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:
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.
Hi Silvia, here come a video of our second session with the box. Your previous tips were really helpful Silvia. Now Snarf actually went near the box and stepped in after a little while! 🙂 Any ideas on how we can speed up the process with the box even more, or should we just keep going like we’re doing right now?
Also, I included our attempt at the froggie. It’s really bad, but I’d love some feedback on how to improve!
I should add that the word “Slut” at the end means “The end” in Swedish… 🙂
Ah, o.k., thanks for the translation 🙂
I can’t see this video. It says “unavailable”.
Sorry, I don’t know why it doesn’t work. It works when you click inside the frame, in the black area to watch in on YouTube though!
Yes, that’s how I had to watch it too, not sure what’s the problem…
Great, he looks much more comfortable with this box now! Just keep working like this, I think you’ll get 4in soon. If you had a bigger box like this, it would speed the process up though. Once he gets it on those boxes, don’t forget to go back to the scary ones too and see if he is more confident about those too. Frog can be a difficult one yes, it’s physically really hard for some dogs. With Bu, I had to teach it in “dead dog” (lying on the side) first. But I wouldn’t give up after a first session just yet -- do a couple of more and see if it’s getting you anywhere or not and if not, try it when lying on the side. Does he ever do it in normal life?
Today session on 4in for Kalhy. I introduced a smaller box. I guess it was really difficult physically for her. There’s not enough place to put her four paws at the bottom of the box. Bonus trick at the end 🙂
(No sound because my boyfriend was talking)
What a cute pup!
Her balance is sure AMAZING! And she is trying really hard with that smaller bowl too, what a good puppy! You can see here how 4in is related to handstand: Kalhy is really balancing on front legs only to get hind feet in too. And she did it! Too cute with puppy-in-the-bag trick too!
Thank Silvia! I think it prepares them to handstand as it develops muscles. I guess I will continue to do this trick just for that. Is it too hard for a young puppy or not?
(I’m asking this question beacause my boy friend told me “stop stop she’s pulling on is back, it will hurt her!” and I want to reassure him on this point)
Yes, it’s a good trick for puppies. But of course, as with everything, don’t overdo it! Too many repetitions every day of just about anything is not good! -- Three of four of about anything is good 🙂 You need to challenge them, but not overdo it to the point they would be sore after.
Many thanks for this answer 😀 (I admit you reassure me too 😉 ).
I decided to add another one of my dogs to this course. My pup is so different from the rest of my crew that our challenges are different. Here is a short clip of where Trumpet is at right now. The video quality is not the best; I’ll try not to cut off the top half next time, lol. Frog dog was very easy to teach this dog because as a pup he was always in this position, and most of his kids do the frog dog on their own as well. So I added a “flex” cue to get him to flex his thigh muscles :-).
I’m thinking of adding my other dog too. 🙂
That’s a really cool frog and I loved the muscles flexing too! Very cute paw touches and getting there with 4in. I would keep this box for a little while as his balance is somewhat challenged when he puts all 4 feet in, so I would work on that first, adding some duration to 4in in this box and then switching to a smaller one. I see Tat looks very interested too, does it help any with her enthusiasm if you work with Trumpet first and then switch to her? I also sometimes do some easy tricks they know already with more of them out, they seem to learn a happy attitude from other dogs really quickly.
Okay, I’ll work on more duration to help his balance. He is sometimes frenzied when we’re shaping.
I always work Tat first and last so she gets two sessions (working different things) and I do like to set her up where she can watch me work the other dogs. I’m not sure if it helps her enthusiasm yet (her level of enthusiasm seems to depend on what we’re working on). But all my dogs get crated when I’m training one dog at a time because they turn into screaming maniacs wanting their turn. I’m sure this will happen to Tat with time. The jealousy factor does wonders for motivation 🙂
🙂 I agree--the jealousy factor does wonders for motivation!!! Zephyr was not motivated at all when I first started this class but watching me work with my other dogs has made a huge difference! Now they all want it to be their turn! 🙂 …and now I have to turn the volume down when watching everyone’s videos 🙂 Zephyr goes wild when he hears the clicker- thinking we’re going to work! 🙂
Silvia, I have a general question. In this course, is the goal to obtain the 100% finished behavior at the end of each 2-week lesson? Or are we just starting the behavior, and will continue with some of the same tricks in later weeks?
For example, should we have 4-feet-in-a-small-bowl trick FNISHED for Oct. 31st? Or are we just supposed to get 4-feet-in-a-medium-box this lesson, and use a smaller box next lesson, and use a small bowl after the sixth session? Thanks.
No need to master all the tricks in 2 weeks, of course! You can keep working on them and we’ll be checking the progress here and there.
I just had a wonderful session with my puppy Tat and the 4in. She has been really bored with it lately and really not trying so I didn’t do any of the 4in with her yesterday. Instead I shaped her on different sized balance discs and worked on other stuff. Today she put her 4 feet in right away so I switched to a smaller box and all 4 feet when in there too!! First try! Party!! Now I’m giving her the weekend off and we’ll resume on Monday.
That was an excellent idea, I always give them a break with the trick if things are not going well, meaning they either don’t like it or we’re not progressing. 4on on a balance disc is actually requiring the same thing so it definitely helped with her understanding: maybe ON just made more sense to her as IN. It’s always best to approach the trick from the other side when approaching it from one side is not giving results!
As you can see from the video Wanda can do “frog legs” just on a blanket not on the floor. But, I think is still ok, cause it is really thin. What do you think?
Great job with the frog too! You can name it now and then fade the blanket -- but no hurry.
Hello Silvia,
I have been working a lot with my puppy and i´m very happy because since we began working with the tricks my puppy Trono is VERY interested in me (he is the one who was ALWAYS herding other dogs). He does herds but as soon as I call him, he comes immediately!!! He is very focus in me!!!
I have a question: Yesterday we were doing the 4in in a very small box, but today when we tried to do the trick, he couldn´t made it. I had to use a much bigger box. I´m I doing something wrong?
Great!!! So happy to hear his focus improved so much! When doing 4in in a very small box, they need to balance on their front legs a lot, so it could be he was tired from yesterday and he just couldn’t do it again today. So in cases like this, the best is always to just switch to another trick and leave the problematic one for a couple of days and then try again.
Hi Silvia I did two sessions tonight for the 4 paws in box. I have a selection of progressively smaller boxes to shape towards. I am going to post two videos; one with a white box and one with a smaller black box. I started with a box that was about 16 inches x 11 inches and the black box is about 6 inches by 8 inches now.
Looks ready for the next box from your collection! 🙂 Petey is doing great! You can also mix in some play time to the sessions. For those struggling to find appropriate boxes (not easy with big dogs!): you can also make the old box smaller by putting some newspapers or similar to the sides.
Here is My training the tricks, the frog trick is not learned yet, but hoping that she can… 😀
Katrine, what a sweet, keen, smart puppy. 🙂
What a cute and happy puppy! 🙂 Great focus and enthusiasm! Nice recalls and food ignoring and very cute paw touches! Almost there with 4in, I would keep this box for a session or two and then try a smaller one next. You can also post a frog to see where you are, maybe we can help making it easier! But it can really take a while with dogs who never do it in their normal life.
Silvia,
my puppy loves to tug and she will bring the tug-toy back to me, but she finds it difficult to let go of the toy. She is a terrier. 🙂
When I want the toy back I hold it rigid to the ground and say ‘thank you’ but it takes too long before she lets go. Sometimes she lets go and then grabs it at the other end before I can throw it for her.
Ivana
Would she take a treat? Try offering her a treat when she comes back, say “thank you” as she is releasing the toy, give her a treat AND throw her the toy. If she doesn’t want food when playing, you can try with two toys: show her the other one and reward with a new one for letting the old one go. Once they get the idea that letting it go makes only good things to happen 🙂 you won’t need another toy or treats anymore but I always use either one or another at beginning stages. Hope it helps you too!