Idea's For New Trick

[MissMolly]

Hi all,

I am doing my Cert 3 in companion animals and this term we have to teach our dog/cat/pet a new trick. I was going to teach the touch trick but after speaking to some other students they all seem to be teaching touch so I would like to do something different.

I have to use a clicker and I have never used a clicker before for any of my dogs. I was thinking of teaching one of them to speak on command..

Any ideas..??

Ta

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I'm currently trying to teach Kenzie to flip a small box over which I've been shaping using a clicker. What about teaching them to push a ball with their nose? What tricks do they know? Can you extend any of them? I taught Kenzie "sleepy" (lying on her side) after she knew "roll over".

[Rileys mum]

ive seen some youtube videos of 'kikopup' training some pretty cool tricks. Crossing paws is one i plan on starting soon with my boy.

good luck and have fun. Positive reinforcement all the wayyyyyyyyy

[fuzzy82]

If you've never used a clicker I would start with something REALLY easy. Dogs that aren't clicker trained from puppyhood have trouble offering new behaviours.

With my poodle x it took 6 months before she started offering behaviours, before that she would always get stuck in a 'down' and not move for 15 minutes. I started clicker training her when I got her at 12 months. My puppy has been clicker traines since I got him, and I can have a new trick on cue in about 15 minutes, but they have to be pretty clicker savvy to get to that. Even he needed 25 minutes before he would roll over (spread out over 4 sessions). My poodle x still struggles, even though she understands the concept. It can take her several days just to understand what behaviour I want.

Edited May 6, 2011 by fuzzy82

[Guest Ams]

Spin is very easy to teach and the technique is easy to find on the internet.

[Red Fox]

High five is an easy one. Or teaching the dog to hold an object and release it on cue.

[joelle]

Our 6 month Bc does a few tricks. Get tissue. Ring a bell to open door for toilet. Pick keys up. Most tricks started with a target touch stick and a clicker. I have the book 101 dog tricks, it's great fun.

[tigger000]

"Dogs that aren't clicker trained from puppyhood have trouble offering new behaviours"

I dont know how true this statement is...or whether it applies to all dogs. I have never clicker trained my Dalmation (who is 8 yers old). And i have just completed a dog behaviour and training course...and taught him numerous tricks (picking rubbish up and placing in bin, scent detection, picking items up off floor, pushing basketball with his nose) using a clicker (i actually used a verbal "yes" as the bridge). He is continually offering new behaviours to receive the reward eventhough he has never been clicker trained previously.

Anywho, it depends on how complex the trick is that you want to teach it. You dont have to use a clicker...you can always use a verbal word (e.g. "yes") each tme the dog gives the wanted behaviour. A good way to get the dog to get the association that "yes" means a reward will come...is that when the dog is NOT offering any behaviour and is doing its own thing...walk up to him, say "yes" and reward. Do this multiple times throughout the day and eventually this will become the bridge between the behaviour and reward.

Once you have the bridge it will make training a lot easier especially if you want to shape the behaviour.

for example. I taught my dog to push the basketball with his nose. The first time he looked at the bball i said "yes" and rewarded him. Continue doing this until he is reliably looking at the ball to get the reward. As soon as you want a new behaviour (eg touching the ball with his paw), when he looks at it, dont say yes and dont reward him. As soon as he offers the new behaviour say "yes" and reward again. Continue this process until you reach the desired result.

I dont know if that works with all dogs, but it definately works with mine and is just another training technique you can try

[LilBailey]

I asume the the OP understands the theroy of clicker training from her course. If you want something that looks really clever try teaching to give paw but instead of putting your hand out for it lift your foot. ie you face dog, lift right foot = dog lifts left foot. Like a mirror. Increase distance to look even better.

Paw on own nose is very cute too.

[pdt]

I have always thought it would be cool to train a dog to "shake". But when you say shake, rather than offering a paw your dog will literally shake as if drying of.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

http://www.clickandtreat.com/Clicker_Training/clicker_training.html

The articles here explain clicker training really well.

If your dog isn't offering stuff for you, Susan Garrett suggests clicking and treating everything the dog does that was different to what it has done before. And keep the sessions short - ie 20 to 30 treats with a "balance break" every 5 treats or so. "Balance break" is a fun game of tug or chase me or something the dog knows and enjoys.

For easy trick training - pick something your dog does all the time - and try to "catch it". Ie my dog always barks her head off when I'm getting her dinner ready - so that was a pretty easy thing to get "on cue". And now she makes only just enough noise to get the treat so it's more of a growl or pre-bark, unless I withold reward and say "louder". In which case she barks out of frustration and gets the treat...

Other handy/fun tricks

on your mat.

in your crate, out your crate

ring a bell (helps if you teach hand touch first then target touch eg a milk bottle lid then attach the bottle lid to a bell...) or just put something that smells yum on the bell and work from there.

roll over

bow as in bow before royalty - but my dog doesn't quite get this as she uses it for a play invitation and doesn't understand when I "click" it... same with the greeting crawl.

"shut the door" - but might be hard to demonstrate at class - but I guess you could video it.

and one of my faves though I haven't tried to teach it, is a dog that rolls itself up in it's blanket.

Given I haven't taught my dog to get and hold a dumbell, it's going to be hard to explain "get and hold the blanket" (but don't rip it into tiny pieces please).

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

edit - double

just because it hangs at your end doesn't mean it didn't post at the other end...

Edited May 10, 2011 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[W Sibs]

Crawling is an easy one to do.

[Zug Zug]

I asume the the OP understands the theroy of clicker training from her course. If you want something that looks really clever try teaching to give paw but instead of putting your hand out for it lift your foot. ie you face dog, lift right foot = dog lifts left foot. Like a mirror. Increase distance to look even better.

Paw on own nose is very cute too.

Yep I agree that paw on own nose is seriously cute.

Only one problem. I tried to train one of mine to do this and we just get a paw slap across own face!

I can't seem to get her to hold her paw there. She just smacks herself repeatedly. I have been trying to fade it out for months now but she still keeps doing it whenever she is not sure what I want.

That's the power of a clicker. We only trained for it a couple of time, but it stuck like GLUE!

[tlc]

Can you use more than one dog? I taught all mine to come to me but they have to wait till thier names are called. I'll see if I can find the video, not sure if it is the sort of thing you want and I know nothing about clickers, I only use treats and praise as rewards, that works for us so I never bothered with a clicker.

[tlc]

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=AU#/watch?v=9tefO6drde0

Beg is pretty easy to teach too

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=AU#/watch?v=5JIdPBs_XBg

Edited May 11, 2011 by tlc