, quiet, almost the perfect dog - except that she 'wombles'
When walking off leash she will run off and pick up a piece of litter - at this point she becomes completely non responsive to any commands. After a minute or two she will return to my side / sniffing generally around and be the completely biddable dog she normally is.
I recognise this as 'challenging' behaviour but am at a loss how to deal with it.
I cant let it continue she has already picked up dangerous items - such as a party balloon (which she popped and then continued to chew)
This behaviour is the more galling as her recall is almost perfect and her response to drop (it) and leave it is exceptional in most other situations.
In training her 'leave it' is so good I can put a boneless chicken leg (or other 'super' treat) on the lawn, tell here to leave it when she finds it, and from that point she will deliberately and obviously avoid the item (it will be left untouched for the rest of the day
).
If I tell her to 'leave it' as she approaches a piece of litter it actually speeds up her grabbing of the trash
Once she has the trash in her mouth I have tried several approaches - a few times each approach has resulted in her coming to me and dropping the item, or immediately dropping it where she stands and returning to me - but the success rate is less than 1 in 20 with no techniques showing any improvement over time.
I have never shouted at her, or chased her (in any situations) so here are the approaches I have used (each technique I tried consistently for 7---14 days before giving up and trying another.)
1: Stand still, let her know from eyes and body posture that I am annoyed: no response, just runs off and eventually hides item.
2: Be calm and welcoming, gentle body posture and no eye contact, returned item a couple of times (big treat) but generally she's off and chewing/hiding it.
3: Gentle approach, curving, no eye contact - result same as above.
4: Recall (verbal, whistle) - ignored, and runs off
5: If I say 'leave it' as she approaches an item she will rebel and grab it even more enthusiastically
6: Calmly offering exchange for a high value toy - she's not interested and runs off again.
7: Walk away in opposite direction normally results in a quick drop, but if we go back towards the item she will rush ahead and grab it again - 17 times so far is her record for repeated 'wombling' of the same item. (I refused to go any other way until we passed the item without her grabbing it)
So if anyone has any ideas how to help get control of this I would be most grateful
D