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Home Pets The Woof
Gang The
WOOF Gang: Trick AND treat

The
WOOF Gang: Trick AND treat

Monday, 26 October 2009 14:15
Laura Garber

Hoboken police love my
dog, Trista. That’s because she plays dead with the flourish and drama of an
opera diva.  Trista is probably the first dog my sister-in-law Lisa has
ever touched; her heart was melted by a big meaty paw offered in a companionable
shake. Kids tend to be scared when her panting reveals a full display of teeth,
but when she becomes a furry acrobat, launching over my leg, little legs pop up
everywhere in invitation.

Tricks are more
than just gimmicks – they are avenues of endearment, especially for large breed
dogs.  They also offer your pooch mental challenge and build confidence.

Laura Garber

“Touch” and Its
Variations:

“Touch” (hand targeting):
Start by putting your flat hand (palm forward) casually to the side of your
dog’s nose.  Remember to mark the very moment his nose touches your hand
with a “yes!”.  Gradually you will notice him touching your hand
purposefully.  Then start holding it farther from him, making him move to
the hand.  Make this a fun game!  When he’s consistently touching his
nose to the flat hand, say the verbal command “touch” first, then hold out your
hand.  This can make for a great recall as well as a
trick.

“Jump”: Hold your leg out in front of you (at a
height appropriate for your dog) and hold your open palm above your leg.
As he moves toward it, arc your hand over your leg and away from him.  This
will lead him spatially over your leg.  If you’d like, you can precede the
hand prompt with the verbal cue “jump!” once the behavior is coming fairly
fluently.  At some point, the sight of your leg will become your dog’s cue
for jumping and you will no longer need to lead with the hand signal.

“Tippy Toes”: Hold your open palm steadily above your
pup’s head, at a height that he can touch by standing on his hind legs.  If
you’d like, you can precede the hand prompt with the verbal cue “tippy toes!”
once the behavior is coming fairly fluently.

“Spin”:
With your dog in front of you, hold your open palm at his nose height.
Lead him around in a tight circle.  If you’d like, you can precede the hand
prompt with the verbal cue “spin!” once the behavior is coming fairly fluently.

“Shake” and Its
Variations

"Shake" is more than just a
trick.  It helps your dog get more comfortable with people touching his
paws. With your pup in a sit, have a treat in your hand just in front of his
nose, either in your closed fist or pinched in your fingers so that he can’t get
to it.  The hope is that, in his frustration, he will bat at the treat
hand.  If this happens, mark it with a happy “yes!”, grab the paw with the
other hand, and open the treat hand to reveal the treat.

If the
frustration method isn’t working, try holding the pinched treat above your dog’s
head and off to one side.  By rocking him to the side, often he will pick
up the opposite paw to reach.  Mark it with a happy “yes!”, grab the paw
with your other hand, and open the treat hand to reveal the treat.  After
he is consistently offering a paw, say the verbal command “shake” or “give paw”
in front of it.

Additional note: By using the rocking method, you can
train a “left paw” and “right paw” behavior.

“High
5”: Just change the position of your hand so that it’s ready to receive
a “high 5” when your dog does the “shake” behavior.

“Wave”: Now give the hand signal for “shake” but
instead of keeping your hand stationary to receive your pup’s paw, move it
horizontally in front of him.  This will cause him to lift his paw a little
longer and perhaps even make another swipe to meet your hand.  Especially
reinforce any extra jabs in the air.

Training through
Shaping

Shaping is a training technique in which
successive approximations of a behavior are reinforced until the goal behavior
is accomplished.

“Are You Shy?”:  We want your dog
to put his head on the floor between his paws.  Start with him in a
down.  Say “yes!” and treat for a slight head duck, the head bobbing down
just a bit from level.  As always, behaviors that are reinforced (rewarded)
are more likely to be repeated, so your pup will start to duck his head more
often, but in some of the repetitions he’ll duck a bit lower than
others.

Once it’s become a consistent behavior, start clicking only for
those lower head bobs.  You’ll notice that your dog will start to bob his
head lower and lower.  At some point, reinforce only for those bobs where
his jaw actually touches the floor, even if just for a moment.

Do you see
how we’ve shaped this behavior just by selecting for successive
approximations?  Don’t jump to the next level of performance until your
pooch is consistently offering the current level, or you will get a weak
behavior that is easily lost.

Training by
Capturing

Training by capturing means that, rather than
manipulating your dog in some way to perform the behavior (like luring him to
shake), you wait for him to voluntarily perform the behavior and then reward it.

“Allergies?”:  Whenever your pup happens to sneeze
(or if you elicit a sneeze), say “yes!” and give him a treat.  As always,
behaviors that are reinforced are more likely to be repeated, so over time he is
more likely to sneeze because he’s been rewarded for it in the past.  Once
he starts to sneeze with predictable regularity, place your verbal cue just in
front.

Some tricks are particularly good for burning your dog’s mental
energy.  Especially for scent-driven breeds, here’s a great trick and game
in one:

“Go Find It!”: This is a game of sniffing out a
fragrant piece of food.  To install the command, we want “Go find it!” to
indicate that there is food somewhere out there for the hunting.

Start
easy by saying “Go find it!” and tossing a piece of kibble.  Make it easy
to find.  When this is comfortable, take a fragrant piece of food, put your
pup in a sit- or down-stay (or have someone hold him) and plant the food
somewhere in plain sight.

Release him and instruct him to start hunting
by saying “OK, go find it!”  As your dog gains fluency, make the treat
increasingly well hidden – in another room, under furniture, in his crate,
inside a toy on the floor, wherever…
Be creative.

You can even hide a
couple of treats at one time; when he’s found the first, repeat the command “go
find it” to indicate that there’s still another out there somewhere.  Of
course: Don’t hide the tidbits in places where you don’t want him hunting, like
on a table top, which would encourage counter surfing.  Also, if your pup
breaks the stay, put him back in it.  What he’ll learn is that breaking the
stay delays his favorite game!

Dog trainer Laura Garber of Hoboken regards training
as an exercise in building relationships rather than obedience. She believes
such an approach promises greater understanding and symbiosis within our family
packs. Laura works with private clients in Hudson County and beyond. For
information, go to myWoofGang.com or contact her
directly at

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript
enabled to view it

This e-mail address is being protected from
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