Greetings.

Pei Pei

Active Member
Hi. I have a 8 year old Shar Pei, Cole, and a year old Shar Pei, Cubbie. I discovered that the puppy was very smart when I brought him into the home at 5 months and very motivated by treats and responds to clicker and shaping well. He is just over a year now and knows about 40 tricks and commands, has gone to obediance class and is about to take a refresher class to work with him on becoming more focused with distractions such as people and other dogs, especially when I am out walking. Cole was a rescue and before I got Cubbie would not even sit for me, and now he will sit, and down, and shake, stay and come. I hope to learn a lot from this site and have some new tricks to teach my dogs and talk with others who are having as much fun training their dog as I am.

Cubbie knows all the standard obediance commands, sit, stay, come, wait, down. I dont' know who would ever want to read all of these but I am proud of my smart boy so here are the others he knows: puppy push ups, stand, back up, crawl, up, up and around (up and turn around while standing up), sit pretty, roll over, dead dog, cubbie's tired(puts his head on the floor), say hello (head on lap), heel right, heel left, go around, peek a boo and peek a boo with sit pretty. go to bed, get your balnket (covers himself up), paw, other paw, touch (hand), circle (around me), leave it, drop it, give, fetch, take a bow, discern three certain objects and touch them when asked to, hoop, jump over bar, go under bar, jump over my legs, crawl under my legs, big dog bark, little dog bark, settle, listen, watch me, tilt head, jump up on small tables to a height of three feet, put treat in front of him and he will crawl partway and then stop, go ahead, stop and take the treat only when I say so, turn around in both directions, go through a tunnel.

I am working on him leaving a treat on his nose but that is a tough one since Shar Pei have all that loose skin around their eyes and aren't good at head approaches cuz they can't really see what is going on.
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
WOW!!! WOW!! and WOW!!! Sounds like you and your new puppy are doing GREAT!! KUDOS!!
so impressed with that list!! YAY!!! You are doing something right!!

only one remark i wanted to clarify, is this one: //"Cole was a rescue and before I got Cubbie would not even sit for me, and now he will sit, and down, and shake, stay and come"?//
Cole being a rescue had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact he somehow, in 8 years, never was trained before you got Cubby. My dog's a rescue, and knows tons of tricks.
I LOVE RESCUE DOGS!! and KUDOS to you for rescuing Cole!! YAY!!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!! I bet that balancing trick on the nose is pretty challenging for a Shar Pei!!

and also, i am very interested in how did you teach "tilt head"?? I've tried that, by holding squeak toy behind my back, and clicking when he tipped head, but, he never ever "got" that one, i ended up shelving that one. How did you do it???

And what are "Puppy Push Ups"?? sounds very cute!!!
 

Pei Pei

Active Member
Hi Jean Marie,
Thanks for the enthusiastic welcome. I know Cole not knowing anything as a rescue had nothing to do with him being a rescue but it was my own complete lack of knowledge that prevented him from knowing anything but basic things. I am ashamed to say he has been with me for almost three years. My other rescues were very well trained prior to my coming into their life (well most of them! LOL). I totally chock it up to my blinders being on that there wasn't much I was going to be able to do with Shar Peis as they were not known for their smarts. Dumb, dumb person, not Shar Peis!!!. My trainer says I have 'training fever.' I've read or am in the middle of reading any book on positive reinforcement. Have to admit I was of the Dog Whisperer group prior to cubbie but now I know better.

PUppy push ups are sit ,stay, stand doing several reps in a row. In obedience class the one who did the most won a toy and cubbie tied for first.

I REALLY love rescue dogs too. I have rescued 6 in eleven years, but Cole is the only one still with me. I had such a disheartening time a few years back when I rescued two Peis from a puppy mill. They were not socialized and so frightened I never got one to come out of it even with a home trainer. I did many things wrong with her and in the end both of them died of kidney failure. One a few months after I got her and the other nearly a year later. I wanted a puppy so he could be with me a long time and I could socialize him very well.

the tilt head was easy for Cubbie. I captured it again and again when I make a high pitched sound and tilt my own head when I am doing it. I still have to make the sound but he's got it now.

I look forward to this site and hope it remains active and I can learn a lot of things!!!
Sandy
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
//"I'm glad you've come back from the "dark side" I am NOT a CM fan, nor do I believe in the pack theory. My dogs listen because they want to, not because I "touch" them."//

well said, SAra. I am not a DW fan either, and must confess, until Tx and others helped me learn a better way, i had been influenced by DW in past lives. Like i'm always saying, as one who is working with a dog-aggressive dog, i disklike DW hypnotizing everyone that our dogs are manifesting the human's inner issues....sigh.
Promoting the idea that any dog you see with issues is the human's fault, is not supporting those of us working with damaged dogs.
All my other dogs were fine, and sometimes, of the dogs in a home, 3 are fine, but just 1 has issues. What---the other 3 dogs are not noticing how 'messed up' their human is?

PetPei, thank you for explaining how you taught head-tilt. I will give it another try. I have noticed, sometimes if i shelve a trick, wait, and then REintroduce it, for some reason, sometimes it THEN suddenly clicks for him.

And let me see if i understand puppy pushups----you give 1 cue, and then the dog sits/lies down/sits/lies down in rapid succession? Is that it?
 

Pei Pei

Active Member
Wow!!!!

I have to say something about what I did this weekend and don't know if this is an ok place to put it. It is a bit of bragging. I went to my daughter's in Iowa to pick up my new car from my son-in-law car salesman. This is a long trip but all I have heard about for months from my daughter is how bad her one year old Rhodesian Ridgeback is with jumping and being hyper and not doing anything they ask basically. She has a two year old RR also who is mellow and does anything they ask without a fuss. I told her I was going to come with my clicker and treats and I would see what I could do.

He was indeed wild and a jumper of major proportions. I walked in on Friday very late and just did the anti-jumping tactic. I worked with him with sit, down, watch me, stay and touch several times on Sat by myself and then I showed her. She was shocked as well as the rest of the family that includes two children. Then I had her demonstrate once and prompt her when she wasn't as effective as she could be. She couldn't believe it so we went out and bought a clicker, treat bag, training treats, and two books. I wrote out 6 pages of instruction. By Sunday afternoon when I had to leave, he was NOT jumping on anyone, could do all of the above with a short focus only for now and was a MUCH HAPPIER dog. She did all of the commands by herself and was also a much happier person to know a way to train now. All of it without a harsh word or correction.

Today she told me that he is a different dog and he is noticeably a very happy dog with a big smile on his face. And she is a much happier daughter now that she has the tools to help him. I know she will stick with it too or I will give her a few "eh, eh's" of my own.

Sandy
 

Ina

Well-Known Member
Today she told me that he is a different dog and he is noticeably a very happy dog with a big smile on his face. And she is a much happier daughter now that she has the tools to help him. I know she will stick with it too or I will give her a few "eh, eh's" of my own.
Well done Sandy. It's quite an achievement that you have come so far with the Ridgeback in just a weekend. I am sure your daughter thinks you are a magician :-)

Every dog should come with a clicker training handbook.
 

Pei Pei

Active Member
I talked to my daughter today and he hasn't jumped once on anyone and is sitting even without the clicker or treats, though he looks in her hand first. He is content and no one is yelling at him, he is a much calmer dog in general. He just had to know what they wanted from him. I actually don't believe it went that fast either. Wow!!

Wouldn't that be cool if they all did have a clicker training book!!!
 
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