The Chase

Lilah has this annoying habit of running away when she has something that we want, something like, oh, I don't know, let's say a small clay pot plate. It's not so much that she wants it, she just likes the game of being chased and outsmarting us.

My tactic was to chase her around the yard until she either got too tired to run away or ended up dropping the object by mistake. It looks dumb, takes a while, and probably reinforces her bad habit. So now I use a different technique: "Ritter, go get Lilah!"

Now, I'm not sure how much Ritter understands verbally, but he sees Lilah running around with something in her mouth and he immediately wants to take part and takes off after her. The only problem is that she isn't too keen on sharing. So instead of me chasing her around the yard and trying to squeeze in between plants I'm not supposed to, Ritter dashes after her.

There are two major problems with this tactic though.

1) If Ritter manages to break a piece off for himself, I have to chase two dogs.
Ritter used to be okay about letting us take objects he shouldn't have away from him. But I think he's learning a bad habit from Lilah, and has taken to slinking away when possible or using his large head to block access to the wanted object.

2) Lilah is known for her stamina and incredible energy reserve; Ritter not so much.
After a good five minute runaround, Ritter stopped at the water bowl to fill up, then trotted over to his place in the dirt and sprawled out. Lilah on the other hand was still up to the task of evading me.

Recently though I have developed a new tactic: "Oh Ritter, you're such a good boy! Ritter want treats?" Lilah is an incredibly jealous dog sometimes and gets her to my side better than showering Ritter with attention. Ritter is very good about coming inside because he knows he will be getting a treat and he loves food. So if I just make a big deal about it once we're inside the house, Lilah comes shooting out from wherever and either kicks or body slams the door open.

Another cheap way to get her to drop what she's doing is to pick up Ritter. For some reason this really pisses her off...