08/16/2026
Grabbing something out of Tater's mouth meant a fight — sometimes a bite. Mom couldn't take a sock, a wrapper, anything he might swallow, without a confrontation. He'd already swallowed one sock. That constant tug-of-war wasn't just hard on her hands. It was hard on their whole relationship.
Here's what we didn't do: chase him down, force his mouth open, or try to "win."
Instead, we started with a non-confrontational way for Mom to handle real emergencies — a method for retrieving items safely, without triggering a standoff. Then we built the skill that solves the problem for good: teaching Tater Drop and Leave It, so he learns to let go because he's choosing to, not because someone's forcing the issue.
That's the difference between compliance and behavior change. Pressure might get you a dropped item once. A dog who trusts that giving something up isn't a threat gives it up every time.
Tater picked it up fast — fast enough that within a few sessions, we moved on to Wait at the Door and building his comfort with brushing. No more confrontations over guarded objects.
Just a 13-month-old adolescent pup learning the world doesn't need to be defended one item at a time.
This is what behavior modification looks like when it's built around emotion, not force.
If this sounds like your house, let's talk about what's possible for your dog. https://bit.ly/Loma-puppy-cam-fb
