# Joey's 101 things to do with a box videos

We started Joey's 101 things to do with a box training today. He did awesome! I was very proud of him. I took three videos at different points during the session which lasted about 20 minutes. This first video is right when we got started. I took the box off my bed and he gets pretty freaked out. A…

## Thread
In Behavior · started by _dlroberts · 25 replies
- **Category:** [Behavior](https://nihonken.org/community/c/behavior)
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## _dlroberts · 2008-11-22T23:17:19.000Z
We started Joey's 101 things to do with a box training today. He did awesome! I was very proud of him. I took three videos at different points during the session which lasted about 20 minutes. This first video is right when we got started. I took the box off my bed and he gets pretty freaked out. As you'll see, I couldn't even coax him down off the bed at first. After about 10 minutes of working to get him comfortable just sniffing the box, we started work on him actually putting his front paws on the lid flaps. He's very tentative at first, so I keep my energy level low and don't use many vocal queues or praise. Toward the end of the video, he actually offers a behavior where he touches his paw to the top of the box! This last video is the last 5ish minutes or our session where he was really starting to get the hang of things. I increase my energy and vocal praise and he starts offering behaviors on his own. It was really exciting. Toward the end, I maneuver the box into a new position and he gets pretty freaked out. He runs and hides under the bed, but this time I'm able to coax him out immediately. He ends the session by offering his paw on the top of the box again! I was super proud of him! After we finished, he was laying on the ground about 10 feet from the box so I picked it up to put on a shelf. He freaked again and ran directly into the closed door of his crate. Poor guy. :-( On the whole, it was a good start!

## ljowen123 (moderator) · 2008-11-22T23:46:28.000Z
Good Job Joey!

## Harlow · 2008-11-23T00:36:58.000Z
Great going Joey and Dave!

## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-11-23T00:49:14.000Z
Dave, these are really interesting videos! Very cool! That's awesome you recorded it - that could be very helpful for others! Joey did well! He was a little freaked but still very alert and willing to learn [had not passed that fear threshold]... I think you can mos def get him over his box fear. He is really a handsome guy, very alert and nicely proportioned. :o) You should be proud of your little man. Great spam! ----

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-23T01:24:18.000Z
Thanks guys! I was (and still am) super proud of him. He's been pretty tired ever since, so I think he got a good mental workout. :-) Its interesting to have the videos to look back at. I can see a few places where I missed an opportunity to click or some things I might have done differently.

## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-11-23T01:30:14.000Z
Joey looks just like a handsome fox! I love him so much, too cute :) This is awesome Dave! If anything, they show others just how much patience & consistence you have to have. Go Joey!!! :D ~

## Harlow · 2008-11-23T07:14:56.000Z
Dave: Have you ever tried gently massaging the back of Joey's neck for a few seconds to help him relax? All our Mals and Shibas seem to really enjoy it and if you do it for very short times at first it won't be over stimulation of his senses. When we first got Koshi he was very nervous and jumpy so we used to gently massage him for a few seconds at a time on different parts of his body. He couldn't handle being pet or scratched in one place for more then a short time, it seemed to be sensory overload for him.

## Leonberger (admin) · 2008-11-23T07:16:45.000Z
Great job, Dave and Joey! Very interesting tutorial!

## sunyata · 2008-11-23T12:19:02.000Z
Wow! What a great job. I may have to do that with Bella and the big pink ball. It is amazing to see how he is working things out in his head. You can just see the little wheels turning. Keep up the great work, and give Joey a high five from us! :)

## tsukitsune (moderator) · 2008-11-23T12:51:55.000Z
first of all - Joey is gorgeous! these videos are a great learning tool! you can really see how he's really trying to think about it with you, not just running for the hills. That is awesome! I enjoyed watching the progress! Great work!

## MommyofNiko · 2008-11-23T13:23:11.000Z
YAY Joey! Good job!

## baanton · 2008-11-23T13:54:28.000Z
Very interesting videos -- thanks for sharing, and I think viewers will learn a lot from a training perspective. Joey is a cutie, by the way! Interesting side note: Your Joey and my Josephine share a nickname -- my husband and many of our neighbors use the name "Joe-Joe" for her. In part, her nickname is a fond tribute to her predecessor in our family and neighborhood, the departed Joe who loved and was loved by all around here. Maybe that's why Josephine loves people so much because of all the attention focused on her by everyone around here who missed Joe as much as we did!

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-23T14:17:54.000Z
Patty: That's a great suggestion. I have tried it, but when Joey is stressed he doesn't like to be touched. It stresses him out even more. He'll flinch if I even brush up against the tips of his fur and if I proceed to try to pet him he'll start panting heavily. I tend to just give him is space so he can deal with it on his own and encourage/reward him for being confident. Bev: That's great they share a nickname! I guess Joey is in good company. :-) Thanks everyone for the compliments. The videos are as much for me to learn from and have a record of Joey's progress as they are for others to see. I'd love any suggestions or constructive criticism anyone may have since I'm a self-taught clicker trainer. :-)

## Harlow · 2008-11-23T14:35:50.000Z
Dave: How about trying it when he is not stressed. That way he might start to associate your touch with a feeling of calmness. You're doing great with Joey and I'm sure you will continue to see him gain more and more confidence as time goes on. BTW how is Miss Lucy doing?

## mike_t · 2008-11-23T14:44:30.000Z
Looks like you're doing a great job Dave....hooray for Joey!!! Looking forward to seeing how things progress

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-23T15:32:33.000Z
Patty, yes, I do pet and massage him when he's not stressed. Although if I do it for too long, he becomes stressed. He loves to follow me around from room to room, but prefers to have his space. For example, if he's laying comfortable on his bed I will sometimes crawl up to him and rest my head on his bed too (not touching him). He'll wait a few seconds to see what I plan to do, and then get up and go to another corner of the room. Lucy just seems to be having setback after setback. We're on yet another diet since the Hills z/d didn't agree with her. This one is better for her in some ways but isn't working as well in others. But that's a story for another time. Thanks for asking. :-)

## sujewel · 2008-11-25T09:01:41.000Z
Hi Dave. Sorry I'm late on this. Great job on the training! He's doing so well! And is such a big boy! I can't get over that. Keigo doesn't like to be smooshed either. If Brittney or Mika are touching him in any way while he's relaxing, he'll cry and move over. I can lay my head on his belly and he'll put his head in my lap, but no other pets can touch him while he's lying down. It totally stresses him out!!

## ShikokuSpirit (moderator) · 2008-11-25T09:21:39.000Z
Loved the Shiba training session. I think Joey will have success and not be fearful of "the box". Patience and time, indeed... ...click and treat is good. Maybe when he is relaxed, just have the box laying around the house and don't have him do anything with it? Just let him get use to it and then go back to some more box training when it becomes just like the rest of the furniture in the house?

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-25T11:21:20.000Z
Corina: I've had boxes laying around the house since Joey moved in here. I actually just cleaned them up a week ago for the first time since he's lived in this house. He accepts them just fine as fixed parts of the house, but when they move he gets nervous all over again.

## ShikokuSpirit (moderator) · 2008-11-26T08:14:32.000Z
Yeah, I think I would totally be nervous too if my furniture started moving! I accept them only has stationary objects in the house.

## Romi (admin) · 2008-11-26T17:30:13.000Z
Great Job Dave! Sorry im so late to this! But the training seems to be paying off! You should be very proud of mr. joey! :)

## mike_t · 2008-11-28T22:49:26.000Z
Hey Dave, any more sessions with Joey and the box yet? I tried it with Remy the other night just for fun. It took him a while to catch on and the most I could get him to do was jam his head into the corners. PS - he also got his head stuck under the couch again trying to get his ball today...I really need to get that on video!

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-29T13:40:23.000Z
Hey Mike, I did have another session yesterday, but I forgot to charge the camera battery so I didn't get it on video. He did really well. This session we focused on change the box's orientation and moving it while he remained confident and interested in it. It was really interesting how we had to basically start over again when I changed the orientation of the box. It was like a completely different object that he had to become comfortable with all over again. Each time it took him less and less time before he was back to being comfortable. He also picked up that the box moving slightly wasn't a big threat and reacted well to that. He still shied away when I made big movements with the box though. The BIG breakthrough came last night when, for the first time, he approached the toy box and sniffed the inside of it. He didn't have the confidence to take a toy out yet, but I'm proud of him anyway. Keep trying with Remi. Each time you do it you'll find a new thing to do with him. Its fun!

## mike_t · 2008-11-29T23:38:41.000Z
Sounds like you're making progress, thats great!! I have to say that the more clicker training I do, the more impressed I am. I'm training Remy to "go to your crate", which means he goes in and lays down. We are upto him laying for about 45 sec before I click and I am increasing the time by about 5 to 10 sec each rep. I trying to get him excited about going in his crate as he still cries for a while when he goes in there at night. Anyway, keep us posted on how Joey progresses

## hondru (moderator) · 2008-11-30T00:46:54.000Z
Sounds like he's doing well! So, why is he afraid of boxes? He's so handsome, by the way!

## _dlroberts · 2008-11-30T13:10:20.000Z
Thanks guys! Heidi: I have no idea why he's afraid of boxes. I've known he has some fear issues for a few months now, but it seems like every time we tackle one a new one comes up. Boxes are his latest. I had/have 4 house guests for the last week due to Thanksgiving and poor Joey didn't do well at all. I'll post more about that another time, but it seems his fears are constantly shifting. Its hard to hit a moving target. :-/

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