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Puppy Oct lesson 1

School time for our puppies! Here is your first to-do list.

Just a short note first: there are lots of tasks waiting for you in this class as I like to keep it interesting also for those dogs who already know some of the tricks. HOWEVER, make sure you're not focusing on teaching too much as fast as possible, to the degree of trying to help/lure - but instead take the time and focus on the fun part. In order not to make you feel under pressure, I will be underlining the tasks you should focus on in each lesson. The rest you can do if the underlined exercises are going well, but we don't need those for the next lesson, so it doesn't hurt if you address those later.

1.  The first task might sound a little silly for those with adult dogs, but in fact, it's never silly to make a recall even better! Call your dog at least 10 times a day to do something fun together: to play, to go out, to get a treat, something to chew on or a new exciting toy

2. put a plate (or another object, but I like to start with a plate as puppies can't chew on those too easily) on a floor and shape a puppy to touch it with a front paw: you can first click for head movement in the right direction, then one/two/three steps towards the plate, then stepping over it or close to it and finally for stepping on it

3. sit on a floor and put a fist full of treats or dog's favourite toy right in front of their nose, wait till they stop sniffing and click for anything they try other than getting directly to the food/toy or staring at it. It's very important the dog understands staring at food/toy doesn't get him anywhere as it will later on allow you to work with food/toys in your hand without distracting the dog's focus from the job at hand.

4. find a box or a drawer that is as long as your dog and not too high and shape a dog to put 1-2-3-4 legs into it. Then try with smaller&smaller objects, final goal is the dog can stand with all 4 feet in a small bowl.

5. observe your puppy and see if he sometimes stretches his legs out when in down position, puppies often do that when relaxed or playing. Name it (I call it "frog":) and reward. It's a nice stretching exercise and very easy to get it on cue if the dog does it naturally (some dogs do it as adults too, but mine didn't and it was much harder to train it as with puppy Le who was doing that naturally). If not, put a dog in a down position and reward from the floor and so far ahead that the dog needs to stretch out to get it - but not so far that he would crawl ahead. Watch the hind legs and click for moving them back OR out, but NOT for crawling step forward. It usually helps if you try to get them stretch over a pillow, like in this video:

Lesson 1 - Frog Legs

Looking forward to see your videos! You can send them in one or more pieces, but keep the total length of the videos sent per lesson under 10min. Don't wait until you master the tricks before sending your videos, just post whatever you're working on for some feedback.


321 Comments

  1. Megan November 6, 2011 at 12:34 Log in to Reply

    Hi Silvia and classmates 🙂
    These are Edge’s tricks so far. I’m having trouble with the “frog” he doesn’t seem to offer his other leg, but after looking at Ivana’s video maybe I need to make the pillow bigger?

    Edge tricks 0002

    Thanks in advance!
    Megan and Edge 🙂

    • Kathy November 6, 2011 at 12:45 Log in to Reply

      OMG! Edge is ADORABLE!!! How old is he?
      Great job with the tricks!

    • Mona November 6, 2011 at 17:38 Log in to Reply

      Wow, very nice. Your Edge is very sweet! 🙂

    • LoLaBu November 6, 2011 at 18:51 Log in to Reply

      Yay for Edge! He is catching up real quick! Great paw touches and very cute puppy sit up! Very good understanding of 4in too, I think he is ready for a smaller box! And his frog is too funny! Bigger pillow might help, but he will also need to lie down straight, they can’t stretch out both legs if lying on one hip. But he sure seems to know it’s about that leg! 🙂

      • Megan November 7, 2011 at 00:54 Log in to Reply

        Thanks Silvia, Kathy and Mona!
        Edge is 12wks 🙂
        He’s a bit of a character, I’m always laughing at him. He’s so serious and thoughtful when I bring the clicker out, but then pretends to be all ferocious when we play tug! too funny 😀
        Will try and get him lying down straight and start over with the “frog” he’s obviously at the “tadpole” stage!! 😛 LOL
        Megan and Edge 🙂

  2. Giusy Nicoletti November 27, 2011 at 22:53 Log in to Reply
    Esercizi Wanda silvia da mandare lezione 1

    • LoLaBu November 28, 2011 at 12:04 Log in to Reply

      Great frog! 🙂

  3. Jennifer December 4, 2011 at 19:07 Log in to Reply

    So, here we are. It’s our 3rd day together, and I think this counts as recall practice 🙂 We will try to start with the clicker in the next couple of days

    for all my new classmates: This is Pre, my 9 week old BC pup 🙂 he’s a little jumping bean

    Pre and the Big Buddy

    • Kathy December 5, 2011 at 15:15 Log in to Reply

      Hi Jen—Pre is ADORABLE!!! And with all his natural jumping ability, maybe his first trick could be the “flea”! 🙂

      • Jennifer December 6, 2011 at 17:01 Log in to Reply

        thanks, Kathy!
        We managed to do 2 minutes with the plate yesterday 🙂
        He got a little scared of the clicker, so I am getting a different one that is not so loud. He sure liked getting food for just playing around 🙂

  4. Esteban December 9, 2011 at 22:57 Log in to Reply

    First video for 2 year old golden Lexi. I got her for agility, but she lacks confidence and speed so I’m hoping to improve our relationship and give her confidence. How long should sessions be usually? Do I need a bigger box? How do you get the dog spinning around the plate--is my reward placement correct? Last question, she scrapes my fingers with her teeth, how can I clicker train a softer mouth without resorting to yelping? Thank you!

    Lexi Clicker Session 1

    • LoLaBu December 9, 2011 at 23:51 Log in to Reply

      I’m sure she will make a great agility dog, she is really nicely, lightly build and is really quick in everything she does, offering lots of action and all! She is learning really quickly too, I was impressed by how soon she offered hind feet into that pretty small box. A bigger one would give you an easier start yes, so you could try that first. She is also offering lots of movement on that target already, so I would help some less with the way you reward, to let her do more thinking on her own. You can reward in the right direction, but then don’t complete the circle with your hand, but just pull it off and wait for her to do the rest.

      I usually start with very short sessions, 2 or 3 minutes, several times a day, but then slowly prolong them and with my adult dogs, I normally do one session per day, for about 15 minutes -- shorter and more might be better, but it’s easier for me that way and they don’t seem to mind 🙂

  5. Jennifer December 11, 2011 at 16:21 Log in to Reply

    2 paws on a plate 🙂

    Pre -- 2 on plate

    • LoLaBu December 11, 2011 at 22:32 Log in to Reply

      Very cute! 🙂 Was that his first session??? You sure got it really fast! You even got some hind feet movement, so you can click&reward that already now too! Great job for such a young puppy!

      • Jennifer December 11, 2011 at 22:55 Log in to Reply

        He is so cute, he could get away with anything right now 🙂 I need to get a better camera angle; I am used to taping the Big Buddy. This was our 3rd session with the clicker. I was clicking for looking at the plate, then one toe 🙂 Also, clicking for not mobbing the food cup. The first 2 sessions he would lay down sometimes or just try to get at the food, so I am glad i got more movement this time.
        It’s still an adjustment period for all of us, but it’s going better.

        • LoLaBu December 11, 2011 at 23:50 Log in to Reply

          Wow, that was amazing for a third ever session! What a clever boy!

  6. Jennifer December 13, 2011 at 22:18 Log in to Reply

    Here is our first session for 4 paws in tub/bowl. Do you think the sides are too high on this tub? He sure knows 2 front paws on a target 🙂

    Pre4in1stSession

    • LoLaBu December 14, 2011 at 13:54 Log in to Reply

      His focus for such a young puppy is just amazing, I’m really impressed! And what a quick learner, offering walking through the box already! I think the sides are fine, but bigger box to start with would definitely make it easier.

    • Kathy December 15, 2011 at 23:30 Log in to Reply

      Ohhh…Pre is just too cute! And smart too!!! Great job, Jen! Isn’t raising a puppy just the best??? 🙂 Especially when we have this great Puppy Class with Silvia to teach them all kinds of cool stuff!!
      Looking forward to seeing more Pre videos!

  7. Jennifer December 19, 2011 at 20:00 Log in to Reply

    The camera ran out of memory, what a pity! This was a 2 min. session and it went really well with Buddy staying in his chair and Pre getting all 4 paws in the coffee tray 🙂 Well, I am posting anyways so you can see how well your advice on training with 2 dogs worked 🙂
    AND, Pre is eating like a horse and growing like a weed! He is always hungry and still tries to raid the food cup; I took off his leash later when I was sure he was focused

    Pre- 4Paws on a tray (almost)

    • LoLaBu December 19, 2011 at 20:35 Log in to Reply

      What a good boy Buddy is! Great job! And yes, hand feeding produces great food motivation 🙂

  8. Rachel December 23, 2011 at 23:34 Log in to Reply

    Here are Joy and Funky’s first videos doing 4in and 2on. I got stuck with Joy as I started with a box a bit too small plus reinforced her too often for being static with 2 paws in. I had a session with lots of movements and now I feel we can slowly work on changing boxes. Funky already knows both exercises. I am not sure about going smaller. Her 4 paws just fit in the smaller box.

    Funky 4in&2on

    Joy 4in&2on

    • LoLaBu December 24, 2011 at 00:27 Log in to Reply

      Wow, what a great balance Funky has! I guess it really doesn’t get much smaller as that for her size 🙂 Joy seems to understand her job well enough too to move to smaller boxes now yes. I would also progress with a target trick and start with the pivoting, paw crosses and sit ups, to again not reward too long for standing statically on it! I would focus on action tricks with her first anyway, to get her to offer more action and make keeping her focus easier.

  9. Rachel December 26, 2011 at 19:47 Log in to Reply

    Thank you Silvia and sorry for my late reply. The holidays… and having tons of time for a full week devoted to my dogs and cats.
    Pivoting on a perch is a bit similar to 4in -- my fault or bad reinforcement thus creating sticky to static behavior. Didn’t get any further with the box and maybe I should hold off with that behavior for now.
    I just started Joy on crossing front paws (lesson 2) and boy was I in for a surprise. From all my dogs she caught on so nicely, offered me awesome left paw touches. My Malinois have a history of nose touches plus shredding 😉
    The other thing Joy learned today in no time was doing a figure 8 around my legs.
    Just went through Lesson 2 exercises and there is good advice to teach Joy sit pretty. She prefers to do some jumping jack 😉 Awfully cute and I often dance with her on her back hinds but I would like to teach her sit pretty and later a free walking on her hind feet.
    You are right, I have to focus on more action behavior to make it fun for her. After all she does love to work. Sweet girl and sometimes a sweet “devil” my baby. Guess that’s the nice influence of growing up with Malinois 😉

    • LoLaBu December 26, 2011 at 22:21 Log in to Reply

      Yes, it’s very interesting how differently different dogs learn. The same trick can be very difficult for one and very simple for another… I guess that’s what makes dog training so interesting! Looking forward to the next video of tricks that you mastered during holidays! 🙂

  10. WAYNE ARNEIL January 5, 2012 at 21:32 Log in to Reply

    Hi Silvia, I have just signed up today for your October Puppy Class.Will I only have access to the class and notes until the end of January 2012??????

    • LoLaBu January 5, 2012 at 21:50 Log in to Reply

      No, the material stays on, so you’ll be able to review it any time you want -- but only post questions until end of January. If you prefer to audit February class instead, I can switch you there. -- It’s as you prefer, just let me know!

      • WAYNE ARNEIL January 5, 2012 at 21:55 Log in to Reply

        It’s fine thanks, I will stay with the October class, thank you.


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sialaSilvia Trkman is known for bringing every dog, from her first dog on, to the very top of the sport. Her dogs are known for great speed, tight turns, running contacts and long and injury-free careers. Silvia is in agility since 1992 and is
– 3x World Champion (with two different dogs)
– 5x European Open winner, with 4 different dogs (Lo, La, Bu, Le)!!!
– National Championships podium and World Team member with every dog she’s ever had
– National Champion for 22-times (with 5 different dogs of 3 different breeds)

– World Team member for 19-times (mostly with at least two dogs at the time – sometimes four 🙂 )

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