Free Tricks Workshop at Scarborough Dog Days.

Join Gooddogz Training at Dog Days of Scarborough this Saturday at 2:30 for a free and fun interactive Tricks Workshop. 
Come teach your 'ol dog some new tricks!
Teaching tricks is a great way to engage your dog's mind, improve your bond, teach your dog how to learn, and teach you how to be a better trainer.

Week 3 with Hannah, teaching trade and tug

 I am making no secret that I am making things up as we go along.  The first thing I wanted to help with was startle reflex.  I want to put a lot of great experiences  in the behavior bank. Our hope is  that when Hannah  is startled, she won't act defensively with her teeth.  When Hannah feels the stomping vibration of someone approaching, she is happy and knows what to expect.
She knows something is coming and it will be pleasant.

She learned sit, auto sit and down and really is doing amazing with all that.

This past week my normal syllabus called for recall.  Hmm. How exactly is that going to work?  Mom came this week and she told me that the dog is never far from them and they don't expect her to come.
In the yard, she is on a 30 foot line.
We did work out a cue for come. It involved putting food in the luring hand, and starting mid way at her body and basically swiping her all the to her head, and then walking backwards and then feeding. That worked great.

After Hannah worked for a while, I asked if she played with toys and the answer was a resounding YES, so I gave her this great fleece toy with a tennis ball built in. Well, I have to say I was surprised at how totally normal, young dog acting she was, and I knew right there they next thing that she needed to learn was DROP IT , and proper tooth play.  She was very gentle with her mouth and didn't once get me by accident.  This was the first thing that I taught, that except for not adding a verbal cue, I taught it the exact way I do all my dogs.

Give the toy, tug tug tug then put your hand with food at the nose and wait for them to drop it. Feed and then repeat the game.  This will teach her that it is play when the toy is moving, and time to give it up when we stop the motion. She nailed it.  I think you can see from the photos below that she really did play hard!
Next week we will define take and drop a bit clearer.
All and all I could not be happier with her .

I was surprised at how much Hannah loved to play! 

She is tugging hard here. Tugging won't make her aggressive. Hannah like all dogs  is going to use her teeth anyway,so best to teach her the rules in a fun way.

Drop it! Good girl!
When we teach the trade up game, the dog gets something of greater value than what they are playing with and then they get the prize back.  

Week 2 with Hannah, the deaf and blind dog

I just love how easy it is to capture a moment on my cell phone!
  Below you will find two very short videos of Hannah in class. My only wish is that I recorded Hannah  just as soon as I saw her walking in the parking lot on the way in.   Hannah was just like most young dogs. She totally   recognized where she was and she was excited to be there.  She wagged and sniffed and was clearly happy.  Hannah  totally seemed to know me and gave me a sweet howdy.   On the way in, she aced the three steps down and then the three steps up.
I was impressed.

This is no lie.  We are making stuff up as we go along. We continued to introduce her to people by stamping our feet twice the treating, and that is going really well.

She learned no mugging, just like I teach dogs with sight and hearing.  We held out  our fist with food inside and if she didn't back off and stop trying to get the treat  with her mouth and paws then she wasn't rewarded. We are still using a scratch behind the ears as a marker that she did good and a treat is coming.

In class this week she learned that two taps on her butt mean sit.  Check her out. She learned this in minutes.

And then we taught her the beginnings of automatic  sit.  When I go, you go and when I stop you sit.
I continue to be impressed.

She did so well in class in fact that her owner who has another dog at home, and has fostered quite a few dogs mentioned that in some ways working with Hannah is easier than with other dogs.   Hannah's world is all about him and his wife.  She has no other competing reinforcers.  She is not distracted by other  dogs, or toys, and pretty much is there with them all the time.  She is content to just be around them and while I think they have challenges to face, there is truth in that statement.

We have no class next week because of the Fourth of July, but I can't wait to see her the following week. I will try to get more video.  

First Foray into Rally Free...we did less than meh

Yesterday I submitted a video for my first Rally Free entry, and well let me just say it was a whole lotta learning experience.  I am about 99 percent sure that we didn't Q (qualifying score), but I decided to send it anyway, so that down the line I will have a before and after.

My dog Beck, has had some epic behavior issues the last few years. Beck is 5 now and things really magnified at about the 3 year mark, which is more common than you would think. When dogs reach maturity, stuff catches up to them.  \

At around the same time, I tore my miniscus andwe  moved.  Needless to say, it has taken a while, but he is a happier, safer dog than he was this time last year. The thing is, I am still treating him like a circus freak and I need to re- eval my training plan and start working with the dog I have who is in need to a lot more training out and about in all kinds of places.
Now Beck is some kind of brilliant in my kitchen and in Rally Free you get the entire routine 10 days before hand.  Hand signals are frowned upon and we had the entire routine on voice cue with some subtle body cues.  But ya would never know it.  As we like to say in the dog training, there were "a lot of competing reinforcer"s in that field.
For the record, our mistakes in Rally Free have nothing to do with my dog being stubborn. He was just a little more than overwhelmed at his new training area, and working for several minutes with no food is tough! Rally Free is easily way more difficult than the highest Rally level but I love it, and we are hooked.  I had LOTS and LOTS of idea to make our next run so much smoother.
No, I am NOT posting our video here.  I may at some point post a before and after. Or maybe not.
I will enter the next few and well, wish us luck.

This photo of a random lobster roll is here to remind me of my reinforcer when I get that first Q!

Links to my two commissioned reactive dog articles

I am really proud of the two commissioned reactive dog articles that I wrote for Petcha.com.  The first one, Defining the Reactive Dog explains what a reactive is, and helps you figure out a plan going forward.

The second one, 10 Tips to Teach Your Reactive Dog To Stay Calm   is just that. 10 tips. I am proud of both of them.

This marks a dozen articles published on Petcha for me, and I have to say, while I struggled writing them and I am NOT a prolific writer, it sure feels good to have them done.  I applaud my writer friends who can whip out thousands of words a week.  Having these 12 under my belt has given me inspiration to work on my book.  So far I have 3 chapters in the can as they say in the movies.
 Stay tuned!

Gooddogz in the RUFF is my trademark Reactive Dog program. I am taking a break from group reactive classes and will return later in the summer with batteries charged and my program reworked.

10 Things to do if your adult dog bites on Petcha.com

My latest from Petcha. I can't post it here because they paid me, so they own it.
You can read it on their site here

My best post from Petcha - Socialization tips for adult dogs, A tail of Two Collies

With an adult dog, things around the house are usually quite a bit calmer than with puppies or young dogs. Watch for changes in behavior from younger days. Dogs who went to day care or were the life of the party at the dog park may show signs of no longer enjoying these activities. I often tell my clients the following analogy: “When I was younger, I used to slam dance in a mosh pit, but I rarely enjoy large crowds these days.”

To read the full article, please click the link to be taken to the Petcha.com site. 

A Tail of Two Collies - Socializing the Adult Dog 

Useful Dog Trick - Fetch me the toilet paper!

New Training space on Forest Ave in Portland and other cool news!

Hello out there!

Goose and Finn love the new Forest Ave  space

The big news around here is that I secured a new training space at Forest Ave Veterinary Hospital in Portland on Forest Ave.  I share the space with another trainer and the staff at the clinic.  It is my hopes to be able to help more dogs and their families by cutting down on my travel time .  In the last month I have turned away quite a few dogs who live too far out of area, but would have been willing to come to me if I had a suitable place to see them.
I am hopeful that this will be a great thing!
My first clients at the new space start  this next week and most of the time slots that I allotted are filled!

Puppy class starts at Forest Ave starts Thursday, and I will be offering Therapy Dog Prep, Puppy Play and Learn, and Freestyle on Saturdays starting in June.

I have been writing lots for a new site Petcha.com . Currently I have 6 articles posted, but another 5 or more should be up soon.  You can view all my Petcha articles here.
Petcha has been  amazing to work for.  The biggest news is that they paid me a really good amount of money to write a puppy article for their new venture Petcha Puppies, which is a glossy magazine.  Nice to see that print isn't dead.  Don't think that it will be available until winter, but I am looking forward to sharing that with my parents who send me clippings of dog articles pretty much weekly by snail mail. They are adorable my parents, and I am very fortunate to still have them with me.

I have been working hard to try to make my web site easier to navigate, but so far it is not going that well. I created a page listing all group classes.  My web site is confusing to navigate because I am training at Mainely Agility, Poetic Gold Farm,two  Pet Quarters and now Forest Ave.  Have you ever seen that movie If this is Tuesday it must be Belgium? That is pretty much how I feel about life every day.  Here is the link to my new At a glance page.


I have been super busy, but I have pledged to blog twice a week because I have been told by multiple sources that Google is penalizing me in web searches for www.GooddogzTraining.com for having a blog that I do not update. For the past few years, I have focused energy on my Gooddogz Training Facebook, but moving forward I will be sharing my time between both.
If you haven't already, please visit and like my Facebook page.
Happy Training! 

Why the dog didn't fetch the shoe - Gooddogz Training tip #1

This is a reenactment

Beck is showing you all where I was sitting when I came up with the brilliant idea to ask him to fetch my sneakers.  Sure I could have just reached for them.   Beck has a very good understanding of fetch, bring and deliver to hand. I had never asked him to fetch shoes before.

 "Beck fetch the shoe".

Beck did not fetch the shoe after much asking and pointing, so I picked it up and tried to give it to him.

So I asked him a few more times and the answer was still the same. "NO".

Beck is a very biddable dog when it comes to work, and after all he did want to go out, so he offered up another option that he hoped would get him out the door.

Quoting my daughter.  "The dog has standards. He didn't want to put your stinky feet in his mouth, and he knows where your shoes have been."

This has been a public service for  all dogs from Beck.  The message here is simple.  Sometimes there is a very good reason your dog doesn't want to do what you ask them.  So ask yourself, what can I change to better communicate with my dog and is what I am asking fair.   When I showed Beck that he could fetch laces, and not put his mouth on stinky feet or poop residue he was fine with it. 

Honor the dog.



We have joined the Blog the Change hop.  This is my contribution for dogs.

Wordless Wednesday

Dopamine drippers

Forgive me readers it has been  two weeks since my last blog post.  The end of school year has been hectic,   and I have been really busy with that thing called life.  Today, the first day of summer, is my parent's SIXTIETH wedding anniversary. On this day 60 years ago, my parents  married, and it was a Tuesday. Maybe Tuesday marriages are the secret to success?


 Excuses for not blogging in no particular order. School getting out and all that went with it, kids hogging my computer, parent's anniversary party last weekend, freelance writing projects, and  foster pups!  I placed 3 fosters in the last two weeks and currently have 2 foster siblings right now from Canine Commitment.

Now that school is out, we are  slowing  that life train down just a bit, and making extra time to  cuddle the pups.  Sister's Millie and Maggie are two very sweet pups and I mean sweet sweet sweet sweet. We just got Maggie a few days ago, but Millie has been here for  2 weeks. She has interested parties and will most likely be gone in just a few days.  (sad face!) Millie is a pup who we will all be sad to see go.  We wished that she could stay forever. Not only is she adorable, but she is sweet (redundant--- I know) and clever and cuddly.  She is just about 4 months old. If she was going to stay this size, I don't think we  could have resisted her charms.
I took Millie downtown  Sunday morning to my outdoor brunch training class, and a photographer asked to take my picture for a project he is working on, a hundred strangers in a hundred days.

Isn't she the cutiest?  A friend in training class said that Milie is like having "your own personal dopamine drip." yup.

And having two little sweeties in the house all cuddled and snuggled together, induces a contact high.  Not the trippy, magic mushroom, LSD kind of high, more like a Calgon,  serenity now, peaceful kind of high.

File under , another good reason that you should foster dogs. Free drugs!

8 month old Chunks, an Autism Assist Service Dog's Journey

 Chunks at his first Dog Powered outing.
 Sebago Brewery 5/3/2011

Eight month old Golden Retriever Chunks has been coming to Gooddogz Training classes  since he was  9 weeks old.  Chunks lives with his two autistic kids, and the hope is that he will be a service dog for one of them.  The family contacted me when they were considering adding a dog.  At that time  I advised them how difficult it is to train your own service dog and suggested they contact  service dogs organization like  NEADS in Ma.  Like many programs, NEADS requires that you train at their facility for a few  weeks prior to graduation for concentrated training.  It has been my experience that many working families with young kids cannot commit to this. It is especially difficult for busy parents.  I have had a few families try to train their own Autism Assist dog for their kids, and in all cases the families didn't realize just how much time and work was involved. Ultimately the dogs were not granted public access, but in all cases the dogs helped the children pretty much straight  away with  therapies, and especially sleep routines.  As a trainer, Mom,  and animal lover it is hugely rewarding to work with families and help them to utilize dogs to help kids.
The canine/human bond never ceases to amaze.

Chunk's family was set on getting and training their own puppy, and I was not successful in swaying them to get a trained dog from a  service dog organization.  The family was set,  and ready for,  and wanted a  puppy.  Many people do not want to wait the often 2 years for a trained service dog.  It should be noted here that most service dog organizations are much more affordable than people think,  and many have  funding available.

Many people who have met Chunks  have  asked me if it is  necessary for dogs to bond with special needs kids as puppies to be successful.  There are service dog organizations who place fully trained dogs with children and there are also organizations who introduce dogs to their  families at young ages.  Those dogs often spend huge quantities of time with their kids, and the transition is gradual from puppy raiser home to forever homes. Raising a dog for Autistic kids has it's challenges. One of the many challenges of a service dog for an autistic is child is that  many of the kids are prone to outbursts and dogs need to be  acclimated to often unpredictable behavior .  Bottom line is that you need a dog with a rock steady temperament, who is task trained, with a very high level of training and socialization. These are very big paws to fill and as with life, there are many paths that you could take to get to your ultimate destination.

I am not going to lie, Chunks is goofy. He is big and sweet and well, goofy!  Chunks' time in training classes  had up until very recently been spent mostly  socializing, and  teaching his Mom how to handle him and to teach and reach him .  I have offered to take Chunks for extended periods of time, but as is often the case, the dog is already an integral part of his kid's daily lives and routines.   Ideally I would like to see him leave his home for a bit for concentrated training, but all I can do is suggest it. Chunks is doing well, but a kid's service dog is a huge job and I can't stress enough how much training a dog would need to be successful.  (Of course I know his family is reading this!  *waves hello*)

I have written before about Dog Powered, a Maine  group of service dog owners who offer each other a lot of support. Dog Powered usually meets one time a month for training and a group outing.  I have been privileged to be a part of their group for several years now,  I have brought several of my client's service dogs, and have also helped them with their specialized training issues. This past Friday, I attended their monthly meeting with both of my  trainer hats on to  help the group with distraction training. I was  thrilled that Chunks could attend. Chunks' Mom dropped him off in the morning on her way to work, and  his Dad picked him up after lunch at his first restaurant outing at Sebago Brewing .  To say I was proud of Chunks would be an understatement.

Chunks started out goofy and within about 10 or fifteen minutes he was pretty chill and working.  I think the one thing that I will never forget (besides Friday the super cute Golden puppy), is that halfway through our meal, the staff seated AN INFANT at the next table.

That baby was so close to him that the diaper bag hit him in the butt!  All I could think of was "wow! we really fooled them!" But it wasn't that we fooled them, under Maine law Chunks had every right to be in the restaurant. He is like the big kid at the playground that everyone thinks is older and expects greater things of. Chunks held his down stay pretty much for the entire hour.   Chunks big thing (all dogs have something right?) is that he LOVES kids.  I could visualize him getting up and slurping that baby big time.  Of course I did not let that happen, but if  I was that Mom, I may  have asked for a different table. Among ourselves, we discussed moving Chunks, but we let it all play out and well, all well that ends well right?  Chunks did what all good service dogs are supposed to do in public, and  ignored  them.

Good boys Chunks and Tom

Product Review: Kurgo Back Pack from In Style Dog

A few weeks ago I  was contacted by newcomer In Style Dog, and asked if I would like to test a few of their products. Of course I said yes!  My kids and I loved our shopping spree.  The web site is easy to navigate, prices are good, shipping is free, and the product quality is excellent.

I wrote about the crate insert that Beck took out of the crate and brought to my king size bed.  Not one to be left out,  Finney, our Smooth Collie did a great job product testing the Kurgo  Wander Pack.  One of the things I love about this product is that it fits dogs from 30 to 80 pounds, which is  the majority of dogs that I work with.  The back pack fit both of my dogs well, along with all several fosters, and friend's  dogs that we tried it on, with easy,  minor adjustments to the straps.

Of all the dogs who have worn it, Finn seemed to thrive the most.  Maybe it because  he is after all bred to work, but he did seem filled with pride when he wore the pack and had a job to do.   Many  people use back packs for dogs who need a little extra work, but Finn's needs are all pretty much met.

He just likes wearing it.

Finn wore the back pack this weekend to Spay ME's event Pet Rock at  Deering Oaks Park.  The event raised money for free and low cost spay and neuter for the state of Maine, and Finn loved that people stopped and told him how handsome he was, and admired his back pack  all day long.   He carried pick up bags, extra treats and my daughters stuffed toy that she got at the event.

Here is Finn waiting patiently for me to come out.

Finn carried pick up bags, a long line,
 two bags of treats and my kid's stuff toy.

Finn found the back pack comfy
even when laying down and jonesin' for treats
 from the nice folks at the Spay ME booth.  

Rolling Stones tribute band Sticky Fingers with Bobbie  Keys on Sax,
 brought a good size  crowd to the event
 even though it was s FREEZING out.


The Kurgo Wander Pack is well worth the sale price of $29.95 with free shipping from In Style Dog.  Since our shopping spree last month, In Style Dog has  added lots of new products.


Check them out! 


4 paws up! 

A perk of having a sweet dog loving kiddo

Purple just happens to be both Heather and Starrie's color!
And no they didn't check with each other first to see what the other was wearing. 

My youngest came to Rally-O class with me this past Saturday.  She loves to come to work with me on any given day, but she loved this past weekend.   That's Starrie in her lap. Her young Italian Greyhound brother  trains with me most Saturdays, and their owner didn't feel right about leaving Starrie home, as she had been a bit under the weather.  Nothing contagious, no worries there.
 Eleven year old super sweet  Starrie had stopped eating for just a short time, but dropped over a pound. That is a lot for a dog who doesn't weigh very much.   Starrie had been to the vet and seemed to be slowly on the mend, but her human just didn't feel right leaving her home.

I offered my youngest to sit,( literally)  for Starrie.  For close to the full hour.  Starrie and Heather snuggled on that chair and  had a mega love fest.  Heather offered bits of Natural Balance that Starrie  accepted and  the great news that when Starrie got home, she ate!

Heather reports that Starrie is one of her favorite dog ever.

We all think Starrie ate because she was happy and that Heather helped to stimulate the  healing  process.

Do you know the subtle cues you are giving your dogs?

The photo of Finnegan looking at me was taken while I was walking off leash. One minute the dog was running with the other dogs, the next minute he was glued to my side in a near perfect heel.  What I did to get my dog to me at heel was totally unintentional.  Can you guess what  it may have been?
I will give you a moment to think it over.


Lets go on to  Beck for a second.  Last weekend Beck met my parents for the first time.  They both put him through his paces.
"Sit." Sure no problem.
"Paw".  Nope I am saving that for when he is a little older and wiser. Although I have taught him to paw an object like the Easy Button.  Give paw can be a really obnoxious default behavior, so I often stay away from it with immature dogs.
"Beck lay down".  Nothing. They both then  pointed  to the ground, then dropped their hand all the way to the ground.  I stopped them before they lured him with a cookie.
They both gave me the I thought you were a dog trainer look.  Dropping their hand  to the ground got Beck's nose on their hand. They told him to hand target!


As a trainer, I should hope I have learned and evolved over time. Beck's down has been shaped.  I am thinking ahead to agility and being able to send him to the table and having him do a flying down stay.  Beck's cue for down is the cue  "down" said while looking at he ground. Parents were duly impressed I think.  With my new dog I am trying really hard to stay out of "Lurer's Anonymous." When we teach with lures and don't fade them  straight away, it is a hard fix. So much easier to teach it right from  the get go. We don't want to inadvertently teach our dogs to be "relurant" That is a sniglet I invented by the way. It means reliant on a lure.

When I taught Finney to lay down, it took me months of frustration. Dog would lay down fine at home and often it took quite a while to get a down in public.  I had it all wrong. At home I was saying "Finney, ready Down." In public, it turns out I was skipping the "ready" and he thought it was one big game of Nancy says. No "ready", no down for my Collie.  He doesn't like to be  wrong, and will choose a default watch me over taking risks.  Lesson learned for me.

I catch people in class giving subtle cues all the time without realizing it. Think your dog knows sit? Try asking while sitting down, or turned around, or from across a room using no hand gestures. Think your dog is downing just from your verbal cue?. Try your hands at your side, your eyes straight ahead and no bending at the waist.  Can you tell your dog to stay and pick something up off the floor, or will your dog think that is a cue for "come"?  I could go on, and I am sure you can think of a few that you have observed in yourself and in others.  \

Did you guess why Finney came to heel in the woods?  I was cold and I put my  hand in my pocket.  His heel cue is my left hand in my belly.

cartoon from   http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+lured_postcards_package_of_8,22286767

Walking it -Red neck agility

Beck starts formal agility today and I am excited!  He dropped into a class last week and did really well, but that class was over his baby head a bit, so we  are starting at the beginning and taking Foundations.  Beck has taken to agility quite easily and we have started foundation work at home already. He  has been walking through ladders on the ground, nose targeting lids, playing 101 things to do with a  box, and banging  wobble boards. Beck has jumps in the yard and we are working on  the  table obstacle on beds.  But my most favorite place to play agility is in the woods.

Yee haa! It's red neck agility! 

Beck knows the term "walk it" means just that - get on and go. He has learned to shift his weight down, back,  and low and has no trouble turning around. Turning around is an important skill so dogs don't jump off and get hurt. The fact that he nailed turning around easily and willingly shows that yup, my dog is  agile!   Beck gets a lot of treats on the logs  and quickly developed a love of walk it.  If you try it, be sure to use a log that is  low to the ground so your dog doesn't get hurt if they jump off.  First thing to teach is to get on and off safely.

Foster pup DeeDee (Delilah from Canine Commitment), has earned her off leash privledge.

See why we call her "Bowling Ball Head?" 

 Think it looks like she is having a good time with us?

Beck says, "ya baby good times!"

Good news --Pictures telling their stories

We had a good size computer malfunction here. Not really sure what caused it, but I think I am just going to go ahead and blame the kids. Why not right?  After all they break everything else. 

A lot has happened during  that time -too much to write about, but still I want to share, so I will tell the story in pictures  with  little wording.

Most important is that after spending a week or so with Poppy during April vacation, she was cleared by myself and Greely Middle School to go back to school with her boy Jack.
Woot!

In other news, Valli was adopted by a wonderful family who are totally committed to helping her with her skin issues.  Looks like they will be feeding her raw even.  Valli was a joy to foster. I will miss her gorgeous eyes, expressive ears and her overall wonderfulness.  She is a super lucky dog!!   It does feel good to know that the dog would have lived a life of misery without my help.  However, I am done "trolling" for dogs. There are enough needy dogs out there already without picking needles in hay stacks.

My son went to his girlfriend's prom.  While that is a big deal and a milestone for any family, my son has a complex cardiac defect (CHD) and had 5 heart surgeries before he was 2 and a half years old . He is a walking miracle of medical science and let me tell you it was a really big deal.  18 years ago I never saw this day coming.  He has had a Fontan operation and basically only has 2 chambers in his heart. 

Can I have a big WOOT for medical science? 

And yet there's more!

After a harsh winter, lots and lots and lots of rain, spring finally showed up at my house. It brought a shitload of mud to, but we are trying to stay in our a happy place today. So we won't mention that.

Meet Friday!!!  Hopefully Friday will by my friend Suzan's new service dog.

 

AAAWWWWW!!!

New kid on the block Beck is a blast.  That dog is learning everything so fast.  In between learning new tricks and agility, Beck is giving me a run for my money and pushing my training skills to the limit.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

I have not had the chance to get many pics of our new foster dog Delilah.  DD  loves my composted compost  pile and thinks it is her own personal sand box.    She is a  6 month old American Shelter dog with a high toy drive. Mostly likley she has some Shepherd in there.  DD and Beck play rough and tumble dog games really  well and she is a sweetheart of a dog. 

Oh and one last thing Osama Bin Laden is dead. Last night was one of those historical moments where we will all look back and remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.  I like many many people heard it on  first on Tweet Deck .

 Social Media is here to stay.

Follow @gooddogz

Wordless Wednesday - Poppy's tuning up

Teach your dog a quick trick -- Say Your Prayers

First you will need to teach your dog to put their "paws up" on something. I teach my dog to stand up on a horse feed bucket, which is very useful for teaching a myriad of tricks and behaviors

They cost 10 bucks at a feed store. Worth it. A local trainer tricks out a clementine box and makes it no slip, by gluing bits of rug on the bottom corners and remnants of rug on the top. You can also use a step stool, books, weighted five gallon bucket, and even the soon to be extinct phone book. Use your imagination.

I freeshape putting paws up with a clicker but you could also use your voice as a marker.
Remember whenever you use a food lure -food in front of the dog's nose, you need to fade it as quick as possible so the dog does not get reliant on the lure.


One day in class I had a slip and called it Relurant. Don't you love my new training word? Don't let your dog get relurant! Freeshaping is wonderful tool, plus it teaches your dog how to think and problem solve, and I think it makes for a more fun partnership.

After your dog is comfortable putting their paws on something, take it different places. If you are using a base that is not stable and it moves our from under your dog's feet, be sure to throw them a party. Lots of happy talk and lots of treat rewards. Things that wobble are good for building trust, brave dogs, and future agility dogs and skateboarders! But for some dogs, they will shut down if the base moves, so choose your base wisely. Base choice will also depend on the height of your dog for this trick. 



Now here is the key part. Put food in both of your hands. Feed the dog a treat, or just get him interested with your hand that is furthest away from the dog to keep him busy, while you slip your other hand with food up between his paws and lure the dog's head down between their legs. Feed feed feed with the dog's head lowered!! Remember behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated. This trick is a trickier than most to fade the lure. Start naming this trick just before the food appears between their paws and they will start looking for it in short time. You will click this, and soon will be clicking for increased durations of head between front legs. You may find your dog's front leg closest to you moves onto your hand. This is ok, only for the first  few times. 


You don't need to call this trick say your prayers if you don't want to. Where are you? Want to go to the Vet? Who wants a bath? Be creative. Some of my favorite tricks are simple behaviors with hilarious names.


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update 5/9
Here is Beck making progress. At this stage he has offering the behavior without a lure. I am rewarding him  between his front legs to strengthen the behavior. He pretty much has the trick on cue, now we are working towards longer durations.

Good dog Beck!




 
 
This post is dedicated to  Mel. Good luck teaching this trick to your clever dog walking client.