tricks

[JennyG3479]

Hi again-

We have a Mutt named Jackie who is a little over 5 months old. When we got her she weighed a cute 12 lbs we went to the vet the other day and she now weighs 47lbs. We finally got her housebroken, which wasn't too bad. We have been working with her a lot she knows sit, laydown, rollover and shake hands. I think that is pretty good for a puppy. What do you think? What is another easy thing for her to learn?


Another thing when we go outside and other people(strangers)pet her she'll start peeing. Will she grow out of that?

[weimlover0816]

Does she know "NO"... can you put a treat in front of her and tell her "NO" and she'll leave it until you say "Okay"?? Teaching her that with different commands is fun... a friend of mine taught his dog "On Credit" for "NO" then "Bought and paid for" for "okay".. it was cute because he was a salesman... once they know that trick (with any commands) it is easy to teach them to balance a treat on their nose, then when you say "okay" they'll flip it up and catch it... it only took my Weim a few days to learn that one.. and it's always a big hit!!

[Moo]

The funnest one is "Draw.... BANG!" It's basically just Sit Pretty/Beg into a sudden play dead. My carefully followed hand motions, so he easily picked up on the quick movement.

Don't forget to be working on things like down-stays and sit-stays. Try to have her in a down-stay for a minute or more, increasing time. Watch me is also important.

[JennyG3479]

thanks, those sound cool. How long should you work with them daily? We work with her for about 5 mins at a time cuz she seems to get bored fast. usually a few times a day.

[Moo]

5-10 minutes at a time is good. More is too much repitition, and nothing will really get done. I usually work 3 times a day, usually 10 minutes each. (Not including down-stays and waits, in which case I may have him stay on his spot while I eat or work on something). But during this time I work on everything. Old tricks, new tricks, basic commands, focus drills, anything I can think up for him to do and anything I can do at home to practise agility.

Short sessions adding up to about 12-15 minutes a day should be enough to reinforce whatever you've taught.

[JennyG3479]

I feel dumb. Jack's got all those tricks down but I can't for the life of me figure out how to teach her to "stay" I tell her to "sit" and she does but I tell her to stay and she lays down. We were working with crawl last night she's doing good with that so far as long as there is a treat in front of her.

[Dax]

Jenny Use another word for Sit/Stay - Like Sit Wait or at ease. Ariel used to do that too but I use a hand signal for sit (my finger pointing to the sky) and when I added stay I made sure to continue with my hand signal for sit. As long as the hand signal remains - she remains sitting. Something to try for you anyway.

[Moo]

Oh, I know sit-stay can be tough, my little guy's focus is the absolute worst, and we work on these things to try to lengthen his attention span. It tires out the paws. We worked this one with his front paws on a brick so that it was harder to lie down. Remember than Sit-stay is "sit-stay" not "sit" and "stay". One command, a little confusing at first. At first try sit-stay close by, if you have to, put your hand in front of her front legs to reinforce the position. Praise 'good sit-stay'. Try it for short lengths of time, then increase to 30 seconds, 40 seconds... and start to back away. Good Luck

[JennyG3479]

hello again I thought I'd just keep my problems in one little area rather then spead out thoughout the site. So, today I thought well, maybe I could throw her a treat and she would catch it in her mouth like my other dog did(when I was younger). So, I go to throw the treat and BAM it smaks her on the head. So I try it again and I hit her on the nose with it. She doesn't even attempt to open her mouth she waits til it land and then gets it. Whats up with that? Will she learn after she gets bonked in the head a few more times or what?

[Moo]

Maybe your dog just isn't very treat oriented. DOes she catch toys? If you toss a small plush in the air will she catch it? Just try tossing it underhand into the air. If she doesn't catch it... try tastier treats.