Trick Of The Week 23/05-29/05

[whatevah]

Teach Your Dog to Go Around an Object

Uses : Great for teaching a flyball Swimmers Turn/ Also to teach your dog to go around a piece of agility equipment

Equipment Needed : Motivating Dog Toy and or food, obstacle

Step 1. Take out your obstacle, (I used a cone) preferably something of a good size, could even be a bucket, small bin, cardboard box, (but not a can, too small). Place the obstacle out in the open. Dog is off lead.

Step 2. If you are going to teach the dog to go around clockwise, stand facing the object, put out your left hand extended from your body and using the lure, get the dog to follow it around the cone.

Step 3. Once the dog is doing this, start to fade the lure. I have found that I lured my dog with the toy, as he came around the cone I faced the opposite direction to him and threw the toy. You can use food for a non toy motivated dog.

Step 4. Keep giving the hand signal, add your cue word "around" and then throw the toy once the dog has come around the cone. Start working further and further away from the cone. Once the dog can do it from six feet away go to the next step.

Step 5. If you want tight corners, you can start adding the object into the corner. So the dog has to do a tight turn and builds muscle memory.

This took me about 1 week to teach my dog, with one 5 minute session a day.

ADVANCED

I then took my dog inside, and put him in the rumpus room and held him and looked at the clothes horse and said "Around" and he went around. So you can start trying it out with other objects as well and greater distances.

I found this trick at

http://www.k9station.com/turns2.htm and found it has more uses than just teaching a swimmers turn.

To see a video of it in action goto http://www.k9events.com/Jules_Photos/index.html

Here are some photos attached. My dog loves this game. In this picture I have just let go of my dog, I gently restrain him by holding his hips, so this way there is no pressure on the neck.

Edited May 24, 2004 by bigbum

[whatevah]

Approaching the cone. Has his tail up high, like a kite. This breed does this when they are happy.

Edited May 24, 2004 by bigbum

[whatevah]

Starting to edge closer to the cone for a tight turn.

Edited May 24, 2004 by bigbum

[whatevah]

Going around the cone.

[whatevah]

Nearly around the cone.

[whatevah]

On the home stretch, he looks like such a dufus here.

[Clicking Mad]

I have finally found something that I can use as a "cone"...

Just for the fun of it, I'll tell the short story: Was walking the dogs separately around the neighbourhood, almost along every street within a 5 block radius , and saw this cylindrical concrete slab (about 10 - 15cm wide and 20 - 30cm high) on one of the dogs routes two days in a row. It was just on the edge of the curb of a busy residential corner. The second day I decided if it was there the next day I'd take it home and use it for this trick. On the third day I took all three for a walk, it was still there, so I carried it the four and a half blocks home (it was quite a work out, carrying it like a baby, my arms are still a little sore). And bingo free training aid hehehehe.

Anyway... Jamie already kinda knows the command "turn" (with her small amount of flyball action) so it was just a matter of introducing the new piece of equipment. I can get her to do it from about two meters away. Just need to increase the distance. The other two it was completely new but easy enough to lure them around by following my hand, nice and close. Only tried it once, since I only got it yesterday.

Will post piccys and improvements (hopefully) in a few weeks.

Sam.

PS: Something that might help too is to know which way your dog prefers to turn. This is something they did at flyball. Throw the ball about 10 times and find out which way your dog turns before running back to you most often, if your dog isn't a retriever get it to run away from you and call it back, pay attention to which way it turns when it runs back to you. I forgot to do this with Texas and Chester. Jamie is "right" (like Moses in his piccies), it may be easier to go the direction the dog is most comfortable with.

Bigbum? does Moses go around the cone in the same direction every time?

[whatevah]

Go to this site and read the training plan.

http://www.k9station.com/turns2.htm

This was how I taught Moses to do the turn. Once his turn is done he gets to retrieve his toy. I did the test they suggested at this site and he was ambidexterous!!! Had no preference. So I just worked on having him turn right. My other dog is also a right turner.

I am left handed. So when I taught my dog to shake hands I would always shake Moses right hand with my left hand, so I don;t know if this had anything to do with it.

I just followed the plan.

[Guest cloverfdch]

Thanks for the information, i will start Elvis tonight with his training it will be great for teaching swimmers turns for Flyball.

[whatevah]

Here is Tia at step 1.