MIKEC5 said:
The fifth dog must think its some sort of sea monster.
MC5
He does. It brings out his prey drive: stalk, chase, shake, kill, eat.
You can desensitize him to the Polaris action. Put the cleaner, tail on, on the lawn somewhere, away from the pool. Even in the house. When he looks at it or goes over to sniff it, give him verbal praise and a cookie. Wiggle the tail of the thing. If he snaps at it, scold him. NO! BAD! If he just looks at you like you've lost your mind, praise him.
Do the same thing with the Polaris on the pool deck. Good dog if he just looks. Bad dog if he wants to attack when it moves.
Then put it in the water but don't have it cruise; just let it float. Be in there with the cleaner. Have a metal slip collar on the dog with a short lead. Encourage him to come in the water and swim him around the inactive Polaris. Good dog for looking. BAD DOG and a sharp pop on the collar for even the slightest sign of aggression toward the cleaner.
From his training in the house and poolside he's already figured out that being nice to the Polaris gets him cookies and being hostile brings your wrath down upon him. This means that your corrections have to have some power behind them. When you go BAD DOG make your voice low and growly and get right in his face when you say it. You want him to be shocked and stunned by your behaviour so he'll try to avoid bringing that on.
Conversely, when you praise him make your voice high and happy and always have some treats ready to go along with the Good Dog voice.
After a couple sessions in the water with an inactive Polaris, when you know the dog has figured out the difference between looking and killing, hook the cleaner up and let it run. You're in the water with the dog on lead. This will be hard for him because now his instincts will kick in and he'll struggle against them as a result of the training you've done.
That's where the calming comes in. Keep up a constant patter of 'good dog, such a good dog, here's a cookie . . . ' while he's paddling around at the end of his lead. If he pulls toward the Polaris, give a yank on the leash and a sharp NO! BAD!. Reel him in, calm him verbally, let him swim.
Keep these sessions short. Three minutes initially with a dead Polaris on the living room floor, twice a day. Short sessions in the pool as well. Dogs can only think from point A to point B and need time to make connections, especially in cases where we're teaching them something that's contrary to their drives and instincts.
Once he gets this we'll teach him how to serve your favourite mixed beverage while you're in your floating chair
AnnaK
