new tricks

[Lola10]

I would like to teach Lola some new tricks, but don't know how to go about it. She knows sit, stay, down, off, up, get it, drop it, give it, come, watch me, leave it, and shake. She does speak sometimes, but it is usually a huff sound (she only really barks at the vacuum, and I am working on that (she's good if it sits there, but not when it moves...she tries to put it back in the closet). She does okay with heel, but are still working on it when birds are around (she is determined to stare them down when they are hopping around in front of her (yes hopping )) I was thinking of getting her to crawl, how would I go about that? If you have any other ideas of what to start on next, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to work with her more on the heel and barking at the moving vacuum, but want to know what should come next.

[crisp]

There are plenty of 'tricks' sites on the web. I'd personally recommend additional work on all the things she knows. If she is good with all the commands add in additional training factors like distractions and distance. Will your dog 'down' in a crowded dog park when you are a hundred feet away? These factors are how obediance should be judged. Also, you can introduce her to some 'work' commands like 'find _ _ _ _' or 'find somebody'. You can also work on variations used in the sport world, like the moving 'down' - making your dog down while running, etc.

[DCluver33]

After she's really good with the things you've already taught her I would move on to something else. Doing too much at once will confuse and overload your dog. But here are some tips

To teach crawl I took a treat in my hand and ran in along the ground while my dog was laying down and had him move 1 shuffle towards the treat then i clicked and gave him the treat every day i'd have him move a little farther for it.

I taught my dog to sit, down, spin, rinse (spin the other way), roll over, wave, touch (touch the palm of my hand with his nose), high five, lay on his side, crawl, and watch me.

[Lola10]

Thank you both for the great advice. Crisp: we are working on distance, but with the leash law, i'm already pushing it with my 40 foot lead . DCluver33: thank you too, i'll try that later when she's consistent with distant commands (and better with the vacuum/birds)

[doggiedad]

your dog knows a lot of commands.
you could teach your dog to heel
on the right and left side, with or without
a leash.

you could teach her:

back up <

shake with either paw <

"find it" (hide things and have her find
them. you can do this indoors or
outside.) <

hand signals <

"get the mail" ( when the mail comes
our dog goes down the driveway and takes the mail
from the mail person and brings it back to us. he'll
also retrieve my neighbors mail for them.) <

"get your leash" <

"go to the car" ( i'll go outside and open the
hatch or the back door. when i come inside
i'll say "get your leash" or "do you want to go
out". my dog gets his leash. i open the front
door (he waits for a command before exiting)
and then he goes to the car and jumps in. <

jump on the bed or sofa. two of my favorites.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Most important part of this is how the trainer PLAYS with her puppy and cranks it up so it LOVES to learn and do tricks!

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

Nother cool trick is a neato thing called 'heeling'

You Tube

You Tube

[kidkhmer]

I taught Karma to "back up" in about 1 minute last week with my clicker and I am not bragging but I just want to point out something that I got from Tab29 on youtube that has always stuck in my mind. In his HEEL video he says "always set your dog up for success" and this is so true. I wanted to teach Karma a new trick because like you, I had all the basics down pat. So I decided on "back up" and then looked around the house and realised that what better place to do it than between the dining room table and the wall ! . A natural "alley" that although Karma could have turned around if she wanted, with clicking and rewarding for the smallest retreating movements, she soon nailed it and i could do it out on the middle of the room. Voila ! "back up " !!