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Tricks

I teach my dogs pretty much everything they need to know via tricks. Afterall, agility, obedience, tracking, disc dog... - it's all just another dog trick.

Tricks train them to think, to use their body and mind. Tricks teach them that there is no difference between working and playing and gives them the right attitude. Teaching tricks teaches them that they’re the smartest dogs in the world, that there are no mistakes and no failure, that trying things is good. Tricks give them confidence in their thinking abilities and moves, improve their strength, balance and coordination. Tricks build a bond between me and them and create a deeper understanding for them how I think and for me how they think. Tricks make them feel important, smart, confident, needed and bonded with me.

Tricks are very important for young dogs as they learn to use their body and mind that way. They're also great for cross training of competing dogs, it keeps all the muscle active and strong and prevents injuries. And it's especially great for old dogs, as tricks keep them mentally and physically active and that's what keeps them young and healthy.

AND they don't take much time, space or equipment, so you don't have any excuse not to teach some tricks to your dog!

Here is the right place to post your videos to give us some ideas, to ask questions on "how to" or ask for a suggestion if you get stuck somewhere on a way.

Here comes one of my favourite videos:

winter tricks

To learn more about tricks, please see my training DVDs on tricks.


216 Comments

  1. Toni-Marie April 16, 2010 at 03:46 Log in to Reply

    How did you teach yours to balance on your feet? I hit it really lucky with Wren because she loves jumping and I just laid down with feet in the air, told her “Up”, and she jumped over my feet touching them with her paws each time so I was able to mark the behaviour of her touching my feet with hers. She wasn’t phased at all with just popping over the top and she made it way too easy for me. Sleet however, is not so confident with jumping high. It took more work to teach her the vault than Wren and I had to lean against a wall for much longer and she’d know if I tried to move away even one inch and would jump like when she skips as opposed to vaulting. I can’t seem to find a way on my own to get her to jump onto my feet. She tries to climb up using my body and dances round in circles with front paws on my feet trying to figure out a way. She seems to know where I want her to be but daren’t jump up. I’ve seen videos where people start the dog off on something higher and one person laying down with their feet against it and another person helping the dog to step onto the feet and balance. I don’t have a second person that I can swindle into helping me in general so it’s a loners job for me, lol. Any tips?

    • LoLaBu April 18, 2010 at 18:41 Log in to Reply

      Wow, Wren is a genius! I worked on it much more gradually, first worked on jumping on small and shaky objects, like those high bar chairs (and everything else I found on the walks). Then I tried with me helping them to jump on somebody else’s feet and only then asked them to jump on mine. I think jumping on other objects would be good for Sleet, maybe you won’t need another person then at all -- or for max. one session.

      • Toni-Marie April 18, 2010 at 22:45 Log in to Reply

        Many thanks for the tips. I’ll have to try and find things for her to jump on….I might also have a job finding another person willing to lay on their back and put their feet in the air. Us dog training types have to be a bit strange like that, hahaaRRR.

        I suppose with the feet trick, you don’t get many dogs like Wren, lol.

        I’ve seen dogs balance on feet when the person is laying on their stomach with legs bent so the feet are much closer to the ground. Perhaps teaching sleet to balance on another persons feet that way before the usual way might help too. I’ll keep you posted.

  2. Toni-Marie April 16, 2010 at 20:10 Log in to Reply

    Hey Silvia. Have you seen the Jay Sisler videos on youtube? Full of tricks that will give you ideas. These are old vids from back in the 50s and 60s so he was quite ahead of his time in dog training. I’d say a lot of that stuff needed to be shaped.
    Mine are currently learning the skip gait that the greyhound does.

    Jay Sisler Home Movies Part 1

  3. Julie April 18, 2010 at 21:37 Log in to Reply

    I love your dog tricks training 🙂
    Here are tricks training video by my tervueren.

    Winter tricks from 8" rel="nofollow">Julie Strøm on Vimeo.

  4. Laura April 19, 2010 at 13:35 Log in to Reply

    Last week we started shaping standing on front feet and it has been alot more easier to 3-year-old chihuahua than 1-year-old bc. Of course it’s a lot more easier to gather a small body and Fanni-chi has more experience=muscles at this point.

    I still need to work on her style. Now she is doing somewhat a half of cartwheel, instead that she would push her back straight to “the wall”.

    " rel="nofollow">Chihuahua Shaping from Laura J. on Vimeo.

    • LoLaBu April 20, 2010 at 11:52 Log in to Reply

      Well, her style is for sure very cute!:)

  5. Diana April 19, 2010 at 22:28 Log in to Reply

    I am so impressed and inspired watching these videos!! I was looking for some different tricks to teach my 3yr old Border Collie. Thanks for the ideas! Awsome site and job!

  6. Mallin & Alfa April 19, 2010 at 22:55 Log in to Reply

    Hi

    I really like your youtube videos. especially the trikcs when they are standing on diagonal feet and on the same side. I have tought my dog to stand on front feet and hind feet and lift back foot up, but I don’t know how I can teach her to lift more than one foot at the same time when it’s not front feet or hind feet?

    Pumi tricks by Twister's Aphrodite (Alfa)

    • LoLaBu April 20, 2010 at 11:57 Log in to Reply

      Seems like you’re on the right path already. Offer her some support (position an object behind her) for that one hind leg she already knows to pick up and then ask for front foot. Eventually, use a wall instead of a real object and then tinier and/or shakier objects (shaky fences, chair legs etc.) so that she can’t lean against it much anymore and learn to balance on her own. Happy training!

  7. Mallin & Alfa April 24, 2010 at 23:00 Log in to Reply

    Just want to show a photo of Alfa when she is standing on her front feet.

    • LoLaBu April 26, 2010 at 12:18 Log in to Reply

      Cool! Only one tip: if you wanted her to be able to hold it without a wall eventually, you need more vertical position, meaning front feet need to be closer to the wall and rewards lower to the ground.

      • Mallin og Alfa April 28, 2010 at 22:40 Log in to Reply

        Thank you for the tips. I’ll try that. Some times when we practise the handstand she does it without the wall, but only for a few sekonds. I’m going to teach her to use my arm as “wall” and then try to remove my arm.

  8. Laura April 25, 2010 at 21:42 Log in to Reply

    Standing on front feet wasn’t that hard afterall for Isla-bc either, the problem was the limited space where we trained. When I started train this trick outside (against big rocks, trees etc) she immediately knew what to do!
    And we are having so much fun!

  9. Laura April 26, 2010 at 16:00 Log in to Reply

    An the video 😉
    " rel="nofollow">Just another trick in the wall from Laura J. on Vimeo.
    And some usual stuff
    " rel="nofollow">Spring tricks 2010 from Laura J. on Vimeo.

  10. Bea April 26, 2010 at 21:51 Log in to Reply

    Great idea this homepage.
    Love your dogs -- all of them. Everytime I need an idea, I watch your dogs.

    This is my slob Yoshi. He is my first dog and I love to work with him. It’s never boring. Teaching him I first had to learn that Yoshi not only do it his way, he also constantly skip some steps and surprise me with his solution.
    So he is a little lousy in details but I didn’t bother. It’s fun for both of us 😉

    Surprise surprise -- you will only see something well known. But hey I start to train skatebording. That’s really funny.


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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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