Rosco HATES taking baths. Even though he loves all food, he somehow can SENSE when the food I'm getting for him has to do with luring him to the bathtub. The little stinker ;-)
Well this morning he HAD to have a bath because he'll be visiting a school this afternoon.
So I decided I'd try using a target as a way to get him in the tub. The target I used is the Staples Easy Button.
He is great about pressing the button for treats. I had him repeat the exercise a few times OUTSIDE the bathroom...then IN the bathroom and then finally I put the easy button IN the tub. I figured he'd get his front paws in there (MAYBE) to hit the button and then I could get the rest of him in.
He only hesitated briefly and then hopped RIGHT in completely!!! Yahooo! He got lots of praise and some cheese.
So...another example of how you can use a target (once the dog has good targeting skills) to get a dog to go somewhere he'd otherwise NOT go. Worked BETTER than a treat lure actually because he was used to WANTING to go where the target was.
He still hated his bath...but one triumph at a time, right?
Once the bath was done I had him press the button some more so it was a good experience for him.