[Jill Kronstadt]

I’m not sure how I left tugging off the list of favorite activities! The top 3 should probably be 1) herding her purple ball, 2) chasing, 3) tugging. At home she will tug anything, almost any time. I’ve never brought the purple ball to a stressful place because she tends to knock things down with it, but away from home, she will chase me but doesn’t want to tug without a lot of coaxing.

The toy and activity lists could’ve been VERY long – yes, she likes tennis balls with and without squeakers, and she loves any tug toy or anything that can be tugged and shaken. She’s not a huge fan of hard rubber toys she’s supposed to like to chew. She loves chasing tennis balls, but she’s the poster child for why experts say not to throw tennis balls. I use the tennis-ball-sized holey roller instead because it’s easier to grab out of the air after the bounce rather than doing a dramatic wipeout. Love the disc on a rope idea! I’ve never used a flirt pole with her because she has such a death grip that there’s no flirting, lol.

Sent payment, btw – thanks for letting us add late!

[Jill Kronstadt]

Here are Spy’s reward hierarchies. When she’s stressed, she will take food but not toys – but activities like chasing are still fun for her. When we’ve done NFC runs or worked in unfamiliar places, I take a toy in the ring, run away and tease her with it, and the chasing gets her interested enough to work for the toy.

Spy’s reinforcers

Food:

1. Meat
2. Cheese or Pill Pockets
3. Lamb lung
4. Ziwi Peak freeze-dried food
5. Kibble

Toys:

1. Big purple ball she can herd
2. Competition frisbee
3. Soft frisbees – Chuckit, WestPaw
4. Holey Roller ball
5. Squeak toys

Activities:

1. Chasing
2. Licking my face/Find My Face game
3. Chasing & finding tossed treats on the ground or in the grass
4. Running
5. Digging

[Jill Kronstadt]

Thanks so much! Safe travels!

[Jill Kronstadt]

I came here to ask the same thing! But I think I’ll probably miss that week either way. 🙁

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