Book- Dog Tricks( Fun and games for your clever canine). By Mary Ray & Justine Harding. Published by Hamlyn.
Why Teach Tricks?
What’s in it for your dog?
• Quality time with you
• A chance to really use his brain
• Improvement in physical fitness and suppleness
• Lots of fun and treats
• A Happy owner
What’s in it for you?
• Quality time with your dog
• The reward of seeing your dog’s enjoyment at showing off his talents
• The surprise of learning just how smart your dog is
• Lots of fun
• A more responsive, obedient, happy dog
Know your dog:-
Age:
Contrary to the adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, in fact, no dog is too old to learn new tricks. Understand your dog fitness and health to know what trick will be suitable for your dog.
Type or breed:
Your dog’s type will also affect which tricks he excels at and which he finds harder. Example, small dogs usually find upright tricks like standing on their hindlegs very easy. Still, whatever your dog’s shape, breed or type, have a go – you’ll probably be surprised at what you can both achieve with a bit of work.
When to train your dog?
. Place – Home : Choose a room with non-slip, soft floor, such as carpet, so that your dog feels that he has a good footing and is comfortable if you ask him to lie down. Make sure you have plenty of clear floor space so that your dog can move around confidently, without colliding with furniture, and easily find treats thrown to him.
- Garden: excellent for practice out on walks.
. Environment: Choose quiet, confined spaces to begin with to help your dog keep focused on you. As he improves, practice your tricks where there are distractions.
Editor's notes:
. Time: Best before dinner 15-30mins, just as your dog is hungry and really looking forward for treats. The key is practice tricks everyday and keep it short as their concentration goes away.
Teaching tricks using food.
Most dogs love food and will do almost anything to get it!
Just like us, dogs will only work if their ‘pay’ is worth it. Always select food that doesn’t crumble and is visible if thrown to the floor, and cut it into thumbnail-sized cubes.
Give any food the three-second test: can your dog – and does he want to – chew and swallow it in under three seconds? If not, it will have no value in training.
To maximize the effectiveness of your treats, make sure your dog hasn’t just eaten before training and cut down his meals to allow for the food he will receive as rewards.
Food is used in two ways to teach your dog tricks.
1. It is a reward for doing the right thing. Give the treat straight after our dog does as you have asked, either directly from your hand or by throwing it to him. By throwing treats, you can reward your dog more quickly when he is at a distance to you and prevent him anticipating food always coming from your hand.
2. Secondly, food can be used to show your dog what you want – this is called luring. By holding a tasty treat in the tips of your fingers close to his nose, you can encourage him to follow your hand into the position or through the move you are teaching. Experiment with how your hand position affects your dog’s movement. The position of his nose will determine the direction of the rest of his body. To help lure your dog successfully, practice both the overhand position and the underhand position.
Top four training treats
1. Sausages
2. Frankfurthers
3. Mild hard cheese
4. Lamb’s Liver
Editor notes: Personally, I think Treats small and non messy like JerHigh Sticks will be efficient enough as they easy to cut, storage and obtain, or any other brand that your dog like comes in Stick shape.
Key Points
- Luring requires your dog to watch the food, rather than to grab at it. Teach your dog not to snatch by holding the treat firmly between the tips of your fingers, so that he can smell it but not actually get it. Keep your hand still and wait until he stops biting at the treat. As soon as he pulls back slightly, give it to him. By repeating this, you will soon teach your dog that he gets the food more easily by being patient.
- Take care not to drop crumbs on the floor, as your dog will soon learn to look for ‘freebies’ rather than at you.
- Make sure you are always the best source of food around, then your dog will have no need to look anywhere else for treats.
Canine communication
Dogs are masters of body language, but sadly we humans are not. Owners are often convinced that they are telling their dog to do one thing, usually with their voice, but, in fact, their body position is saying the complete opposite.
To train your dog successfully, you need to tell him clearly and consistently what you want – the better at this you are, the quicker and easier he will learn. As well as using your voice and body language, communicate with him using facial expressions, touch, hand signals and, or clicker.
Body language
Dogs tune into your silhouette, so think about keeping your body shape clear. As you work your dog, always use the hand on the side closest to your dog to lure or signal, rather than crossing your arms over your body. When training a small or young dog, get down to their leve.
Hand signals
When teaching a trick, use large movements to begin with and gradually reduce them. This will make the signals clear and easier for your dog to follow. If you want to use hand signals to cue your dog for a trick, they need to be distinct.
Voice
Think carefully about the verbal commands you use in order to avoid confusing your dog. Words can often sound similar, such as ‘bow’ and ‘down’. Also, vary the tone of your commands – upwards – type moves are usually better given in a higher-pitched voice, while downward or lower moves can be given in lower tone.
What barking means?
Barking is frequently the response of a confused or frustrated dog. This is your dog asking for more clues as to what you want. Don’t’ keep trying the same thing, but go back to the last step he understand. Then give him some further pointers to what you want now, checking that your signals are clear.
Key Points
- A dog can perform a trick from a voice, hand or body signal.
- The movement you use initially to lure your dog will form the first visual cue.
- When the dog can do the trick following just your hand movement, add the verbal command you wish to use.
- Use verbal and visual cues together, so that your dog connects both to the trick.
- With practice, you will be able to get your dog to perform from just a voice command just a visual signal. For very click tricks, the visual cues may then be refined to tiny, almost invisible movements by gradually reducing the signal you give.
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