Teach Your Dog to Get a Beer

Teaching your dog to fetch a cold beer can come in handy. Maybe you are stuck in the middle of the couch and can't get up. Maybe you need a fresh cold one during the crucial final moments of a big game. If your friends are equally glued to the television or indisposed, your dog may be your best bet--assuming your dog has a large enough mouth to grasp a beer in the first place. Successfully training your dog to fetch a beer involves several steps. He has to open the door, grab the beer, carry it to you, and close the door. It’s a lot of work up front to train him, but the process is pretty straightforward.

Steps

Opening the Refrigerator

1. Make the fridge easy to open for your dog. Although your dog will likely get into anything you leave out, you probably take for granted the fact he can't get into the refrigerator. To make it easier for him, hang something from the handle of the refrigerator door. A rope with a thick knot on the end works particularly well for this, but a towel will work too. Just make sure it is properly secured to the handle.
   • If you decide to use an old rope or towel (i.e., something you don't mind ruining), check the integrity of the threads. If strands come off or it rips with little effort, find something newer. The fibers and dust will distract your dog and may be harmful to his health.
2. Teach your dog to notice the towel or rope. Hanging a towel or rope won't usually inspire your dog to start opening the door. If you are lucky, he will at least investigate the new door accessory. If you want to draw his attention to the towel or rope, point at it with your finger. When he pays the towel or rope any attention, click your [[Clicker Train Your Dog|clicker] and give him a reward.
   • First, click and reward when he looks at the towel or rope. Second, make him touch the rope with their nose before clicking and rewarding. This is the first part of shaping your dog's behavior into the acceptable form.
3. Praise your dog for biting the towel or rope. Once he knows paying attention to the towel or rope is an avenue for rewards he will expect them. Now, you want to start training your dog to open the door on command. While standing near the refrigerator (i.e., close enough to point and touch the towel or rope), use a command such as "Open the fridge". Click and reward when he successfully bites the towel or rope.
   • Your dog may not initially understand the new command. He has been getting rewards without it so far. First, click and reward when he touches the towel or rope. Second, stop clicking and rewarding for just touching the rope. He will get aggravated and naturally bite the rope. Any motion to bite the rope should get a click and reward (e.g., touching it with his teeth or licking it). Don't move on until he actually bites the rope or towel.
4. Train your dog to pull on the towel or rope. Once your dog knows to bite the towel or rope you are close to the finish line. Stop providing clicks and rewards for simply biting the rope. Make him hold or pull on the rope next. Taper your clicks and rewards so that he must pull harder and harder to get rewarded.
5. Reward your dog for opening the door. Once you are rewarding your dog for pulling on the towel or rope, you can move on to the final part of this subtask. Train your dog to pull harder and harder on the rope. Start holding off clicking and rewarding until he pulls so hard the door opens. Click and reward if the door even opens a little and closes again. Continue clicking and rewarding until he opens the door all the way.
   • This can be difficult if your dog is pulling in the wrong direction. If you notice this is happening, stand in your dog's way so that he will have to move in a direction that causes the door to open. Once he starts associating the door opening with a reward he will not need to be guided.
   • Continue using the command throughout the process. When your dog opens the door all the way and it stays open, reward your dog excessively. Keep practicing this exercise until the dog will open the door on command. Eventually, he will become much more proficient at the task.

Grabbing the Beer

1. Buy beer cans that will fit in your dog's mouth. Glass bottles will work too, but cans will not shatter when dropped. Your dog will be carrying the can sideways. Some beers may provide you options with cans. If you have a smaller dog you may opt to choose a tall can that has a smaller diameter. However, your beer of choice may not be packaged in these bottle-shaped aluminum cans.
2. Place the beer in the refrigerator where your dog can get it. You want to get the beer cold for now. Your dog may not be accustomed to the temperature of the cold can. If you use a lukewarm to train with, your dog may become distracted by the coldness of the can when attempting to grab the beer from the refrigerator.
3. Place a cold beer on an empty floor. This training can take some time. There's no need to defrost your refrigerator and freezer during training. Use a cold beer placed on the floor during this exercise. You may want to stick with a carpeted floor at the beginning. If he immediately picks up a can and drops it, then the damage to the can will be minimal.
4. Teach your dog to notice the can. Click and reward when your dog looks at the can. Then click and reward when he investigates the can. Anything that gets him closer to biting or picking up the can. With luck, a can in the middle of the room will be very attention-getting. He may naturally investigate.
5. Praise your dog for trying to bite the can. As your dog investigates the can, he may engage in a number of behaviors. Any behavior that is closer to biting and picking up the can should receive a click and a reward. He may first sniff. Then he may lick. Then he may try to bite the can to carry it to another spot for more comfortable licking.
   • Your dog may start licking the can profusely. It is cold, and licking the can will provide a very novel experience for him. If he starts doing nothing but lick the can, stop rewarding him for licking the can.
   • If it takes a while to get your dog to bite the can, replace the can with a cold one from the refrigerator. This way he is biting and picking up a cold can instead of a lukewarm one.
   • If you have a "pick it up" command typically used with a ball, use that command to teach the dog to pick up the beer can.
6. Reward your dog for carrying the can to you and releasing it. Start using a command such as "Bring me a beer" to encourage the on-command behavior. If your dog does bite the can it may be for the purpose of carrying it off for himself. Be sure to have some favorite treats ready to give him when he picks up the can and brings it to you. If the cold can, in and of itself, is a treat to your dog, you will need to find a treat he likes a lot more. Reward him for picking up the can, and, later, for bringing the can to you and releasing it into your hand.
   • If you regularly play fetch with your dog, use the same command to get him to bring the can to you.
   • This is where carpet comes in handy. If he has trouble picking up the can or drops it when a reward is presented, the can will fall softly on the carpet.
   • If your dog is reluctant to release the can, consider bring the treat closer to his mouth. He will have to release the can to receive the treat.
   • Consider having your dog pick up the can first, while the can is lying on its side, and second, while the can is standing up normally. Most likely the beers will be sitting upright in the refrigerator, so that's the orientation your dog needs to be accustomed to.
   • If your dog fetches your beer but drops it in front of you, do not reward him. Repeat the command and point to the beer in front of you. Reward him only when he puts the beer in your hand or you can expect a lot of shaken-up beers in the future.
7. Open the refrigerator to give access to the beers. Once you know he will pick up and bring you a cold can of beer on command its time to move to the real deal. Open the refrigerator door to reveal a low shelf of beers. Put your cans near the bottom where your dog can get to him. Leave enough space so that your dog can reach in with his snout and grab a beer.
8. Point to the beers and give the command. The fact that the beer is in the refrigerator and not the floor will not be lost on your dog. This is a completely new scenario. Your goal is to activate the same behavior as before but within the new setting. Pointing will help focus your dog's attention, while giving the command will activate the instinct to perform the associated reward-seeking behavior.
9. Reward him for touching, then biting, then holding, and then retrieving the can. Click and reward for anything resembling the original behavior. Your goal is to get him to grab the beer from the fridge, and bring it to you. Ignore the fact that he neither opened nor closed the door. You will work on the proper sequence of behaviors later.

Closing the Refrigerator

1. Open a door in your house that your dog can close. Teaching your dog to close the refrigerator door works best when he already knows how to close a door. Primarily because you don't want to leave your refrigerator door open for an extended period of time. Choose a door that the dog can easily move behind when the door is opened.
2. Teach your dog to move to the correct side of the door. This can be difficult because he is not doing anything specific. Try putting a treat between your fingers. Then put the treat in front of their face. Without releasing the treat, move your hand toward the spot you want your dog to be (i.e., behind the door). When your dog gets behind the door, release the treat.
   • If you already have a command for your dog to sit on a specific spot or on or near an item or blanket, use that to get your dog to move behind the door. Place the item he sits close to or on behind the door, and use the proper command.
3. Praise your dog when he stands on his two hind legs. Hold a treat above your dog's head. He will likely try to stand up to get it. Lift your hand higher to get him to stand up more. When he is standing up, click the clicker and give him the reward. If you can get him to stand up and remain balanced, then he is doing well. This is not required though. He just needs to be up high enough so he can push the door closed.
4. Train your dog to fall forward hitting the door with his front legs. Once your dog is trying to get the treat in the air, move your hand closer and closer to the door. Don't touch the door yourself. Wait for your dog to touch the door. Click and reward as soon as your dog makes any contact with the door. When he looks at the door and hit it then look at you for the treat, that's when you know you are ready to move forward.
   • This may be difficult if he does not want to touch the door. Try positioning the treat at the very edge of the door so that he almost have to touch the door to get it. If he moves around the door to avoid touching the door, position yourself perpendicular to the edge of the door (i.e., as if you are the door frame) so your dog will have to touch either you or the door to get to the treat.
   • This is really where the clicker is helpful. He may have so much tunnel vision he doesn't notice he touched the door while getting the treat. The clicker should help clue him in that touching the door is what you want him to do.
5. Reward your dog when he closes the door on command. Start giving him a specific command such as "Close the door". Gradually encourage him to push the door harder and harder. Let him get the door all the way to the door frame. Keep clicking and rewarding as he gets closer and closer to causing the door to close completely. Start clicking and rewarding only when he shuts the door.
6. Open the refrigerator door. Now it’s time to move to the last subtask. Just as you taught your dog to close a door, you now need to teach him to close the refrigerator door. This time you will want to change the verbal command. Instead of "close the door", try "close the fridge". This way he knows exactly which door to close even if you are in another room.
7. Point to the door and give the command. Start with the original command to see if he will understand. If he does, click and reward him. Then move to the new command. If he does not understand, use the same technique you used to teach him to close a door to close the refrigerator door.
8. Reward your dog for touching, then pushing, then closing the door. Continue clicking and rewarding when he touches, pushes, or closes the door. If he closes the door once, you are not yet finished. You want him to hear the command, look at the door, close it, and then look back at you for his treat. Re-open the door each time he closes it and repeat.

Putting the Sequence Together

1. Teach your dog to open the refrigerator at a distance. Once your dog knows how to open the refrigerator, you want him to open it on command at a distance. First have him obey the command while you stand in front of the refrigerator. Then move farther away so he has to walk to the refrigerator to obey the command. Keep moving farther from the refrigerator until you are in a different room and out of eyesight of the refrigerator.
2. Praise your dog when he brings you a beer. This time you want to do the same thing with the second command. Open the refrigerator. While standing in front of the refrigerator, give the "Bring me a beer" command. Click and reward when he completes the task. Then repeat the task as you move farther and farther and into a different room.
3. Train your dog to go back and close the door. This last one is important. Although your dog may be able to put together that he has to open the refrigerator to get a beer, he will likely not remember to then go back and close the refrigerator. Practice having him complete this task just as you did with the previous tasks. Just don't forget to re-open the refrigerator each time he closes it.
4. Practice doing all three in sequence. While standing near the refrigerator, give your dog each command in sequence. First "Open the fridge", then "Bring me a beer", then "Close the fridge". At first, reward him for each task completed. Then start rewarding him only when he finishes the last task. Keep giving the commands as you move into a different room.
5. Reward him when he completes the first two tasks with one command. The final task is to train your dog to complete the "Bring me a beer" task without needing to provide the "Open the fridge" command. Stand in front of the refrigerator and give the "Bring me a beer" command. If you are lucky, he will almost immediately pulls the refrigerator open to get to the beers. If not, don't use the "Open the fridge" command. Instead, keep using the "Bring me a beer" command but train him to open the door first just as if the pulling the rope was the first part of the "Bring me a beer" command.
   • Training your dog to close the refrigerator in the middle of the second task may be very confusing for your dog. If you insist that this is necessary, you will want to start training your dog to first pick up a beer, then close a door, and then bring the beer to you. You may find it is easier to give the "Bring me a beer" command and follow with a "Now close the fridge".

Tips

• If your dog's mouth is too small to hold a can of beer you should abandon this endeavor. Not only will he not be able to carry the beer in their mouths, he most likely will not be able to open the refrigerator.
• Use the type of beers you typically use during the training process. This helps the dog visually remember what a beer looks like. Done properly, you can eventually train him to fetch a beer or a soda using different commands. Have a few on hand so you always have a cold one ready for training or in case the dog's teeth puncture the can.
• If your dog seemingly jumps a step or two (or more) during the training, try to get him to duplicate the behavior. Start click and rewarding that behavior, and progress the training from there.
• Some clicker training routines involve learning the different types of treats your dog enjoys, and which treats he prefers over others. If you know this, you can provide the good treats for behaviors closest to what you are trying to teach him. At the same time, you can start giving him the lesser valued treats for doing the previously learned task. This way he still gets rewards for good behavior, but he gets the best rewards for improvements.
• Think carefully before you teach your dog to open the fridge. Once he knows how to do it, he may help himself to whatever food is in there.
• You can also use a similar techniques to train your dog to fetch a beer out of a cooler, or wherever else you keep your beer.
• Use very small treats for the training. He will be less likely to continue training as his stomach get full. If this happens, stop the training for the day. You can pick it up again the next day. Don't wait long between training sessions. You can train him as frequently as every meal (i.e., using your dog's own food kibbles as training treats).
• Teaching your dog to open and close the refrigerator using the same towel or rope can be confusing to him. It is easier to let him associate the towel or rope with opening the refrigerator and jumping and pushing with closing the refrigerator.

Warnings

• Never use glass bottles during the training process. If your dog happens to drop the bottle, he may injure himself on broken glass.

Things You'll Need

• Beer cans
• Rope or towel
• Dog treats
• Dog training clicker

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Sources and Citations

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