The content:
- why: 10 positive side-effects of teaching tricks
- how: general explanation on how to teach whatever trick you want
- step by step instructions how to teach 10 tricks, from basic to advanced ones
- trouble shooting (dog not offering anything, dog not motivated, dog too excited, getting stuck somewhere etc.)
The trailer:
Tricks for a great bond trailer
Ordering options:
1. download the video - file is 800Mb big (2h on a 1.024Mbs line).
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2. DVD version (8 eur for shipping).
Hi, I have your DVD tricks for a great bond (and tricks for better thinking skills). We’ve been working (well… playing :D) through the tricks on the first video but I am very much stuck at 9 and 10… I’ve never really managed to teach Terra a proper take and hold that is important in many tricks. What we do have is the objekt into bowl from puppy class, but it is kind of hectic and he tends to drop it atleast once before he gets it right. He dosn’t really carry it even if he needs to move it a distance, he takes it, throws it towards the bowl and then goes there and puts it in. We have also tried just having an objekt on the floor and shaping but we never manage to get ANY duration on the hold. He just takes and drops it right away. I tried shaping it while holding the objekt and I got a take and a nice pull. Well I think I shaped tugging without thinking about it but the second I let go of the toy he lets go too. I tried it with the tail and yes I got mouthing, a short take (as trying to pick up his tail ;)) but no duration as expected. I would appreciate some thoughts… It’s kind of a biggie for uss. It took a loooong time to get Leevi holding an objekt, for him what worked was asking for a take and right after for a stay while keeping eyecontact, I’ve thied this too but no luck. Just drops it. It beeing any objekt. It’s also a biggie since I’m thinking about competing in obediance and I think this understanding could help him in a formal retrieve…
Well, he really liked to play in puppy class, so I guess this should be easy if he didn’t expect food reward. So only use tugging for a reward for a hold first. You can try tugging with a really long rope and in between, do some running around, holding one part of a toy while he holds the other. You can put a constant pressure on it first if he releases otherwise, but then slowly loosen it up so that he holds a loose rope, running after you. Once he can do that, try some running, then tug, then loosen a rope, ask him for something easy, like a sit or down and for a reward, go directly into tugging. Slowly add time before going into tugging after you ask him for a sit. If he releases a toy, take it away (you hold the other part for now, so you can easily “steal” it if he lets it go). If he holds on it, go into tugging. Once he gets the game, name it. Switch to other objects next, those you can’t hold anymore, but you can still play with to start with. Once he is fine with that too and understands the concept, you will soon be able to progress to rewarding with food too, for holding objects you can’t play with (like a tail 🙂 ). Hope that helps!
Tat’s recent trick she learned from one of your DVDs 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂 That was too funny! Tat sure seems to love the trick! And wow, she did some growing since the last video!
Hi Silvia!
I wanted to share our video, it is Terra showing off tricks 1-8 from “tricks for a great bond” :). I think he looks very cute (of course) <3. Some of the video is atleast half a year old cause I started this a long time ago and just forgot to finish it lol :). We are still working on tricks 9 and 10. We got over our initiall problem of confusion over duration but I accidentally managed to train a "grab your tail and spin in circles" or when he is in the mood: "grab your tail and play keepaway"! :D. It looks adorable so I don't mind, should tape that one too… #10 to Terra means "grab da mamas fingers whan she's trying to hold my paw" yeah, he decided it was safer to mouth my fingers than his own paws 🙂
That sure was extra cute! Great job! Loved the vaults and saying yes and no! Too funny when you’re saying yes and he is saying no 🙂 🙂 🙂 Grabbing their own paw often doesn’t make any sense to them, but well, I’m sure he will get that one too!
Silvia, My dog is showing stress when entering the agility ring and she refuses to run even though she enjoys running in training. I am teaching tricks now to build her confidence and to help her learn how to work through her stress. I have your Ready Steady Go DVD, but now would like to get one with tricks. Which one would you recommend? Love your training methods and your enthusiasm. I know that with using your methods, my little Mia will get over that stress issue. Thanks so much!
My favourite tricks video is Thinking Tricks, but the other two cover more active tricks that you could use before the start as happy tricks. Maybe Tricks for balance, strength and coordination would be best as many of the tricks are useful for both physical and mental warm up before the start. I’m sure she will get over the stress issue, it just takes lots of patience. -- Great for building a really great bond!
Hi Silvia,
I would like to buy your “Tricks for balance, strength and coordination”- Dvd, but first I’d like to know if the tricks containing hind feet work are explained from the beginning because my dog has huge problems using her hind feet.
And I have no clue how to start those exercises.
Or is there any other Dvd showing these aspects?
Eva & Hatcher
Yes, all the tricks are explained from step one, I’m showing beginning steps with Le when she was 2 months and just starting off. So this DVD is the right choice for teaching hind feet awareness.
Hi Silvia! I have an one year old and he knows some basic tricks already, but I am going into agility with him in August and would like to know which one of your DVD’s would suit us best.
He paws me all the time to get attention, but doesn’t really tug on toys. He is often focussed on me, but is easily distracted by my other dogs running by and he is a bit sensitive.
Thank you
Well, most agility related videos would be Ready-Steady-GO! and Cik&Cap. From tricks videos, Trick for balance, strength and coordination are great as preparation for agility too. But of course, any trick is actually a great preparation for agility! I would probably recommend Tricks for balance, strength and coordination and Ready-Steady-GO! to start with.
Thank you
Hi Silvia!
Just to let you know I’ve received my tricks DVDs and love them! My agility students always go back home with quite a lot of lolabuland “homework” (or should I say “homeplay”! 😉 ) and not only does it improve their dogs’ motivation, flexibility and balance, but it also enables them to work on their clicker training skills (most of them are new to clicker training!).
Anyway, I have a question about the “fetch your tail” trick. Infact my beagle used to offer it by herself just to attract attention when begging for food, so I captured it quite a lot of times and tried to name it. Only when in another situation (i-e not begging food at the table, but really working) she won’t do it, so I assume she did not transfer it, nor does she understand the command. And what’s more, now that I’ve reinforced her for it at the table, she litterally persters us when we eat making funny noises and grabbing her tail for the whole meal (even when we try to ignore her!). So I am obliged to ask her for a down-stay, because I feel she’s becoming too “pushy” (as a beagle she’s quite a willful little one! 🙂 ) but I don’t want to loose her impulse to try and do things (she just LOVES shaping), as I don’t want to loose her behaviour of grabbing her tail (it’s really too cute!), but I can’t seem to be able to put it under stimulus control!
Would you advise re-shaping the trick completely as you show in the “tricks for a great bond video”? Or keep on capturing-reinforcing it? Or both?
I’d love to have your opinion on this…
Thanks a lot!
Love from France!
Marie
Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear you liked the DVDs! Since catching her tail seems to be some kind of obsessive behaviour for her, I probably wouldn’t be capturing it as it just reinforces it further -- as you noticed already. So keep practising down when you eat so that you can reward for appropriate behaviour and teach catching the tail as a shaping trick, from zero. At one point, she will connect the two and you will be able to progress faster from that pint on, but she will have a different attitude towards it then, so I think it’s safer to go that way. Have fun!
Ok, so I’ll try and command the “fetch your tail” when we eat before she proposes it herself (my husband will go berserk! LOL!) and at the same time free shaping it during clicker sessions! Got it!
Just one more thing: when she does it, she always grabs her tail turning to her right (like Bi in your video) but never to the left. As it’s a trick she offered by herself I guess it’s the side she’s more comfortable turning to (although I didn’t really notice this when she learned to spin both sides, she’s fine turning either right or left). But as you insist in all your videos on working the dog on both sides always for flexibility tricks, when re-shaping the trick, should I go for “left side grabbing” as well?
Sorry to bother you with such details, I’m actually freaking out because she’s got that important national finals in a month (she runs with my husband) and I’m the (un)official health and fitness coach! 😉
Anyways thanks for the tip, and the speedy answer, as always! 😀
Good luck for the trial! And yes, I always teach both sides when using tricks for conditioning and doing them a lot. I didn’t teach grabbing a tail on both sides because it’s not something we would do a lot at all: I trained it and we’ll do it occasionally just for fun, but not often at all, so it can’t really affect her left vs. right balance. But of course, you could teach both, why not!?!
Thanks!
Ok, I thought as much when watching your video, but just wanted to check! I’ll try and teach it both sides eventually! She’s such a smart one she still amazes me at 6 years old! Who said hunting dogs are untrainable?! LOL!
Anyways thank you ever so much for the advice!
Love,
Marie
Dear Silvia,
Just to tell you that our beagle did great at the national championship, performing all her runs penalty-free and missing the third place only by 0.70s in the middle of a crowd of shelties and pyrsheps. We’re so very proud of her, but it’s also thanks to your amazing tricks that she never knocked a bar or missed a contact, so thanks!!! 🙂
Love,
Marie
Wow, congratulations!!! That’s a really GREAT achievement!!! Wow!
Thanks! 😀
She really is a special little one! So like any beagle at home, an independent, stubborn, sniffy little thief, but when we get the clicker out she turns absolutely brilliant, soooo easy and fast to train!
Just to give you an example of her “Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde” kind of personnality, this weekend at a trial, she managed to roll into a cow dung saturday night when we arrived…and win 3 runs on 4 on sunday… Typical beagle, yet so gifted, how can we scold her?! LOL!
Silvia,
We have an 11 week old toy poodle puppy. We plan on teaching her agility at some point. Which DVD would be the best puppy training -- particularly for this small of dog (she weighs 1 kg).
Thanks
Dave
With future agility dogs, I definitely focus on Tricks for balance, strength and coordination. I mix in some Thinking Tricks too, but balance and coordination is sure extra important for future agility dogs!
Hi, I have a 6 mth papillon. Are tricks for Balance and Coordination possible to do with her, or she is too young and I should attend her to puppy class in autumn instead?
Would you recommend any other tricks video?
She knows a few tricks (sit, lay down, bag, shy, hide, left, gimme 5, tap the target and wait) and just tap the target was shaped, but now we shape every day one simple trick, for example with both paws on the ball or sth like that, to get her to understand shaping quicker.
from 1:27 on are some tricks.
And one more question, we have some problems with recall, she don’t look at me outside, and I have to produce weird voices to her to look at me, and than enthusiastically praise and encourage her to come, and than se run to me. Should I start working on attention and teach look at me? 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I start with tricks for balance, strength and coordination at 8 weeks -- with moderation of course, so yes, that’s a good video to start with. Tricks for a great bond is a good one for starting too.
She doesn’t need to look at you the whole walk, she needs to run around and be a dog too! But of course, you want her to respond when called, so train a recall with less distractions first until she connects it with something extra cool and then SLOWLY add distractions and still reinforce it A LOT with her favourite treats/toys. Try running away too to make it a fun chasing game.
She is very cute with her tricks!!!