picking up laundry

[bcjake]

my wife and I were discussing some creative jobs we can give our 7 month old border collie. One thing that came up was picking up laundry (between my wife and our kids, this is one of the biggest problems we have... dirty laundry all over the floors.) Where would a person start on training a dog to do this? He's pretty good about not chewing on things, even though he likes to chew on the kid's toys somewhat (but so do they...) I've heard of other people successfully doing it. Right now, we're focusing on basic obedience. I'd love to teach him to turn off light switches, but he's not tall enough to reach the switches and don't know if he ever will be (he was the runt o f the litter.)

 

[kidsanddogs]

The way I do it is to approach the dog when he has something in his mouth, say "Thank You!" and then take it. We do that whenever our collie picks something up. It keeps them from stealing things, too, because they will just bring it to us to get the praise, or the treat we sometimes give them. Deceide what phrases you want to use, like 'clean up' or 'get it' and 'Thank you' or 'give' - whatever works for you. If you want to formally train the retrieve, there are classes in many communities for that. But it's real easy to just make a game out of it in your home.

 

[squirtsmom]

That is a good idea. thanks.