Tricks Mini Demo - Ideas?

reveuse

Well-Known Member
what did you wind up using as a hand signal for "no" ... ? If you did one...

I need to make a hand signal suggestion thread as quite a few of his commands are in severe need of signals and help with fading out the cookie motivation.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Honestly I still sort of do the same thing I did when I was teaching it--each hand(with only pointer finger extended) on either side of her face, except now I am standing straight up and just kind of point one finger, then point the other. But I haven't been working on this a lot, because this is almost EXACTLY like her march signal, so I've abandoned this one a little until I can figure out a different signal. Eventually I wanted to change it to wagging one pointer finger, but I really don't like it either.....so I'm still trying to find a hand signal I'm happy with, lol.
 

reveuse

Well-Known Member
I actually came up with a pretty decent signal by accident earlier today that I think ill wind up using....... (i was trying to use the cookie between my fingers and waving them side to side to get him to do the head motion (like when I used to point each way to get him to look before crossing the street (which Is probably a useless trick in that i'm not sure he has made the association of that being to see if the coast is clear before crossing but it looks darn cute when he does it ) .... wound up using my index and my middle finger together on my right hand and waving them side to side for him to follow each way...
he's getting decent at it.... think some solid 5 min sessions over the next few days and it'll be a decent "no"
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
That's a good idea for teaching no, might try this with Mud. What I liked about Kikopup's method is that you get a really obvious, enthusiastic "no," but Mud has really had trouble with this one. Maybe the two combined will give me what I'm really wanting...??
 

reveuse

Well-Known Member
Sorry I didn't get to reply to this sooner - I wasn't home most of yesterday and when I started to reply this morning I got distracted and forgot to actually click the button to post the msg *oops*

The demo was yesterday morning and he read everything perfectly! (and then one of his classmates pressed the easy button right after - LOL) .......... he did for some shocking reason absolutely refuse to jump over his jump...... - his absolute favorite thing to do....I didn't try to force the issue at all... if he didn't want to i'm not going to turn it into a negative but still trying to figure that one out. LOL

I did make a list of all the cool book related ideas from page one and I'm going to work on those one by one because in 8 weeks or so I think i'll have to do another demo-type thing .

Tx - keep me posted on how the "no" training goes! I hope you get exactly the right type of no out of it! :dogcool:
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
So what all did you end up doing for your demo?
Lol, will work on it more after my speech. ^^ Right now I'm focusing on the beer trick, and perfecting her wave, because within the last few days all of a sudden she will not wave without a lot of convincing. She just went to the vet, so it's not like she has any obvious physical problems to make her not be able to wave--her wave is from a beg position, and she lifts one paw.
(original picture is huge)
So I'm trying to perfect that again so I can finish with that. It used to be one of her best tricks, and now for some reason she really just does not want to do it. Hmm...
Anyway, not to derail the thread....glad your demo went well!! Can't wait for the next one. :D
 

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srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
Glad to hear it went well! I bet your class loved the reading!
River tried the "ghost" trick it was hilarious! Thanks for posting about ghosts and giving me the idea!

Tx: was it right after the vet that she stopped waving? Potentially the shots could have made her sore, but I don't think that would last to long if that even had anything to do with it...
 

reveuse

Well-Known Member
Tx - i'm constantly hijacking and derailing (or feels like I do) so you are more than welcome to do so too!!! (and you really aren't)
hmmm Mud won't wave and Ro wouldn't jump.... maybe they are going on strike??? any tips on adding some distance for wave? Ro STILL doesn't like to wave unless the cookie/hand is like right there (soon as I inch my hand away he's like forget it)


What method did you use to try "ghost" with River???? Romeo was burying himself in his blanket the other night after I waterless shampooed him and I did click a few times when he went all the way under it ... but that was just accidental playtime stuff. - definetly want to start this trick.
Thank you for giving me the idea to give you the idea (haha) by posting to as Ro if the story was about cowboys, dancers .... etc ... - brainstorming is always better with more people around



the demo was shorter than it was supposed to be cause we ran late ....... so we all went over the jump (well not Rome since he refused)....... and for my personal part I just asked him if he was smart ("nod") , and did he want to show everyone his surprise? ("nod") , and then trainer handed me various cards and Ro thankfully complied I think it was sit , then touch, and then down..... --- but next go around I plan to do the whole story thing (if i get a nice ghost and shark out of him) , and some yes/no questions and have a few more reading words learned (he seems stuck on "bed" - not getting the hang of "reading" it............. which is odd because go to bed is one of his most reliable commands....) - and i cant think of any other good words for him to read - (shake / hi 5 would be too obvious since i'd have to bend down.... maybe paws up?)
 

reveuse

Well-Known Member
oh i got ro his own EASY button today ........... the cue is going to be " What do you think of that?" (or something like that)
but then I wanted to teach him (way later on down my Rapidly growing to teach list) to stick his tongue out - for a like "meh" "blah" ick" type thing....... and can't think of a different command for that one..... (was going to use the one that is going with the easy button)......

*drives self bonkers*
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
SrDogTrainer--well, no, it started a couple days after the shots. But, today she was back to waving wonderfully....maybe she just wasn't in the mood, lol??? I don't know. And today she really had an off day, so it was kind of funny that she waved just as good as before her little anti-waving episode. Who knows...?

Reveuse--adding distance to the wave...he quits soon as you literally move an inch further than he's used to? If that's the case, you can do a few different things:
Go back to using a target, if you used this to begin with. Move the target in teeeeeeeeny tiny increments once you get to his point where he will no longer respond to it.

Since he's a small dog, I'm guessing you're bending over if you've been teaching him to target your hand. There's a good chance that you bending over has become part of the cue, so he thinks you standing straight means no wave. Try sitting on your knees, but sitting up straight, or gradually going from bent to sitting straight up. Then try squatting a little, then standing, etc. Can't remember which book I read it in, but it's good to get your dog to listen to commands from literally any position--whether you are laying down, standing up, sitting down, standing on one leg, etc.

You could also try practicing it many many many times in a row(without him getting bored), just like you normally do--hand right in front of him if that's where it normally has to be. Then sit with clicker and treats and wait. See if he offers it--if he does, jackpot, because you weren't in the position you normally are to signal the wave. Kind of using shaping to mold a known behavior into a more what you want.

Right now I'm working on having Mud sit beside me to wave, instead of facing me to wave. Any other trick she does fine without facing me, but the wave she had a little more trouble with initially. She's pretty much got it now; just took a couple sessions, but still needs a wee bit of work.

Tongue-sticking-out command ideas....
"What do you think of Cesar Milan?"
"What do you think of vegetables?"
"What do you think of [other various public figures, training methods, sports teams, etc]?
 

sara

Moderator
Staff member
You guys are driving me NUTS! You've just added to my list BIG TIME!!!!!!! Poor Ollie, he's gonna get a work out!
 

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
any tips on adding some distance for wave? Ro STILL doesn't like to wave unless the cookie/hand is like right there (soon as I inch my hand away he's like forget it)

I wouls suggest using another type of target. For example a target stick or even a plastic lid.




What method did you use to try "ghost" with River???? Romeo was burying himself in his blanket the other night after I waterless shampooed him and I did click a few times when he went all the way under it ... but that was just accidental playtime stuff. - definetly want to start this trick.
Thank you for giving me the idea to give you the idea (haha) by posting to as Ro if the story was about cowboys, dancers .... etc ... - brainstorming is always better with more people around :dogbiggrin:


the demo was shorter than it was supposed to be cause we ran late ....... so we all went over the jump (well not Rome since he refused)....... and for my personal part I just asked him if he was smart ("nod") , and did he want to show everyone his surprise? ("nod") , and then trainer handed me various cards and Ro thankfully complied I think it was sit , then touch, and then down..... --- but next go around I plan to do the whole story thing (if i get a nice ghost and shark out of him) , and some yes/no questions and have a few more reading words learned (he seems stuck on "bed" - not getting the hang of "reading" it............. which is odd because go to bed is one of his most reliable commands....) - and i cant think of any other good words for him to read - (shake / hi 5 would be too obvious since i'd have to bend down.... maybe paws up?)
 

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
Uggh!!! I pressed enter and posted earlier then I meant too! No problem I though...I will just edit! I wrote a really long message had to step out and come back and did a couple training sections with River before coming back. Come to find out there is an editing time limit! Oh well...Iwill have to start over!
 

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
Oh I guess you can't reply to your own message! I figured atleast I had one sentence already written...try 3 failed!
 

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
tips on adding some distance for wave? Ro STILL doesn't like to wave unless the cookie/hand is like right there (soon as I inch my hand away he's like
forget it

I would suggest using another type of target. For example a target stick or even a plastic lid. I would start with the lid on the ground and teach Ro to touch it with his paw. Then I would work on distance (gradually taking steps back and sending him to put his paw on the target. (I usually call this 'press' with River, touch is using his nose...but you can use what ever command you want.) After he has mastered distance on the floor you can start holding the target off the ground. (Start with really close to the ground and vary the distance...(you probably already knew that...LOL!)) Any way, then work on changing the angle and eventually have the target where it would be for the high five. After he can do that use the same command with your empty hand and see if he will touch it with his paw. If he has trouble replace the target and keep repeating until he understands to do it without the target present. (I hope this helps.)

What method did you use to try "ghost" with River???? Romeo was burying himself in his blanket the other night after I waterless shampooed him and I did click a few times when he went all the way under it ... but that was just accidental playtime stuff. - definitely want to start this trick.
With River I held up the side of the blanket and tossed a treat under it and told him to craw. I then just tol him to "sit" just to see what he would do...I think I needed to repeat it one extra time before he responded but then he had the idea! I then went back and targeted him to crawl under the blanket and then phased out the target until it was just a signal for him to get under the blanket and I gave him a verbal crawl command. When he got to the middle I told him to sit.
(Depending on how Romeo does you might need to lure the whole thing at first to get him used to going under the blanket and maybe even lure him right under and out or even bunch up the blanket so that he can come right back out... or maybe just lure the sit once he is under the blanket. It is quite different for a dog to sit vs. sit under a blanket...but you will know what Ro specifically needs better then I do.) (I hope this helps I know it isn't much.)
I think when people start to see this trick it will become very popular, maybe even a classic dog trick! (JEAN HAVE WE FOUND A NEW CHALLENGE FOR YOU!?)

Thank you for giving me the idea to give you the idea (haha) by posting to as Ro if the story was about cowboys, dancers .... etc ... - brainstorming is always better with more people around
I agree! Anytime you need someone for brainstorming trick ideas...count me in!

but next go around I plan to do the whole story thing (if i get a nice ghost and shark out of him) , and some yes/no questions and have a few more reading words learned
Awesome! ...and Please PLEASE tape it and post it if at all possible!

(
he seems stuck on "bed" - not getting the hang of "reading" it............. which is odd because go to bed is one of his most reliable commands....) - and i cant think of any other good words for him to read - (shake / hi 5 would be too obvious since i'd have to bend down.... maybe paws up?)
I think I remember hearing that a lot of dogs get stuck when props are involved to early into their reading training. You may need to go back to the basics this one or maybe even consider looking for a different behavior at first.
For example does Ro do a circle/ spin. That seems to be a pretty easy trick that dogs do well when it comes to reading.
As for shake some dogs know this trick verbally and can learn to lift their paw when they see the card. Does Ro have a verbal wave...I can't remember what you said about this trick in previous posts. Also remember that similar tricks can confuse a dog. Did you say touch is with Ro's paw? If so this might not be a good one to introduce yet because if he learns two that use paw it could become a default behavior. Also similar tricks can become confusing for which behavior is needed to perform. Even behaviors as different as Down and Roll over can confuse a dog because they both involve lying on the floor. A dog may start rolling over when ever they see roil over or down. Or they may start lying down when they see roll over and forget which is which.
One other thing to keep in mind is lettering. Dogs can become confused on similar looking letters until they are really understanding the concept. I Introduced River to BACK and he got that confused with DOWN! It didn't really seem that similar but once I saw that he was having troube I realicd how similar the B and the D were and that K and N have similarities. He then decided that he wanted to start backing when ever I showed him a card so I took it out entirely.

Please keep updating on Romeo's reading, I love hearing about it!

P. S. Is it confusing when I type between quotes or is it realitively easy to read this way?
P. P. S. I knew there were a few things I forgot to add...I had to come back and edit again...LOL! (Quicker this time!)
 

reveuse

Well-Known Member
Going in reverse to the questions you asked me...
- typing between posts is quite easy to read actually
- For Ro "touch" = nose "touch/use paw" = paw
* I will definetly skip out on reading BED for now then - wasn't considering the prop part so much as what were his best commands and also his size factor when I was choosing reading behaviors for him (hence TOUCH being one of the first ones he learned). And I guess if props are out I can't do PAWS UP either yet ...
* I will try to tape and post the biggggg giant demo (provided I get through all the commands needed to do it successfully) tho it won't be for 8 weeks....... which might as well be xmas or my birthday or a nice international vacation ;) lol.
* Totally going to try your ghost method after work this evening -- will let you know how it goes
* Ro is good at the whole target the lid thing since I used it for contact practice and such........ So I'll try what you and Tx said aboutusing that for him to try waving on and the other methods .. and will post what I get out of him tonight.

-and in a total off topic moment - how on earth did you get multiple quotes in one msg??? - i'm sure i could figure it out better with some coffee in my system.........

TX -- you can totally call me Sammie , or Samantha instead of reveuse if you wanna.......
 
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