Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all, its me again

Any ideas for simple tricks I can teach Cody, he learns so fast and Im out of ideas. He knows (perfectly; to words or actions) sit, shake (paw), other (other paw), drop (think you guys refer to it as down, in Oz it is drop), roll over, sleep (lie on side), crawl, and over (jump over). He can also stay until I get about 3 metres away, Im still working on that one. Ive also been working on loose leash walking with him, he used to be fine on the leash so I didnt worry about teaching him. The last month, however, he has started pulling and Im trying to get him out of that habit.

They dont have to be practical tricks, just something to keep his mind active trying to learn. Ive had trouble teaching him things that require him standing, eg. beg, as he sits as soon as he gets to me (meant that sit was taught in no more than 2 mins!) How could I teach him to stand? Any other party tricks? Or useful ones too, Im hoping to get him into agility soon, there is a basic obedience class nearby that leads into their agility or flyball classes.

This is my first experience teaching tricks to a dog, so please be descriptive

Thanks

Bec and Cody

Don't appologise for posting- it's good to see these borads picking up.

I don't have experience with border collies, but I do have dogs that learn fairly fast and I enjoy teaching them new things.

The ability to teach tricks to a dog is only limited by your imagination. There are a few books on the subject, but I don't recall the names.

I have a friend who's taught her dog over 207 different tricks. Now, she's running out of ideas. LOL! One of her newest is a slant on the "dead dog" trick where you "shoot the dog and they play dead." She was never very fond of that trick so she instead put a blanket next to the dog, taught the dog to put the blanket in her teeth, and she would pull it over her when she said "go to bed." It's an incredibly cute trick.

Now, how to teach it- I'd use a clicker. I'd start with the play dead and make sure you have that on a hand signal. I think you said you already have that command.

Then, you need to teach your dog to hold on to a blanket and "fetch" the blanket from the floor.

If you break it down in small enough incriments, you can do it.

Trick training is so individualistic to the dog that I really don't know if I could describe how to do it. My own dog would need a LOT of help with the holding the blanket in his mouth prtion of this trick and I'd have ot try multiple methods.

Overall, just brain storm ideas. Teach your dog to tug on a towel to open cubburd doors. Teach your dog to turn off a light switch. The possibilities are endless.
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PHReign

>>Hi all, its me again
>>
>>Any ideas for simple tricks I can teach Cody, he learns so fast and Im out of ideas. He knows (perfectly; to words or actions) sit, shake (paw), other (other paw), drop (think you guys refer to it as down, in Oz it is drop), roll over, sleep (lie on side), crawl, and over (jump over). He can also stay until I get about 3 metres away, Im still working on that one. Ive also been working on loose leash walking with him, he used to be fine on the leash so I didnt worry about teaching him. The last month, however, he has started pulling and Im trying to get him out of that habit.
>>
>>They dont have to be practical tricks, just something to keep his mind active trying to learn. Ive had trouble teaching him things that require him standing, eg. beg, as he sits as soon as he gets to me (meant that sit was taught in no more than 2 mins!) How could I teach him to stand? Any other party tricks? Or useful ones too, Im hoping to get him into agility soon, there is a basic obedience class nearby that leads into their agility or flyball classes.
>>
>>This is my first experience teaching tricks to a dog, so please be descriptive
>>
>>Thanks
>>
>>Bec and Cody

>>>>>>>>>>>>

"How to Teach Your Dog to Talk," by Captain Haggerty, has so many ideas for tricks you won't believe it. It uses a wide variety of method, and of course you can take the trick idea and teach it by another method than the one in the book. This book is totally different from his rather rough and very old book "Dog Tricks." I'm not a fan of that one.

There are also two new books about teaching dog tricks, including one by Liz Palika. You can often get books through Interlibrary Loan and read them for free if you're willing to wait awhile and don't want to buy them.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47