Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I've long since come to realize the trials that we're going to have in keeping such an intelligent, active dog occupied and mentally stimulated There's no possibility for classes of any sort because of Kaiser's "anti-social" behaviours and as a result I'll be looking for new tricks for the rest of his life Lucky for us and him I love teaching him things, so there is no motivation problem..

He is doing extremely well with walking nicely.. He sits, downs, stays on command within 2 seconds, every time. He will sit with a milk-bone on his nose for up to three minutes waiting for "okay!" and then catches it.. He'll come and touch my hand when I say "touch" from any distance, whether he can see me or not, no matter how busy he is, even pushing doors open to get to me. And all of this he'll do no matter who tells him to, even my sister. A couple of things ("touch" and "heel" we still reinforce fairly often with treats but for everything else praise is enough..

I'm looking for advice on two exercises in specific, but ideas for other complicated things are very welcome to add to my list..

1) He will not retrieve. He will run, grab, lie down, chew. Or run, grab, drop, come back. If he still wants to play he'll bring the toy and push it into your hand but if he decides the game is over, that's that. Before working on this I want to teach him "take it", "hold it", and "give it". I can take things from his mouth but nothing can make him drop it voluntarily if a human is within 5 feet. The method in Kathy Diamond Davis's article isn't working with Kaiser, any other suggestions? He just will not hold things and puts up quite the argument if I try to gently close his mouth around even his favourite toy..

2)How can I teach him the names of things? I know that he's capable of learning it but I'm not sure of the best way to go about teaching it. I've heard that since he knows target training ("touch" it will be easier.. can anyone elaborate?

Thanks so much!

Sorry, Leah, I don't really have any good suggestions. But have you heard of that show, Pet Star on Animal Planet? Some of the tricks they do are kind of silly, but you might get some good ideas.
Good luck! I can't believe what a smart boy he is!! Congratulations!

i taught my dog how to drop items in his mouth by using the drop it command. try putting your dog on a leash in case he decides to run off. then when he has a toy in his mouth, put your hand against the top part of his neck and push just enough to get him to drop the toy. tell him drop it when he does. works very well with my puppy. or you can try to stick your finger in his mouth. doi it at the back part the lip where you can feel the side of the gums so you won't hurt your finger on his teeth.

to teach him the name of things, it'll be easiest to start with food items since he'll probably be more than eager to take them. when i first started this with my puppy, i did it at mealtimes. when i put his food down i asked him if he was hungry. now i can just ask him if he's hungry and he'll come running up. i did the same with his treats. i'll say, do you wanna cookie and he knows what it means.i'm doing the same with the words bone, pillow, crate, bear, chew etc.... just say whatever you want, whether it's a question or a single word and he'll eventually get it.

a trick you might wanna teach him is a backflip. just get a toy or a treat or whatever you wanna use and hold it above his head and use your command, like, over or flip. and gradually move it back over his head until he has to flip to get it.