Tucker
Over-all Tucker is an amazing young man who is quite trainable.
We have worked on many skills with him including sit, down, stay, heel, drop it, focus, fetch, and targeting in many different environments.
His sit is extremely reliable and can be used to interrupt other behaviors though he will occasionally down instead of sit.
His down is fairly reliable, though will benefit from additional reinforcement.
His stay/wait (both cues have been taught) needs additional reinforcement and may not be reliable until his energy levels decrease and/or impulse control increase.
His heel needs additional reinforcement; we have worked on this on and off leash with moderate/high success rates but it has not been practiced in some time.
His drop/give (both cues known) needs additional reinforcement; depending on the item he may release it to a hand, release it in general, or ignore the cue.
His focus/look (both cues have been taught) was still on a constant reinforcement schedule with lure present; he’ll focus fairly reliably for a treat, but the behavior has not been properly proofed.
His fetch is fairly reliable; he enjoys games of ball and will generally return items to within a few feet if not to hand.
His targeting needs additional reinforcement; he will target with either his nose or paw (without discrimination). We originally taught this skill to begin working on opening automatic doors but did not progress to a level of reliability without a lure.
Known issues:
He’s not been desensitized to visitors and has a fear/aggression response to unknown people entering his home. He has alert barked, lunged, and jumped, and mouthed at perceived intruders in the past.
He’s had issues with male dogs his size; one fight with his brother drew blood without major injury, and he had become over-excited (while restrained) when our lab has been present. We have managed this issue via separation as it has only occurred in home, and have unfortunately not made opportunities to desensitize or train towards proper interaction with familial animals. Off property he has not displayed this behavior.
He’s displayed a strong prey drive resulting in minor injury. He has been fine with caged animals and cats that don’t run away, however has grabbed our Shetland sheep dog resulting in a single puncture.
He’s not a huge fan of restraint, and may whine, scream, or struggle if leashed or held by the collar and held in one place for longer periods of time.
He’s prone to “counter surfing” and will grab food left unattended.
He’s only semi-respectful of barriers; with the right motivation will jump gates, or push through doors. He’s managed to jump over barriers up to 4 feet in height.
His leash skills require additional reinforcement.
Other information:
He’s been exposed to many different environments and situations as part of his public access training. he spent 5-20 hours at each of the following:
– Place D’Orleans
– St. Laurent Mall
– Sobey’s on Innes
– Richcraft Sensplex
– PetSmart & PetValue (varying locations)
– Bruce Pit (and other parks)
– Vehicles
Veterinary History:
He was treated for a leg injury which required stitches shortly before entering my care: injury was healed with no signs of weakness when rescued: fully healed.
He is missing two teeth, most distal upper right premolar (immediately behind the canine) and front right canine.
He was neutered in July/August 2016.
He was micro-chipped in December 2016
This is a courtesy listing.
If you are interested in Tucker, or for more information, contact James Liboiron at info@skunksacademy.ca or call (873) 353-0723
