Trying To Teach Pete To Bow :confused:

[Pete.the.dog]

So I'm trying to teach Pete to bow, with the lure method from the dog tricks page,

it says if you have them standing and hold a treat between their legs they will bow to get it, I understand bowing to be laying down on front paws with bum in the air, but the treat between petes legs just makes him crane his neck, he's not getting it and I'm not getting it!? I end up just asking for a sit and giving him the damn treat

Anyone got any advice on how to make it work?

[Got Spots]

I am teaching bow at the moment and got it within 2 minutes with luring + a clicker

I put the food down btw their front legs but if they crane their necks they dont get it until their legs bend a bit and I click. I then up the criteria to legs bending more until elbows on the ground, does take multiple clicks iwth more bending each time. Worked beautifully with one the other just plonks herself on the ground

I also have an advantage is my whippets naturally bow at times so I make use of that

[luvsdogs]

I am teaching bow at the moment and got it within 2 minutes with luring + a clicker

I put the food down btw their front legs but if they crane their necks they dont get it until their legs bend a bit and I click. I then up the criteria to legs bending more until elbows on the ground, does take multiple clicks iwth more bending each time. Worked beautifully with one the other just plonks herself on the ground

I also have an advantage is my whippets naturally bow at times so I make use of that

Tilba bows all the time & keeps the pose for 10-20 secs. I had tried to teach her to do it by luring for a drop & pulling lure forward b4 she went right down. This hardly ever worked & she got confused.

I have a book & vid with a few tricks & used their method. And it worked.

Have dog standing facing you. With a treat in your hand press your hand gently from the dog's nose towards his back feet. The instant his elbows touch the floor treat. He may either sit or drop completely so it's important to click/treat the split sec his elbows touch the floor. As he gets better at it you can keep him in position longer b4 the click.

Of course if you haven't taught your dog clicker training you can do it the same way but release the treat instead of click.

[angelsun]

I taught my 'stupid' showdog to bow as it was a natural movement for him when he got up from a snooze. I got myself prepared with my clicker and a few treats and caught the motion. It didnt' take long for him to present the motion to me and I was able to shape it fully into a good deep bow and hold.

My new girl has a ton of natural actions that over the next couple months when we aren't showing, I"m hoping to shape into 'silly pet tricks'. I love doing it as it gives the dogs something to think about and tones my training methods up after a year of just doing conformation stuff.