Teaching Tricks
Why
Teach Tricks
·
Tricks
are a great way to enforce the process of learning new behaviors.
This develops the habits of learning and problem solving and also
establishes new neural pathways making your dog smarter.
·
Tricks
allow you to break up the monotony of training formal behaviors.
·
Tricks
can be fun for both handler and dog
·
Tricks
can relax your dog both physically and mentally and relieve stress
The
basics of teaching a new trick
Step
1. Define the desired behavior:
You need to figure out what you want the end result
to look like. Then you need to
break the behavior down into the smallest possible pieces. Generally you will then start teaching the last piece first
and will then teach the prior behaviors and will then link them together into a
behavior chain. Going backwards is
useful in helping the dog understand what the final product looks like.
Step
2. Approximate the behavior:
This is the step that requires some patience and
creativity. You need to get your
dog to do something like what you are trying to teach. There are many different ways to accomplish this:
·
You can
wait until your dog offers the behavior naturally e.g. your dog stretches
every morning so use this opportunity to turn this natural behavior into a trick
·
You can
attempt to induce the behavior environmentally e.g. putting tape on a dogs
foot to induce a limp
·
You can
attempt to "show" the behavior e.g. jumping over a jump in the hope
that your dog will follow
·
You can
attempt to lure the dog into the behavior with food or toys e.g. moving food
downwards to instigate the down
· You can attempt to physically coerce the behavior e.g. stepping into them to have them back up.
If
you use this last technique, be careful because most dogs will reflexively
oppose an applied force which will cause precisely the opposite of what you
want, and even if you can induce the behavior, So try the other techniques!!
Step
3. Reinforce the behavior:
Just like formal obedience, once you find a way to
get the dog to do the behavior, you begin rewarding the behavior.
This can mean food, click, play, praise, whatever works for your dog in
that situation. You will begin by
re-enforcing successive approximations and will then begin raising the criteria
so that only the really excellent examples of the behavior are rewarded.
Step
4. Attach a cue:
Now that your dog is offering the behavior, you start
pairing a word or signal. Every
time you are going to get the dog to do the behavior you offer the cue, and then
reinforce the behavior that follows. You
gradually stop rewarding the behavior if it is offered without the cue.
Step
5. Vary reinforcement:
Once the dog will do the behavior on cue, you head
towards a variable reinforcement schedule, offering treats sometimes, praise or
play other times, nothing sometimes, and the occasional lavish jackpot.
This keeps the dog guessing and therefore eager to play this new game.
Step
6. Correct failure:
If your dog truly understands the behavior, and is
fairly asked to do it but does not comply, this is the situation when you may
want to remind the dog that compliance is not optional.
Step
7. Proof the behavior:
Now that the dog is reliably giving the desired
behavior, you want to make sure it will do so under all circumstances.
Just like traditional obedience, this means gradually increasing the
distractions and varying the surrounding environment.
Try the trick outside, in a park, at a dog class.
Make sure the dog will respond to the request if you are sitting down, or
facing the other way, or don't have any food.
Remember that as you are proofing, you may have to go back to luring or
rewarding approximations for a while.
Step
8. Think of the next trick!!
Relax and have a great time doing trick with your dog!!
Step
9. Think of the next trick!!
This is really the hardest step.
Once you get through the basics, you can try to think of all the fun
behavior chains you can teach your dog.
Some Trick Suggestions
A note on presentation: teaching any or all of these tricks is fairly
easy. Making them look really good takes creativity and showmanship.
Come up with good cues, or hidden cues so you can say cute thing and then
perform the trick. For example: food refusal is boring, but if you
say "Here is a treat from the dog catcher" and then the dog refuses
the treat, it is cute. Same with nodding or head shaking--put them on
subtle hand cues, and then you can ask all sorts of funny questions and have
your dog "answer".
101
things to do with a box-- open, put things in, get in, close, etc.
Answer
the phone
Assume
the frisking position (feet up on wall)
Attention
for eye line
Back flip Frisbee catch
Back
up
Balance
a toy or food on nose
Bark
(speak)
Bark
aggressively
Bark
louder
Bark
softly (whisper)
Bite
easy--bite your arm and hold on, but not hard
Bow
Bring
it closer/Take it further
Bring
me any object--rose, ball, kleenex, wallet, etc.
Catch
Chase
Chase laser pointer
Chase tail
Climb
ladder (Home Depot has a cool ladder that is hinged at 2 point and can make a
dog walk or A-frame)
Close
doors
Close
purse
Cover
head with paw
Crawl
Cuddle
up
Dial
the phone
Dig
Down
Fall
down
Fetch
a tissue and brings it
Fetch
rings, and puts them on a pylon
Figure
eight between legs
Find
it
Find
person by name
Flush
toilet
Food
refusal
Get
Kleenex out of box
Get
off any object
Get
off mark
Get
things out of refrigerator
Get
up on anything
Get
blanket and cover something
Go around an object (come by and away)
Go to
mark
Go
to sleep
Go
under things such as other dogs, chairs, coffee table, etc.
Go
with
Go
to bed
Go
to the door
Grab
ball and knock down pins with it
Handoff--take
any object and give to another dog. Particularly
impressive with food like a hot-dog.
Head
down
Hide
& seek
High/low/back
fives
Hold
Hop
into a bed
Jump
like a bunny or frog (jump from sit and land in sit)
Jump
over me as I lie on the ground
Jump over outstretched leg
Jump
sideways over other dogs
Jump-rope
Jump
through a hoop
Kisses
Leap
Lick
someone's ears all over
Lie
on side
Lie
down to get tummy rubbed
Limp
Look
away
Look
Forward
Look
Left or Right
Look
Mean (snarl & Growl)
Look
out the window
Look
in the mirror
March
Mouth
movement-- little open and close movements with no head movement
Open
doors
Patty-cake
Paw
at object
Pee
on object (not really, just lift leg)
Pick
up toys/socks/garbage and place in container
Place
the ball in the little can
Play
dead-- eyes closed, limp, no movement even if you carry them around.
Play
on command
Present
butt to be scratched
Pull
wagon
Pull cart or sled or bike with harness
Pull
and untie a bow
Pull
cover off hidden object
Pull
out box of toys
Pull
the door open
Push
shopping cart or buggy
Put
away toys
Put
object in wagon
Repeat
previous trick
Retrieve
any object
Reverse
Drop-on-Recall
Ride
a skateboard
Ring
the bell
Rock
something with paw
Roll
barrel with feet
Roll
over
Roll
little ball with nose
Say
Prayers
Scent
games-- pick out person from object or object from person
Set
ball in hand
Shake
hand
Shake
head yes or no
Shake
like a wet dog
Shell
game
Show
me your paws (one at a time and both held up high)
Sigh
Sit
Sit
up and beg
Slow
Smile
Snap
Sneeze
Spin
& Twirl
Stand
Stand
on back legs and spins around
Stay
Stop,
Drop, and Roll
Take/Hold
Take
a bow
Take
anything to specified person
Target
a stick with nose
Target
my index finger with paw
Target
my palm with nose
Target my two fingers with both paws in the air
Tilt
head
Turn
off/on lights
Turn
on and off the TV
Wait
Weave
through a set of pylons
Walk
a ball with front paws
Walk between my legs as I walk backwards or forwards
Walk
forwards and backwards while in the bow position
Walk
on hind legs
Walk
side by side with other dogs
Walk
up on barrel
Watch
TV
Wave
Wear clothes (hats, glasses, etc.)
Weave through my legs as I walk forward