Where Do I Start?

[AngenIzzy]

Hi, I have taken over a maltese/shih-Tzu pup from my son, she is 6 months old and has an abundance of energy. She loves to chase balls, well that is understatement really she is obsessed with chasing balls or toys anything you can throw she will chase it. she has so much energy I thought it would be nice to teach her some tricks and came online to have a look what was available. So here we are ready to learn some tricks. We are currently doing a 8 week course of obedience training and when they met her advised i take her to dancing with dogs as she also loves to stand on her back legs. could anyone advise me were to start and what is the easiest trick to begin with?

 

[Dogster]

WELCOME!!!!! What's your dog's name??? We would LOVE to see some pics of your cutie!!! Tricks ARE a great way to bond with your dog!!!! To start trick trainig I suggest obedience such as sit, down (if she doesn't know them already). Then maybe something like play dead, roll over, shake paw, spin, beg??? If you need ideas, you can check the threads or member's info pages. GOOD LUCK WITH THE TRAINING!!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

WELCOME!!! I bet your lil bundle of puppy joy is soo cute, yes, i'ld like to see pics too!

Dogster gives some great ideas for easier first tricks, or if you, AngenIzzy, have a trick in mind that you want to teach, just ask, someone here can help you get started.
If you are uncertain how to teach a specific trick, just ask!!
I'd guess, by now, with that ball obsession, that Izzy already knows fetch!!

Most of us here use a "clicker", it really helps a dog "get it" faster. Maybe your obedience class is already introduced clickers to you.
HOPE TO SEE YOU AROUND HERE, AGAIN AND AGAIN!! If you have a question, any question, just post it! Someone here will probably know how to help.

Me, i think one of the best tricks to teach a puppy, is to come when called, ("recall"), and to leave an item alone upon request ("leave it") and to release an item out of his mouth on cue, ("thank you") but-------those tricks are not that fun for your friends to watch.

 

[sara]

Usually with a new dog I start with touch and target. Touch is my term for paw targets, and target is for nose targets) Once you get that, you can teach your dog alot. I also will start with a target stick early on too, because that's a great way to teach spin, back-up, beg, bow, etc. Those things are fundamentals for Canine Freestyle (doggie dancing) Once you have those things trained, yyou can use that in teaching most of the tricks you will want.

 

[AngenIzzy]

thank you for the welcome, my little dogs name is Izabella, but we call her Izzy, even though we are having some fun dressing her up like a little princess in our profile pic she is very much a tomboy. We have started clicker training and she does sit, down, recall, we are working on heel and she will "fetch" for hours. I have started teaching her to spin which she finds quite easy but i think my main problem is having the confidence that I am teaching her correctly. She plays dead on her own whenever we go to pick her up. could you please advise how I teach the play dead? I work in an aged care facility and would love to take her in to show the residents when we have mastered some tricks. thanks Angela

 

[Teddy Weddy]

Welcome Angela & Izzy!

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"She plays dead on her own whenever we go to pick her up. could you please advise how I teach the play dead?"//

If your dog is ALREADY playing dead spontaneously, you can "capture" that behavior, add a cue, like "bang!" with a fingerpoint (like a fake gun), and CLICK/TREAT when Izzy is playing dead, or is about to play dead. (for example, if you know that your reaching for Izzy, will cause Izzy to lie down, prior to reaching for Izzy, point your finger, say "bang!" and THEN reach for Izzy. After a while you won't have even have to reach for Izzy, she will lie down just by seeing your finger point at her)

Izzy will soon enough associate "bang" with her lying down.

That is one way,
another way, is to lure the dog into the position you want.
I lured my dog into a down, and then over onto his back, in increments, by holding a treat that Buddy was interested in.
My "bang" trick, ends up with a dog on his back, with all 4 feet up in the air, and i don't think more than a few days go by without my doing that cue,
as i use THAT cue alllllllllll the time, to clean his feet when he comes back indoors.

but some dog's "play dead" or "bang!" trick is a dog lying on his side. Depends on what YOU want.

actually, the sight of my picking up a towel now triggers my dog to get on his back and stick all 4 paws up in the air, before i've even said "bang!" lol.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"but i think my main problem is having the confidence that I am teaching her correctly"//

FEEL FREE to expound on that, if you want to. None of us are born knowing how to train a dog!! We all have to learn how to do this, so you are not alone. You are probably doing just fine, but just need to hear it!! lol!!

My own idea is,
if both YOU and THE DOG are having fun,
you are probably doing it right!!


Dog training, above all else, should be FUN, pleasant, stress free time, for both you, AND for the DOG, too.
To me, that is even more important than how quickly or perfectly the dog learns the cue.

Most of us here use clickers, which you do too. Almost none of us use 'corrections' of any type, not even the word 'no', we just silently ignore wrong moves, and reward correct moves,
or
we reward moves in the correct direction.(to build upon later, more each time)

If your dog is "zoning out", or not paying att'n, i have learned from Jean Cole the admin here, to try this:
you can move lessons to a new area, a new room, or outdoors to perk the dog back up again,
or
keep lessons a bit shorter til dog builds up his att'n span.
My own particular dog is vain, and needs enthusiastic praise to continue on with difficult tricks. My dog LIVES FOR praise, and enthusiastic praise, is even better, in my dog's opinion.
~~~~~~~~
Some dogs are lil princes, and do better with variety of treats, swapping out the treat used, to further increase a dog's interest.
Some ppl here use tug-toy play as the "reward", some use ball play as a reward, and many of us use tiny small treats.


I use tiny treats, about the size of a pea or raisen,
to avoid a full or fat dog. Dogs don't care how big a treat is, dogs even scour floors looking for crumbs. Some dogs seem to need very yummy treats to stay with it.





For JACKPOTS, (moments where there is some big breakthrough or dog does just great) we click ONE time, but i give many small treats, one after the other, while praising the dog, NOT one big treat.
(I hear the dog rates THAT as bigger reward than one big treat.)


I make my own treats, to make sure the treats are healthy. We have a "recipe" area on this website, too, called "Dog Treats".


AND BE SURE TO LOOK OVER THE "BLOG" AREA where the site admin explains even more about how to train dogs.

 

[tigerlily46514]

and most tricks,
there is usually more than one way to teach a dog a trick.


Many tricks are taught by "luring" where you lead a dog by having them watch a treat or a target item to learn how to do a cue. This is probably the most common way to teach a trick.

Some tricks are taught by "capturing", which is catching a dog doing something he already does, and giving it a cue, CLICK/TREAT.
Some tricks are done by "shaping", where dog himself thinks up something to do, and then offers a behavior (often after being presented an item, such as a box, ball, etc) and you let dog choose what to do, and you click/treat whatever behaviors you like.

Many of us seem to have our own favorite ways or methods to teach a dog a trick. All dogs ARE individuals, and maybe some dogs have their own favorite ways to learn, too.

 

[Dogster]

I agree with Tigerlily (on all her posts) She covered basically everything.