Help! Problem With Cop Cop

[MaryK]

Ra Kismet and I have been working on Cop Cop for a while now. He 'gets' putting both paws on my feet but the rot sets in when I try to walk!

He will do a couple, with luck, paces but seems to TOTALLY forget to move his hind legs They remain firmly planted on the ground and he kinda 'elongates' his body as far as possible before he just cannot 'stretch' any further and steps off my feet.

I've been working on 'rear end awareness' mostly using the hoop and now he appears to realize he does have a rear end in just about everything else except Cop Cop.

Tried to gently 'reach back' and touch his hind legs to no avail. They still remain FIRMLY planted and not moving.

Any suggestions as to how I can get Ra Kismet to actually move his rear end along with the rest of his body??? Or do we invent a new trick - elongated Doxie dog???

 

[648117]

With Holly I kind of used a hand target. It wasn't part of the plan but I ended up putting my hand down to stop her going straight through my legs so now when we start cop cop I use a hand target as a bit of a cue.

Anyway, do you think if you got him targeting your hand with his nose it would make him realise that his entire body has to move to keep his nose on that target? Maybe training him to keep his front paws on your feet just isn't strong enough to get his entire body to move with it but hand targets could be (if you know what I mean? I'm not sure I explained that very well).
My obedience class teaches heel work and heel position with hand targets initially and I don't remember seeing any dogs having issues realising that they need to follow the hand target rather than just stretching.

Also, I just remembered that Holly would always sit down when I was first getting her to put her paws on my feet so I had to reach round and tickle her tummy to make her stand up


Hope that helps

 

[MaryK]

Great suggestion! I use hand targets for heeling work also. You've explained it very well, thank you so much

Ra Kismet will ALWAYS follow his nose, if there's a treat in store

Am just about to start trick work in a few minutes, so will do as you suggest.

Ra Kismet does stand but LOL that's as far as it goes, until now with your suggestions he'll be only too keen to follow his nose!

LOL I know where Ra Kismet's 'ticklish spot' is too! So far he remains standing but forgets his hind legs

Must go try it out! Holly's such a cutie, would love to see her doing cop cop, she'd look so cute Hint Hint - video????

 

[648117]

How did it go with the hand-targetting?

I filmed Holly doing cop-cop today:

 

[Dogster]

AWESOME!!!!! Great job!!!!!! That looks adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MaryK]

Great vid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holly is ADORABLE And her cop cop WOW - LOL soooooooo jealous Love the little wave at the end too She looks so cute toddling along in cop cop and so very comfortable and pleased with herself !

The nose targeting is getting us somewhere, thank you We did get TWO paces complete with the REAR END YEAH - then he 'fell off' my left foot But progress from the first try! So will keep using your technique, it works ! It's now just a matter of practice, practice and more practice. I think Ra Kismet may feel a little uncertain now the rear end is actually moving or he's a bit amazed or something

 

[648117]

That's great!! Holly started off doing only a couple of steps at a time and I still never ask for too much. I think the most I've asked for is about 4 meters in a row, but as you can imagine (and see), I can only take little steps so it takes a while to get anywhere .
If Holly falls off she is able to get herself back onto my feet, I think if they can do that then they must really understand the trick.

I love the wave trick, I get Holly to do it all the time because it's so cute and her cue is me waving at her. And when she's really excited she goes into a beg position to wave But when I filmed cop-cop and wave today it was in the morning when she is normally asleep lying in the sun so I don't think she was as excited about doing her tricks as she normally is (we generally do most training in the evening).

You'll have to film Ra Kismet so we can all see his progress .

 

[MaryK]

Wow!!! I think four meters is awesome LOL we don't even manage half a meter. Our steps are even smaller I think, I'm just taking very small steps at the moment. I think I too am having to get used to Ra Kismet's weight on my feet 21.7. kilos isn't that heavy but can feel that way at first.

That's fantastic that Holly can get back on your feet again, I totally agree, she really does know the trick to do that!

Her wave is just the cutest Would love to see her go into the beg and wave LOL really how totally 'cruel' of you to disturb the gal while she's having her morning sun baking session how could you!!!!!!!! I had a German Shepherd who got really upset if you asked her to do anything at all between 3.p.m. and 4.p.m. that was her afternoon siesta time. I generally train in the evenings too but LOL I think Ra Kismet would train any time of the day or night.
Will try to get partner to video Ra Kismet doing cop cop as it would be good to see how he's going myself. At present I can only 'feel' how well the rear end is moving.

 

[running_dog]

I've get a loopy labrador to walk sometimes and she loves peekaboo, she's realised she can do a walking peekaboo (and now she thinks she is the cleverest dog in the world). I wondered if another way to help a dog get the idea of moving both ends in cop cop would be to start or alternate with a walking peekaboo.

 

[MaryK]

I've get a loopy labrador to walk sometimes and she loves peekaboo, she's realised she can do a walking peekaboo (and now she thinks she is the cleverest dog in the world). I wondered if another way to help a dog get the idea of moving both ends in cop cop would be to start or alternate with a walking peekaboo.

That sounds a great idea, except LOL, not quite sure how to do peekaboo. Would love to know, as it would be another trick too, which I could add to Ra Kismet's list.

Thank you

 

[southerngirl]

It's where the dog comes in between your legs.

 

[MaryK]

Thanks Southerngirl, LOL I must be having a blonde moment Ra Kismet already does that YEAH can add it to his trick list!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just his 'dumb' Mom didn't know what it was called

 

[orpheum]

I also teach my dogs to start with walking between my legs in all directions. Once they know this I start with cop cop. Maybe you should start with a turning movement to get the rear end moving from the start ?? (Please don't look at the mess ).

Starting from 33 seconds I'm teaching the peekaboo and from this trick I would move on to cop cop. The first time we trained this combination.

 

[MaryK]

Thank you!I'll start doing that, it looks a really good way to start with cop cop and get his rear end moving. He'll do peek a boo, so now I just start walking in different directions without asking for his paws on my feet. Cannot wait for morning to start.

Love the way your two dogs worked together, that's fantastic!

 

[huntyr]

omg! I am gonna try this too. I just cannot get him to put his feet on mine.
If he was used to walking between my legs first.......
fantastic... we start today on this...

 

[MaryK]

Go for it Huntyr! I tried it today with my older dog, he's almost 12 years old, and he did really well! Will have to wait with Ra Kismet, he's managed to injure his face playing soccer or pinching unripened Apricots from the tree, big cut on his face, so no tricking or soccer playing for a couple of days. Cannot wait to see how he goes, especially after Zeus' efforts!

 

[orpheum]

So ... How is the peekaboo (walking between legs) working out for you ??

 

[MaryK]

So ... How is the peekaboo (walking between legs) working out for you ??

Thank you for asking

Brilliantly with my older boy Zeus, who will probably not manage cop cop, bit too much strain on his legs. He'll walk, sit and lie down in peekaboo.

But Ra Kismet *heaves massive sigh* for a dog who can run and leap like a gazelle ( you should see him clear the armchair in a single bound then rebound off the ottoman), he's as hard to move as a rock when trying peekaboo walking between my legs! He'll do peekaboo without the walk, not a problem, but when it comes to actually walking he either forgets his hind legs completely, or if he does recall he has them, somehow manages to still drag them along! And at the same time, instead of walking 'straight' with the front ones, he's got this cute way of crossing them over!!!!!!!!!!

But at least he's moving. And I do have to use a lure, a scrumptious treat, right in front of his nose to achieve his somewhat manky walk! Believe me, it's weird, and normally there's not a thing wrong with his walk, run, leaps, jumps up or anything else.

He'll also put both paws on my feet but I don't attempt to get him to walk at present. I stop there, do some other tricks and then try peekaboo walk.

I think he feels a bit 'constricted' rather like claustrophobia. I'll keep working on the peekaboo walk, just short bursts at present, as he'll get it eventually because he's a dog who really, really loves to train and learn.

 

[Dlilly]

I'm also having trouble teaching cop cop. I can't believe my foster Beagle, Chance, learned it in one session, and I've been working on this with Shiloh for months.

 

[orpheum]

I don't know if you have the ability to post a video of you training this ??
One from the front angle and one from the side would be ideal.
Maybe we could give you some pointers or tips on things you might be missing out now.

This is only if you would like to do so of course

If you hold the treat up to high in the beginning phase you most likely get a front feet mess up. The other thing I can think of is that your reward is too strong. Some dogs are so food motivated and shut down their thinking (this can be handy sometimes). With dogs like that I prefer a target stick (just make on yourself) instead of a treat as it will help them to think again.

I don't know if I'm clear enough. Once again, English is not my first language