Mary Allen
Unfortunately, we read and hear again and again about poisoned bait or the like being laid out on the typical walks in parks and forests. As dog owners, we are very worried, but unfortunately, we only have a few real precautionary measures, since we as owners do not always notice when the dog has picked up something. Furthermore, we cannot always tell at first glance whether it is poisonous or otherwise dangerous, and poisons do not always work immediately, but the dog can only show the first signs of poisoning after a few days. But you and your dog still have two options for experiencing your everyday life with less stress.
You either use a muzzle or do anti-poison bait training to protect your dog. However, a muzzle should be trained in a relaxed atmosphere. Your dog should be happy to wear it. A muzzle is particularly worthwhile in areas that are heavily frequented by the bait. And even if the training session has not yet been completed, namely the anti-poison bait training.
The Workout
The training works similarly to anti-hunting training. The dog should indicate when it has found something, for which it receives a reward. This variant is not punishable and there is no risk of frightening or even traumatizing the dog. The basic idea of this method is that your dog no longer thinks that found food is the ultimate. Of course, you have to offer him a great alternative for which you have to find out what his absolute favorite food is in the first step. Now it’s time to go shopping! Get a wide variety of things that your darling could taste very good – but of course, he can also tolerate them. It can be anything, such as liver sausage, gouda, meat sausage and, and, and…
Now give him two treats at a time, one after the other, and see which one he takes first. Does he decide between liver sausage and gouda or first for the liver sausage? Then next compare liver sausage with meat sausage. Here your dog chooses the meat sausage first? So the sequence is as follows:
- meat sausage
- Liverwurst
- Gouda cheese
The Hit List is Up.
Now, in the next step, a marker word can be introduced. Say a word like “Yep!” and immediately give your dog some liverwurst (flavor class 2). Repeat this a few times and then start the actual training. To do this, walk your dog past a piece of Gouda lying on the ground so that it cannot reach it. If your dog notices the cheese, you immediately say “Yep!” and give him some liverwurst – he had learned that before. As a reward, he also gets a piece of Gouda afterward, to learn that he won’t miss anything and that he can turn to you as soon as he finds food. He also learns that you don’t want to take anything away from him in a hurry, but that you are also interested. A “common hobby” so to speak.
In later training, the “advertisement” follows, i. H. your dog shows that he has found something. This could look like your dog should go to the “sit” as soon as he has found something to eat. He stays like that until you release him from his seat and reward him. The tricky part is that you don’t want your dog to eat the food you find. This may require an intermediate step, for which your dog should master the “sit” absolutely reliably. When called, he must be able to sit down from freewheeling. If that doesn’t work, you should practice it parallel to this training. The training is quite demanding and a recommendation would be that a dog trainer accompanies you, your dog, and the training. Since the focus here is on the dog showing reliably, feedback from a specialist is a great help.
Info
Has my dog ingested something harmful? When should I go to the vet? How do I proceed?
- Alarm signs: severe panting, severe thirst, excessive salivation, retching, vomiting, tremors, diarrhea, shortness of breath, lack of coordination, bleeding, and restlessness.
- your dog is generally not behaving as usual
- Be sure to take vomit with you to the clinic. This could help to determine the type of poisoning more quickly. Since each toxin not only has a different effect on the organism but can also occur at different times, an assessment by the veterinarian helps.
In general: If your dog has eaten anything harmful, contact a vet immediately to prevent worse. In some cases, by the time symptoms appear, it is already too late.
If you find bait on a walk, report it immediately. Poisoned baiting is a criminal offense and only if the baiting is reported and presented to the police or public order office is there a real chance that the perpetrators will be found. If you see sausages or brightly colored crumbs in the bushes or on the side of the path, they could be poisoned bait that could pose a great danger to the next dog! Please collect the find in any case, hand it in and remember the location!