Hi everbody

[rantino]

I was just surfing and looking for sites to help me teach my dogs some tricks.
I live in Mornington, Victoria, Australia.
I have been doing formal obedience since 1983 and felt I needed a bit of a change. I have german shepherds, one of which learnt tricks practically by himself but I feel I need help to get the others started.
I hope to get some tricks taught to my dogs with the help of this forum.

Cheers Rantino

 

[Jean Cote]

Hi Rantino!

:welcome: to the Academy. Which kind of tricks were you interested in training your dog? I'm sure we can help you. :dogsmile:

 

[szecsuani]

Welcome!
Obedience is a really good thing to do, I'm intrested in it very much!

 

[rantino]

I'm not sure. Is there a certain place to start? These dogs are still doing competition obedience, but I know that tricks wont necessarily confuse the dogs if done correctly. Can someone give me a starting point, something quite simple.

Cheers Rantino

 

[szecsuani]

Dogs are smart enough to know when they are doing different tricks, so you can start with almost anything, it won't ruin their work in obedience! :msnwink:

I think you should start with easy tricks, that the dog can learn fast, and then he will see that this is fun.
Sit up, roll over, give paw, slalom at your legs, figure eight at your legs, putting the head in your lap are pretty easy to teach, and really entertaining.
You can also do some shaping games, so the dog learns that he has to think. They can make up really cute tricks! :msnwink:

Hope I helped!

 

[cppugs]

I totally agree with szecsuani, dogs do know the difference. I always heard not to train a conformation dog in obedience. Me being pig headed, I did it anyway. Itty Bit learned that depending on what collar she had on what she should do. When the show lead went on, she was on, up, flashy, ready to show off. When the obedience collar on, she would immediately go to heel and be the perfect little obedience dog. She even won high in trail during this period. So, do not hesitate in your trick training, these guys are a lot smarter than people realize!
Charleen

 

[szecsuani]

And maybe you could do the obedience training and the trick training in different rooms of the house, or in different parts of the garden.
That can be a big help for the dog to know what to do. (but this is just an idea)

But this collar thing is very good Cppugs!

 

[rantino]

Thanks Guys, you have been very helpful. I like the idea of the head in the lap. I think I will start off with that one. One of my dogs is partly trained for saying his prayers too. The weaving I have done with my older boy both moving and stationary. I have one of the girls crawling quite well. And yet another one can wave.
So I will just build on what I have already got and then who knows I might be able to put on a six dog show. (Yeah right....just kidding)

 

[szecsuani]

A six dog show would be very fun!!!!

 

[dyzney]

Hi Rantino, I am a newbie, just registered today. I am also from Mornington Vic... couldn't believe it when I saw that you were also. I am just checking out this whole site for the first time. I am a bit sort of lost with what I am doing regarding dog sports. I have done a bit of just about everything except flyball and herding, and not sure what direction to take. Have done a bit of tricks training, and thought that I might expand on that for a while, whilst trying to decide whether to get back into obedience and tracking. My Rott bitch Dyney nearly died earlier this year, and thankfully she has pulled through very well. We are just so glad to still have her, but everything else just sort of put on the back burner. Now not sure what to do. We have 2 Rotts, a GSD and a Standard Poodle, so a bit of a mixture.