Quiet Tricks

[jelly8bean]

Now that we have weeks of quietness ahead of us, I want to keep Indigo from cabin fever with some brain, but not body stimulating. So I'm going to work very hard on her sit/stay, stand/stay and down/stay and then work on adding distance.

Any ideas on how to train other cute tricks? I don't know how to break them down to make it trainable. I have heard of one called "I'm sorry" where they are suppose to laydown and put their paws over their muzzle. Any clues on how to train this? And then I was also wondering how to train a play dead. I've seen a cute youtube where they point a finger at the dobie, say "bang" and the dobie falls right over on its side. Seems quiet in terms of heart rate, but very cute.

[violator]

i have trained my dogs to do all u said the "play dead" is actually really easy, would u like me to talk you through it (i am a dog trainer on and off)

[jelly8bean]

That sounds great.. give me the steps and we will work on execution. I'm a clicker training person with lots of positive treats and reinforcement.

[violator]

ok well i take it your dog is food crazy then, they all are lol...anyway start with the dog sittin infront of you and then get the dog to lie down, give a treat at this point as u wish.

then with your hand rasied (but make sure the dog stays down this is why it is important to have the "down" command perfected before hand) lower your hand to the floor in a clockwise motion while saying "play dead" (or roll over but we will got to that at a later date) the dog wont have a clue what to do so with your other hand gently push the dog onto its side, only gentle pressure is needed...at this point give HUGE praise and cuddles and a few treats ( i dont use clicker training so do what u yourself would do at this point) .

then repeat the excersise and within about ten goes your dog should be doing it by itself, its hard to give exact advice without the dog infront of me but try this if u get stuck or want more advice or wanna learn something else, just ask me i am always about and u can pm me too if u wish, everyone can lol...i dont bite :D

[jelly8bean]

OK. we will give it a go. Clicker training is all about catching the behavior you want and marking it with the click and rewarding. I wasn't sure how to go about getting the initial behavior, but some physical assistance should work fine. I will let you know next week how we are doing.

[violator]

no i know what clicker training is, just saying me personally i do not use it...anyway good luck and if anyone else wants to know anything then just ask, or put up a F.A.O violator post up and i will get back to you...

[Sue J]

jelly: have you tried "gimme five"? Jett got that one in about 3 tries. I just started her on "toy box", she gets a treat or a romp with me every time she puts her toys back in the box. You could certainly clicker on both of these really easy. I love the "I'm sorry" one and might try that one next. Let us know how Indigo progresses and any tips you have on them.

[violator]

"gimme 5" or "paw" is a real easy one, u can advance that to "other paw" and "both paws" then you have that done u can go for "beg"

[jelly8bean]

Yes we already have that one.. I call it "howdy do" and she does either paw. Right now, I just want to work on stuff where her mind has to think but her body doesn't move.

[violator]

hmmmm what about a "kong" or a "maze ball" kind of thing ??

[jelly8bean]

She gets a Kong stuffed with peanut butter and frozen once a day in the crate as a treat. My regular obedience trainer says that the slow stuff is very tiring for them and good brain exercise, and since she does everything at the trot or gallop I guess that is right.

[violator]

yes that is right, they tend to charge at everything head first (mostly literally lol) and having to sit and think "right hang on how do i do this" and think hard about it tires em out mentally.

[violator]

how you getting on ?

[jelly8bean]

Actually pretty good. We are doing, sit, down then I point and say bang and I have gently pushed her over and then treated. She is picking up pretty quick. I repeat about 5 times a day and while it is not reliable and we are still starting with a sit she is paws up in the air and belly showing with the bang command now. So I think in a few weeks we may have it. I'm kind of excited because this is a good trick to show off with friends. :)

[violator]

yeah it is, always gets a giggle, well u seem to be doing just fine, as i said light pressure is all thats needed...well anything you or anyone else wants to know i am happy to help :D

[jelly8bean]

Wow.. she is really getting it now. We are almost up to doing it from the stand. My only problem is that now she is starting to offer this behavior whenever she is not quite certain of what I want. Yes, we ask for the sit/stay.. she sits, then suddenly boom down she goes with feet waving in the air. Ha Ha Ha! Oh well.. we will continue to work on our training (quietly).

[violator]

yes that can happen, the problem you have is your dog wants to please you, and because this is what you have been doing recently the dog thinks this is what you want lol. just have a week or two break then try again...the dog will get it in the end.

[jelly8bean]

I know .... I have been thru this many times. She offers whatever behavior she likes most when she is unsure. If it is really hard she will offer many things, when she its the right combination I say "yes" and click/treat. As with all training it just takes time to confirm the behavior and then more time to proof it against distractions. My rottie is training is Rally obedience and she does some of this as well. Her favorite "trick" is "speak" . So she looks at me hard and if she doesn't get the idea right away , suddenly she puts that nose in the air and "Woof!" . Hee hee.

[violator]

i love "speak" it shows the dogs cheeky side, as if they are shouting at you lol.

[jelly8bean]

Oh yeah.. and that roll of the eye when she looks at me to see if this worked. It makes me laugh and I have to keep a straight face to train the right behavior. I've taught her to whisper as well as speak. Her woof just surprises folks but she likes it so much that I use it to set her up for a course run. :)

[violator]

you should teaching her to "talk" as well as "speak" my dobie talks, people find it hilarious...just another little funny trick to show people.

[jelly8bean]

Actually she is doing so well with the Bang! that I'm going to try to move to something that will help with her selfcontrol. I am going to add a check if she is really dead at the end.. where I can come pick up a paw and she stays down and still. I believe this can help with lots of things since self control is one of her hard spots.

[violator]

training helps in all parts of there life, as i am sure you well know, u are experinced in the breed...but like you know by now, anything you wanna know dont be afraid to ask :D

[Sue J]

Jelly, did Indigo master "bang"? What are you going to try next with her since she's home now?

[jelly8bean]

Yes.. Indigo has "bang" down pretty well, we did some proofing work by showing it to the vet staff (they fell over laughing!). Next we work on the "real dead" where she has to stay still when I come over an lift a paw. Hopefully we can get this in the next two weeks then after 14 days I hope we can start again into the more strict obediance work. So I can get her CGC next go around.

[violator]

glad to hear it honey, and good luck.

[SnuzerDog]

Yes.. Indigo has "bang" down pretty well, we did some proofing work by showing it to the vet staff (they fell over laughing!). Next we work on the "real dead" where she has to stay still when I come over an lift a paw. Hopefully we can get this in the next two weeks then after 14 days I hope we can start again into the more strict obediance work. So I can get her CGC next go around.

Jelly, any chance you could post a short video to youtube of this? Sounds awesome, would love to see it. :)

[jelly8bean]

I have my 9yr old niece who lives in Louisiana asking the same thing. I just have to get someone over to video it so I can show everyone. But you know as soon as I have someone with a camera, she will likely not do it again. I will try to get something up in the next week.