Looking For New Tricks!

echoyjeff222

echoyjeff222

Member
Hi everyone! I'm thinking about teaching my dog Echo some new tricks. He's four years old now, and I haven't taught him any tricks in a few years. Currently he knows roll over, play dead, crawl, and high five.

I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions for some new tricks to learn - preferably with some instructions / videos.

Also, is it okay to teach tricks along with reteaching "come" or is that too much in one session? (should i split it up into diff. sessions?)

Thanks!
 
I teach my dog more than one trick at a time and work on them in the same session. I think that as long as the tricks are not similar it's fine to teach more than one at a time.
Do you use clicker training? What breed is Echo? I would love to see some pictures of him.
Try going to the Dog Tricks Forum to find a trick you would like to teach Echo because there are a lot of tricks that you could teach him.
 
WELCOME! WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA!!

Each of us is different, but i almost never teach two NEW tricks in one session,
but, i might teach one trick for 10 minutes at 2pm,
and work on other trick for 10 minutes at 4pm.
I might throw in tricks he knows, now and then, but not two NEW tricks in one session.

but, that's just me.

but whatever works out for you. Lessons don't have to be very long, til dog builds up his att'n span.

I think re-teaching "come" all over again from scratch is GREAT idea!!
We have several threads or posts on that around here. Is great to start off easy, when dog is beside you, and slowly build it up, day by day. Be sure to heavily reward and praise him showing up,
and of course, never scold a dog who shows up late, he'll be less likely to show up again.
One tip, try your best to never ever call to your dog when you KNOW he will not come, such as, when he is doing his pre-urination sniff, when you gotta go,
you gotta go. Wait til he is done, and THEN call him, then you both win.

I think "come" is a cue that sort of needs ongoing practice to keep it sharp.
 
MY favorite dog trick is "buddy, smile" where i just CLICK/TREAT whenever he'd smile. I would make him smile, (me running around cracks my dog up)
and then i would CLICK/TREAT that smile.



My dog's favorite trick is pick up toys.
Very very handy trick, too, when you need to vaccuum!
My dog thinks this is a game, and plays this for a long time.
reply #5
on this thread,
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/training-put-your-toys-away.2741/#post-30806
is how i taught it, starting with basket right under dog's mouth,
and handing dogs toys that he likes in his mouth,
and just CLICK/TREAT when toy falls into box,:ROFLMAO: and
advance from there, moving box to the side a bit,
and then,
slowly shift from handing the toy to the dog, to having dog picking up the toy to drop it in box, and so on, not a hard trick, imo.


this trick is VERY easy, is a very good, simple FUN trick to help you gain your confidence about tricks training,
this trick is easy, imo, but all dogs are unique.
GOOD LUCK!
HOPE TO SEE YOU POSTING A LOT ON HERE!!
 
WELCOME!!!!:D

I bet, if you search up a trick you would like to teach, on this site, at least one thread will pop up.:) I like roll in a blanket, skateboard, paint, blow bubbles....;) How easy/hard do you want the trick to be??? Any particular tricks you're interested in???
 
Wow, thanks for all the great replies! Here's a few OLD pictures of Echo, back when he was a puppy :) He's a cairn terrier! Very hyper and smart ;)

echooo-1.jpg

echoneww.jpg


echo.jpg
 
lol, i have had to teach "come" all over again, a time or two, myself!! :ROFLMAO: I had thought, "once i teach my dog to come when i call him, that's it! it's a done deal!":D but, without practice, my dog got sloppy about it...:rolleyes:

CUTE DOG!! WOW, looks like a dog who would be in a movie! Reeeally intelligent looking eyes on that dog...
 
I think you've already gotten some great advice. Check out the Dog Tricks forum for some ideas of tricks to teach. Some members have listed their tricks in lists. Also, I like to go to Youtube and check Kikopup. She has a lot of tricks out there and great instructional videos. I am always on the lookout for another great idea.

As far as how many tricks you can teach in a session, it's really up to you. You'll hear a lot of different opinions, but, in the end, all that really counts is that you and your dog are enjoying the session. If you try to teach more than one new trick and it stresses him, you know to not do that. I just do whatever I feel like and don't have any real set rules. Kinda' like playing. I have 2 dogs, so they take turns. One does a calm settle on a chair or bed while the other works. Also, I like to work in a couple/few short sessions during the day, as well as a long session every couple of days or so. Sometimes I practice many repitions of one trick and sometimes I practice one repition of many tricks. Variety is usually a good thing. Always keep some treats around so that, if you see an opportunity to practice a trick, you can give it a go. Those impromptu sessions, even if only a few seconds, really count and add up. All dogs and people are individuals, so just watch your dog and figure out what he enjoys. That's the key.
 
tigerlily46514 said:
lol, i have had to teach "come" all over again, a time or two, myself!! :ROFLMAO: I had thought, "once i teach my dog to come when i call him, that's it! it's a done deal!":D but, without practice, my dog got sloppy about it...:rolleyes:

CUTE DOG!! WOW, looks like a dog who would be in a movie! Reeeally intelligent looking eyes on that dog...
Click to expand...

Maybe the Benji movie. They were casting on facebook, but I don't know if they are accepting anymore dog pictures.
 
One of my favorite tricks is to have Sundog retrieve/fetch/get/bring. Now, if I need something from downstairs or upstairs, I yell for her Dad to give it to her and she brings it to me. If I drop something on the floor or the ground, I have her get it for me and give it to me. We have actually gotten to the point that this is expanding beyond a trick. She can take things to her Dad. She has always loved fetch and I think she really loves this trick.
 
Just another quick question that's been bugging me ... Echo's my first dog, and so we started off with him on a leash. Now that I look back on it, I wish that I had just gone no leash at all to start off with. That way, I could actually let him go outside without him going berserk, hahaha. As of now, if I let him off leash outside he runs around like crazy (but doesn't run AWAY) to our neighbors' houses ... he found out that one neighbor's door can actually be opened if he pushes hard enough if their garage door is open -.-

But my question is, if I successfully re-teach "come," will he probably still have issues with going outside off leash? It's just that my parents kind of fail when he runs off and they're like "Jeffrey go get the dog!!!" and so it's up to me. Most of the time I just end up waiting till he gets tired out and then he usually comes back ... still kind of annoying though!

I'm going to try teaching the "pick up the toy" trick :)
 
Jeff,
if you can find an empty fenced in area,
(i use empty fenced in school yards, football fields, the old ancient cemeteries, fields, anywhere there is a fence)
These areas are great for recall. Put dog in a "stay"
and walk away, (just like, 5 or 10 feet at first) and call dog.
or wait til dog is busy sniffing, sneak away, and when dog is done sniffing, call him over. (dogs sniffing are hard to call to you, so set your dog up for success at first)

The other thing i'm doing, teaching sort of a default "stay within a few feet of me"
I am doing this:
If my dog walks too far away from me, i make kissy noise, and reward him for returning back to me, alternating between praise and treats.
While we are walking through these fields,
i make sharp turns,
if my dog doesn't turn along with me, (i'm talking generally, not in a heel)
i make kissy noise, my dog then begins walking in same direction i am walking.

Now, more and more, my dog is now "getting it" and beginning to turn and walk in same direction i am (again, this is NOT his heelwork, this is just casual walking in same direction)

it's fun, imo.

then, i also "release him" and say "go play" and my dog is free to go run around, til i call him back to me. At first, i threw toys for him to chase, or treats onto the schools's running track, and praise him for being far away from me,
and then, after a while, i call him back.

hope that is not confusing, what i just said, but, my dog mostly "gets it" now,
somehow, my dog HAS sorted out, "i should stay within a few feet of mom unless she says go play"
and he does.
 
^but THAT is not the same thing
as teaching your dog to stay in his yard.

To teach a dog to stay in your yard, is not as hard as you'd think. This thread has "how to" videos to teach a dog to stay in HIS yard:
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/invisible-boundaries.5043/


If your yard, and your neighbor's yard have a seamless grass-to-grass edge,
you could try using stakes with strings to help dog understand where the boundary IS.:ROFLMAO:
At some point, after this is rock solid, you could maybe remove the strings, too,
maybe beginning by just having strings lying on ground,
and then later---removing the strings altogether.



My yard is separated on one side by a cement driveway, so my dog can easily tell where "his" yard is.
On other side of my front yard, my grass DOES lead into the neighbors grass, but for some reason, my dog somehow knows where "his" grass ends----- BUT no one lives there, so there is no one tempting him to come play, either.
Jeff, you might need to use a string for a long time, to teach your dog where "his" grass ends.
 
As far as the problem with Echo running off to the neighbor's house, it sounds like he is enjoying that. If he enjoys it, then he is being rewarded and that will reinforce the behavior and you will continue to have the problem. Do the neighbors reinforce him when he comes over? What is his motivation for going over there? If the neighbors are doing something to reward him, even if it is simply speaking to him, you need to talk to the neighbors and ask for their help. Also, when he runs over there, you give him a chance to come when called giving him a chance to make a good or bad decision (unless you know for sure it will fail, then don't set yourself up for failure) and, if he doesn't come, go immediately and get him. Don't be mad or upset, just calmly get him and bring him back as soon as possible.

This problem may take a while to resolve. If you have neighbors who reinforce him, you may never resolve it.

Teaching (or reteaching) come is just like teaching a trick. You will want to start at a very low level and add distance, duration, and distraction one at a time as the dog progresses. When you move to outside, you will once again move to a low level and rebuild the 3 D's. Do it with a leash or long line outside at first. A fenced-in area would also be great, if you have that available.

Also you will really want to work hard on focus and attention. Focus and attention are the key to a good recall. If your dog doesn't pay attention to you, you will never have a good recall. Practice watch me commands and calling him when you are not in a "formal" training session throughout the day. Reward heavily.
 
//" he found out that one neighbor's door can actually be opened if he pushes hard enough if their garage door is open -.-"//


wow,:eek: what a very smart dog!:eek: Your dog:ninja: is breaking into neighbors houses? :ROFLMAO:
brilliant!

i have NO idea how to solve that one, and once i stopped laffin, and wiped tears out of my eyes,
i had one idea you could try...

Possibly, after you have taught your dog the cue "leave it"
and after your dog solidly understands that "leave it" means "i don't even touch that item"
then,
maybe you could bring your dog to that door of your neighbors, give hand cue and verbal cue to "leave it" in front of that door----
a few times, over several days--------or weeks--------
and dog would hopefully come to understand, that you do NOT want him touching that door anymore.
????????????

STILL, THIS IS HILARIOUS!!!!:ROFLMAO: (well, it's funny to me:LOL: it is, cuz, it's not my dog doing it!:LOL: i just can't stop chuckling over this, way too funny Jeff!)
 
OH SB&B, we just posted ^ at exact same moment! :ROFLMAO: I had not read your post, when i posted mine, sorry, we must have been typing at exact same time!:LOL: Your post was not there when i started typing! rofl!


isn't that a hoot about Jeff's dog is a lil criminal dog,:ninja: breaking and entering?? rofl!!
 
tigerlily46514 said:
OH SB&B, we just posted ^ at exact same moment! :ROFLMAO: I had not read your post, when i posted mine, sorry, we must have been typing at exact same time!:LOL: Your post was not there when i started typing! rofl!


isn't that a hoot about Jeff's dog is a lil criminal dog,:ninja: breaking and entering?? rofl!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, he's a smart little guy, a smart little criminal. That would probably make a very funny commercial. I would be ROTFLMBO. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Luckily, the dog is small and cute. I have a cyberfriend whose dog got out of the yard and went in through the neighbor's screen door. Those neighbors called the cops.

If he's got the Uncle Freddy factor going, it may well be hopeless. (Uncle Freddy feeds your dog under the table at dinner when you're not looking and you're wondering why you can't teach your dog not to beg at the table.)
 
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