I Need Ideas

[leopuppy04]

Not sure if this thread has been done before or not (my apologies if it has) but I'm looking for some ideas and games to play with your dogs on a rainy day. Particularly the more 'advanced' tricks given I've done most of the basic ones already.

So - list up your favourite trick and a brief 'how to teach'.... I figure this can be a great place for those to look when they are stuck for ideas

I'm particularly looking for those that are a little left of field (eg: the handstand ones).

If you can get a basic vid up that's even better :D

[Agility Dogs]

you can teach them to walk upstairs..........backwards.

If you don't have a table with stairs on it (cool training tool) start by creating a history of reward for standing at the top of a normal set of stairs the stairs facing the bottom. Put a cue on this. If you do have a table and they are already able to do 'table' then you are half way there!

Ask them to then come one step down with their front feet only. Then cue them to the top of the stairs - they will just drag their feet back, again, reward in place. Once they have that move onto 2 steps and probably at the third step they will move their back feet onto the top step. It is simply a matter of asking for the same thing again.

I'm not sure if it helped that the dogs could already walk backwards, but it may have. That said it was quite a challenge for them to think about where their back feet were - especially my girl who is a bit smaller.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Targetting?

Ie get dog to touch you or your hand with various bits of it's body eg head on knee, paw on foot, kissy face?

I need a nice indoor game that burns heaps of energy without damaging the wooden floor boards.

http://www.caninehorizons.com/Body_Targets.html

http://home.netcom.com/~joiris/index.html

[leopuppy04]

C'mon guys - surely you are more creative

thanks for the ideas already guys - but lets think of something challenging... something that will get all of our cogs turning

AD - might have to try your stair idea - my dogs REA sucks

[Cosmolo]

This isn't terribly difficult but i do think its going to be super cute once i have completed it- i have started teaching Dexter to turn his head to the left- we just shaped it and it was one of the first things he offered. This will be paired with command "Who's a naughty boy" and then Gilbert will be behind him, perhaps doing a spin. Add to that, command of "Who's a good boy" to which Dexter will raise a paw and we have super cute, multi dog trick.

[megan_]

I tought my boy to rub a cloth on the ground. The cue is "clean".

Does he know how to say his prayers?

Cosmolo - that trick sounds adorable. I'll have to give it a try!

[leopuppy04]

I agree cosmolo! Your trick sounds great

well last night we tried to teach Leo how to roll himself in a blanket. We got the roll, we got the blanket hold - he just can't do both together!!!

Boys!!

[TerraNik]

Jedi shakes his head no when I ask "Are you a naughty boy?"

Have you taught different gaits? Like skipping, limping, etc?

Edited July 20, 2010 by TerraNik

[charley101]

I taught my boy to skip with me its looks really cool when i dont get the rope stuck around my legs - he is a better jumper than me lol

Cosmolo how about shaping look left then look right (2 seperate cues) a friend of mine taught her dog that it looks really cool.

[aussielover]

I like to teach useful things, such as an assistance dog might do.

I have taught how to open and close draws and then added in getting items out and bringing to me (not game enough to teach opening the fridge door, i can only imagine where that would lead to...) My dog also brings in the paper every morning which people seem quite impressed by (but is not all that hard to teach, especially to a retriever).

Also turning on lights (my dog is still a puppy so can't reach yet), getting stuff out of a dryer, getting the tv remote, getting a tissue or hanky, go get your food bowl, lead etc.

It would be really cool to teach a dog to retrieve the telephone! I might actually try that. I wonder if you can stop them slobbering all over it though.

If i had a smaller dog i would like to teach them to jump into my arms! (we would both be injured if mindy tried that with me lol)

BTW what is "say your prayers"??

[tlc]

This one is pretty basic but good if you have a number of dogs and want them to all do a trick together. They all have to stay and then each dog comes to his/her name. I started this one to teach my youngest some patience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tefO6drde0

[spottychick]

This one is pretty basic but good if you have a number of dogs and want them to all do a trick together. They all have to stay and then each dog comes to his/her name. I started this one to teach my youngest some patience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tefO6drde0

That's so cool!! I love it when people have vids hee hee

I might try that with my lot once I have Dylan doing the TOT well. He's also a very impatient puppy. Still teaching him not to jump up when I'm carrying food!!!

[charley101]

This one is pretty basic but good if you have a number of dogs and want them to all do a trick together. They all have to stay and then each dog comes to his/her name. I started this one to teach my youngest some patience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tefO6drde0

thats really cool

[tlc]

Thanks! It does come in handy when they each come to thier name, for instance if I only want one in or out at a time I just say which one and that one comes or goes. It has certainly had other benifits. I am trying to teach Tully bow but not succedding at the moment. My friend gets her big dog to do a bow then she puts a treat on each paw while he is bowing and he leaves them there till she tells him he can have it. Mine realy only know basic stuff, shake, high five high ten, pray, beg etc. I would love to do more tricks with them, I will watch this thread with interest!

[charley101]

tlc are your dogs clicker trained ??? trick training is so much easier with a clicker

[tlc]

No they aren't, I have a friend who has clicker trained her dog and she has been very responsive to it. Maybe I should give it a go? Can you clicker and only use clicker for tricks but not use clicker for obedience? or if I started using a clicker woudl I have to use it for everything I teach then? Mine are pretty responsive so thats why I never bothered with the clicker.

[megan_]

I only use the clicker for free shaping tricks - not obedience or agility. They get the idea very fast. The "trick" is not use the clicker properly (to teach your dog to problem solve) and not just do traditional obedience with a clicker IMO.

[charley101]

I use the clicker for some things and not others so you should be fine.

[beagie]

I like to teach useful things, such as an assistance dog might do.

I have taught how to open and close draws and then added in getting items out and bringing to me (not game enough to teach opening the fridge door, i can only imagine where that would lead to...) My dog also brings in the paper every morning which people seem quite impressed by (but is not all that hard to teach, especially to a retriever).

Also turning on lights (my dog is still a puppy so can't reach yet), getting stuff out of a dryer, getting the tv remote, getting a tissue or hanky, go get your food bowl, lead etc.

It would be really cool to teach a dog to retrieve the telephone! I might actually try that. I wonder if you can stop them slobbering all over it though.

If i had a smaller dog i would like to teach them to jump into my arms! (we would both be injured if mindy tried that with me lol)

BTW what is "say your prayers"??

I have been messing around with assistance dog things also, opening the fridge door was easy picking up a bottle of drink still a work in progress

you can always remove the handle you are using on the fridge door so it can only be opened when you want it to be, picking up the main telephone

if you watch the assistance dogs doing it they have an extra handle on the phone so the dog can pick it up easily, mobile phone and keys I hung

a small toy on them for my dog (a beagle) to pick up, as I have always had gun dogs I have trained my Beagle a bit like a gun dog LOL Beagie

[ozjen]

Mmm, knowing how good your dogs are its hard to think of something which you might not have done already, what about YES/NO, blowing bubbles, paint a picture (hey if the government can pay a fortune for bluepoles why not a blue Leo original) or walk with front paws on owners feet(dog between legs, front feet on owners and both walking), ball in the hoop, clear the table(plastic dishes)and stack the dishes. Have you checked Youtube lately, I always manage to find something new there when I run out of ideas.