Weekly Trick – Bathroom Monitor

This has got to be one of the greatest tricks to teach your dog.  If you live with a man who does not remember to put the toilet seat down, and you are sick of asking them to remember to do so, you can teach your dog to put the seat down and FLUSH!

Make sure you have something that motivates your dog, usually it is dog treats, but it can be toys, play, etc.  Use that to help your dog learn this trick.  Remember to give treats in moderation and to be patient as your dog learns this trick, it may take some time for them to get it down pat.

When you are teaching this trick, any contact they make at first, even if it is just a touch give them a treat/reward them.

You will also need a command word such as “toilet” or “flush” so that your dog can run to the bathroom and if the seat is up, he will know to put the seat down and flush it even when you are not in the room with your dog.

It is such a great trick to learn, and you and your dog will impress your friends when they are over and you show them this trick.

There is a video that explains this in three simple steps.  It is NOT me in the video.   If it is not the first video that plays, it is the third trick down on the list.  I hope you enjoy and your doggies go on to learn and impress people with this great trick!

Weekly Trick – Run A Course

There isn’t a video this week for this trick, rather, there are step by step instructions on how to get your dog primed for running a course, agility training, and learning how far to push your dog and when to draw back and allow them to guide the course.

At any rate, here is the article.  It will take time for your dog to get used to this, so please have patience and time, and many healthy treats.  Lots of praise and love will go a long way in order to get your dog to do what you want him/her to do.

Have fun, enjoy the time you get to train and bond with your dog.

Housetraining a PUPPY

So you decided to add a puppy to your forever family?  Great!  Is he/she potty trained/housebroken?  No?  Well now is the time to teach them proper potty methods.

First and foremost, you will need to be CONSISTENT and PATIENT.  Puppy’s do their business wherever because that is what they do, it’s not something that they know that there is a place to do their business until YOU teach them where you want their business done.

Never ever slap, hit, or rub the puppy’s nose in his business if he goes inside.  There will be mistakes, as it is a huge learning process for any puppy.  In using physical punishment, you are teaching your puppy to be fearful of doing their business in front of you or doing their business at all.  That is not what you are trying to accomplish.

First make sure to choose a spot outside that you want your puppy to use, kind of like having their own toilet.

Have a command word ready when you want them to finish up, something like “Go Potty” or “Hurry up”.

Know that a puppy should be taken outside about six times a day to do their business.  They should be taken outside about 15 minutes after they finish eating.  Puppies do not need to be free fed, they need to have a schedule and you need to be consistent with that schedule.  Talk to your vet about a good feeding schedule and how much to feed.

Always praise profusely when your puppy goes outside.  Also, a puppy cannot physically hold its waste until morning, so you will have to take your puppy outside at least once a night so that they can eliminate.

If you are unable to commit to a schedule like this, perhaps a puppy is not the first choice of a pet.

Dogs are able to handle a different schedule and do not require being let out as often.

There is a great article here about how to successfully train a puppy and then how to teach them to ring a bell every time they need to go out to do their business.

Good luck, be patient and soon you will have a fully housebroken pup!

Teaching Your Dog NOT To Jump

I’m sure we’ve all been there before – our wonderful little doggies are so excited to see us (or any company that comes over), they will jump up on you and scratch at your leg, beg for attention and jump some more.

This is undesired behavior and needs to be nipped in the bud.  There are several methods to stop this from occurring every time you come home or company pops over for a visit.

Method #1 Ignore 

If your dog is in front of you and they are getting ready to jump, the moment their feet leave the floor, turn your back on them.  Dogs crave attention and crave positive attention and when you are not paying attention to them, they start to figure out that if they do the bad behavior, they won’t get any praise or attention from you.

If the dog continues and starts to paw or scratch at your legs, or runs around in front of you to try to jump again, turn your back on them again.

Keep on doing this until the dog decides he/she is going to do a more desired behavior such as sitting.  Once the dog sits or does another desired behavior, praise them emphatically.

If this causes the dog to jump up and down, repeat turning your back on them until they resume the desired behavior and then praise them again.

Repeat until the dog is doing the behavior that you desire.

 

Method #2 Stop

Not my favorite choice, but it will work for some I suppose.

As your dog is jumping up, hold out your open hand palm facing down and push down on their face/nose and say “DOWN” as you gently push them to the floor/ground.  Dog’s noses are sensitive and will not like the pressure you put on it and if you are consistent and do it every time the dog jumps, it should be successful.

 

Method #3 Sit

Make sure your dog knows the “sit” command.  Whenever your dog goes to jump on you, tell him/her to sit.

If they continue to jump, turn your back on them and ignore them.

If the dog sits down, turn around and praise them highly.  If they start to jump again, repeat saying “sit” and if that does not work, turn your back, until they understand they will not get praise or attention until they sit.

 

Method #4 Leash

Not a favorite method of mine, but it will work for some, I suppose.

Take your dog outside, leashed.

If your dog starts to jump up on you, in a firm voice say “NO” (but not too harshly, the dog will wonder why you are so angry so quickly).

With your dog facing you, put the leash on the ground and step on it, so that the next time the dog jumps, he will only get a few inches off the ground.

If the dog does not jump, make sure to treat them and praise them.

 

As always it is very important to be patient with your dog and not to harm them or hurt them.  Give as much positive attention to them when they do something right.  Have some of their favorite treats handy to moderately treat them when they do something good.

 

Weekly Trick – Teaching a Dog To Close the Door

I love this trick.  It’s a smart, and fun trick to show off how smart your doggie pal is.

It may take a while for your dog to learn this trick and remember that a dog’s attention span is not overly long and they will tire when trying to learn so patience is key.  Take about 5-10 minutes per day for a week or so, depending how fast your dog learns, and they should have this trick down pat.

First, have your dog outside and put a treat down by the side of the door for when they come in.

Next, call your dog to come in, if they spot the treat, don’t allow them to have it, instead say “Close door” and make the motion with your hand to close the door.

The dog should move to close the door and once they are close to the treat, the door should close and they will grab the treat, leaning against the door and closing it for sure.

Once your dog gets this down, in warmer weather, the door can be left ajar, and the dog can come in the house and close the door behind him/her, grab the treat and there you have a dog that is pretty darn smart and able to close doors behind them!

As always, I have a video showing this trick.  It’s NOT ME in the video.

I’m wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  I hope that 2012 is everyone’s best year yet!  Type to you in the New Year!

 

Weekly Dog Trick – Play Dead

I thought I would spotlight a rather simple trick that pretty much every dog parent seems to like to have in their trick repertoire.  This trick is called Play Dead.  Most dogs learn this trick very quickly and it’s a great hit when showing off your dog’s skills.

The dog should know the command “down” and you should have a release word (I use stop, or release as my release word).

First off, give your dog the “down” command.  The dog should lie down.  What you want to make sure of is that the dog learns to lie down on his/her side.

Once the dog is laying on his/her side, point your finger at them like a gun and say BANG, all the while moving the dog’s head to the floor.  If the dog already has his head on the floor on their side, then you’re pretty much there.

Reward your dog with a treat ONLY if they keep their head on the floor (thus looking like they are dead).

Keep the dog in that position until you use your release word.  The dog should get up and the trick is done!

Once your dog masters this trick, you should be able to say your release word at a distance.

I have a video showing the trick.  It is NOT ME in the video.

Have a great weekend and enjoy!

 

Weekly Trick – Jump Through Hoop

This trick may not be very advanced, but it sure looks cool once the dog is able to do it.  It is great exercise and uses their agility in order to perform the trick.

First, get a hoop big enough for your dog to fit through.

Next grab one of their favorite toys.

With the hoop touching the floor, move the toy through the hoop back and forth and use a command word such as “Hoop” or “Through” each time you move the toy back and forth through the hoop.  Make sure to let the dog play with the toy every once in a while, while in your hand because they have been doing such a good job.

Once the dog is comfortably going back and forth through the hoop, lift the hoop off the floor an inch at a time and keep moving the toy back and forth through the hoop while using your command word.

Once the dog is comfortable with one inch off the floor, lift it up a bit higher and continue to do so until they are literally jumping through the hoop.

If the dog misses, take a step back and bring the hoop back down an inch, or until they are able to easily go through the hoop once again.

Always give rewards and huge praises when they do the trick correctly.  Have some treats handy as well and use those in moderation.

It’s a great trick for any dog to learn and it looks great when they are doing it!

Here is a video to show you how to do the trick.  Again, this is NOT me in the video.  Just a good way to show you how to do this trick.

I hope your dog has great fun with this trick!