Dog Tricks & Training?
September 28th, 2009 | 
Author: what are some tricks and ways to train my doggies? I have 2 dogs, a male and female! VERY BIG! I need some tricks to teach them that would win a pet show and some cheap and easy ways to train them and have the equipment!! Thanks, ♥Mickey
There are many cheap ways to train a dog, but it’s not always quick and easy. Now I’m apparently an ‘old school’ trainer in that I use a leash and a training collar. A correction isn’t cruel if you use it at the right time with the right amount of quick pressure. In fact, animals will learn faster if they receive consistent positive and negative reinforcement compared to having just positive or negative alone. I also avoid food rewards in my training. It will only serve to distract them. Use praise and lots of petting as a reward. They should do a trick because it is fun and they want to please you, not for food.
Now my experience is more the obedience training and not the ‘trick’ training. I did take my other pets to pet shows at the county fairs, and was awarded grand prize because of my knowledge of my birds, not because of any tricks they could do. If you want to do tricks, do something that will entertain the crowd, not the run of the mill sit, stay, down stuff.
For larger breeds, you might teach them how to ‘jump rope’. Jump is an easy command to teach. Put a stick in front of your dog, gently press it towards his foreleg and give the command ‘jump’. He’ll have to jump it in order to keep his balance. Gradually move the stick a little further away and start leading the dog towards it while giving the command. Start with it low to the ground and gradually raise it higher. Then switch to using clothesline or nylon rope. If they master that, get someone to help you swing the long rope like a jumprope. Be sure to start really slow and gentle and give the command to ‘jump’ every time the rope swings around. Eventually it’ll speed up so it looks like actually jumping rope. If you can get your dogs to do this in tandem, it’d be even more impressive.
If the simple obedience tricks are more your style, then do something to wow the judge like teach your dog a few different commands in several different languages. If I were a pet show judge, I’d be unimpressed with a dog that knew how to sit, but I’d be impressed if the dog knew how to sit in english, spanish, and french!! It’s hard to tell you what you should do for sure, because each pet show is different. I’d call whoever is putting it on and ask them for a list of categories they’re going to judge the pets on.
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The trick with training tricks is that it always needs to be fun and rewarding for you and your dog. Dogs also learn best when you teach in short (short!) sessions : count out just 10 treats per session, and end that session when you’re out of treats. Train positively – never scold or say "No!" to a dog that’s learning, and always use playtime to build upon your great relationship with your dog.
Here are some sites to help:
http://www.clickertraining.com/
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm
References :
train for agility and love to teach new tricks to my guys
Pet shows can be tricky because most dogs practice for at least two years but here are a few tricks and techniques.
When I say reward it means to give you dog lots of energy and in a high pitched voice tell him how good he is. Pet him and give him a toy.
Sit- Take your dogs favorite toy and hold it about a foot over his head and command to sit. Most dogs will sit naturally but if not coax him into the sit poition and once his bottom hits the ground reward him.
Down- Place the toy two or three feet in front of your dog and command him to down while coaxing him into the poition. When he gets into the position reward him.
Stay- Once he has learned the sit command tell him to "sit, stay" and wait about five seconds and reward him. After a while increase it to ten seconds before rewarding. Then after saying "stay" take a step forward and if he breaks position grab his collar and bring him back to the position and try again. You may have to do this several times and say "stay" to reinforce the command. Eventually he will understand that if he stays he will get rewarded.
Shake- Grab your dogs paw and shake it while commanding "shake" and then reward. Do this consistiently.
Heel- place the toy by your side and have the dog follow while commanding "heel" and after a few steps reward him.
Remember you will have to train every day multiple times a day and obedience is something that will have to be done routinely. It should be fun and with enough fun training you should never have to use a choke chain or leash for these commands.
References :
There are many cheap ways to train a dog, but it’s not always quick and easy. Now I’m apparently an ‘old school’ trainer in that I use a leash and a training collar. A correction isn’t cruel if you use it at the right time with the right amount of quick pressure. In fact, animals will learn faster if they receive consistent positive and negative reinforcement compared to having just positive or negative alone. I also avoid food rewards in my training. It will only serve to distract them. Use praise and lots of petting as a reward. They should do a trick because it is fun and they want to please you, not for food.
Now my experience is more the obedience training and not the ‘trick’ training. I did take my other pets to pet shows at the county fairs, and was awarded grand prize because of my knowledge of my birds, not because of any tricks they could do. If you want to do tricks, do something that will entertain the crowd, not the run of the mill sit, stay, down stuff. For larger breeds, you might teach them how to ‘jump rope’. Jump is an easy command to teach. Put a stick in front of your dog, gently press it towards his foreleg and give the command ‘jump’. He’ll have to jump it in order to keep his balance. Gradually move the stick a little further away and start leading the dog towards it while giving the command. Start with it low to the ground and gradually raise it higher. Then switch to using clothesline or nylon rope. If they master that, get someone to help you swing the long rope like a jumprope. Be sure to start really slow and gentle and give the command to ‘jump’ every time the rope swings around. Eventually it’ll speed up so it looks like actually jumping rope. If you can get your dogs to do this in tandem, it’d be even more impressive.
If the simple obedience tricks are more your style, then do something to wow the judge like teach your dog a few different commands in several different languages. If I were a pet show judge, I’d be unimpressed with a dog that knew how to sit, but I’d be impressed if the dog knew how to sit in english, spanish, and french!!
It’s hard to tell you what you should do for sure, because each pet show is different. I’d call whoever is putting it on and ask them for a list of categories they’re going to judge the pets on.
References :