PREREQUISITES
Take it (page 24)
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG TAKES THE TINIEST EDGE OF THE CARD
Your dog should take the card firmly so as not to risk dropping it. Give some resistance as he pulls a card, causing him to grip harder.
BUILD ON IT! Your dog will be a magician with the help of a “stripper deck,” which has a slightly tapered side. If a card is removed and inserted back into the deck in the other direction, it will be the only card tapered in the opposite direction.
2 Hold three cards in a wide fan.
3 Extend on card above the others.
4 Fan the whole deck, staggering some.
intermediate
Food Refusal
TEACH IT:
VERBAL CUE
Yuck
In this this trick, your dog turns his head away from food offered from your hand. Add humor to this trick by explaining “my dog only eats kosher hot dogs,” or asking “what do you think of my home cooking?”
1 Facing your dog, extend a treat toward him.
2 When he shows interest in the treat, tell him “yuck” in a disapproving tone and pull your hand away or lightly bop him on the nose.
3 Repeat this process until your dog looks away from your hand. Watch closely, and mark this instant by saying “good!” Release him from this exercise with your release word “OK” and give him the treat.
4 Accept small aversions of his eyes at the beginning and gradually require him to turn away for longer periods of time. Once he has the hang of it, use your release word to signify that he may now take the treat from your hand. “My mistake, it is a kosher hot dog!”
WHAT TO EXPECT: Most dogs can learn this trick within a few weeks. Dogs are prone to cheating, so be consistent with your criteria for success. You can move your hand from left to his right, and require him to change his head position to continue to look away from the treat.
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG NEVER LOOKS AWAY FROM THE TREAT!
Patience … he has to look away eventually! Don’t let him obsess on your hand. If he is nosing it a lot, bop his nose. Reward the slightest glance away. Timing is crucial.
TIP! Dogs have greater peripheral vision than we do. Don’t be fooled—he can still see your treat!
“What’s an oxymoron?”
STEPS:
1 Extend a treat toward your dog.
2 When he shows interest, pull your hand away.
3 Watch closely for the moment your dog looks away.
4 Use your release word to signify that he may now take the treat.
expert
Find the Object with My Scent
TEACH IT:
VERBAL CUE
Find mine
Utility Obedience competition requires your dog to search twelve identical objects and retrieve the one with your scent. Leather and metal dumbbells are commonly used for this exercise, but wooden dowels, metal jar lids, or even clean silverware can be used.
1 It is vital to this exercise that the articles used are free of your scent. Air them out for several days between uses and handle them using tongs. Mark them with unique numbers so you can tell which is the scented one!
2 Using pegboard or a mat with holes poked through, tie down two out of three identical articles. Scent the third by rubbing it in your palms for ten seconds, and also with a little of the treat you are using. Place the scented article with the other two, and instruct your dog to fetch (page 24). Be very gentle when training scent work. Avoid saying “no,” but instead let your dog figure out on his own that only one article is retrievable and not tied down. Praise him the second he takes the correct article in his mouth, and reward him for bringing it to you.
3 Tie additional unscented articles to the mat. If your dog has trouble finding the free one, encourage him to keep looking. Phase out the scent of the treat, and use only your scent on the object.
4 Now try it with all the objects not tied down. If your dog picks up a wrong one, just ignore it as he may change his mind on his own. If he starts to bring an incorrect article back to you, use an encouraging tone to tell him to keep looking. Do not accept the wrong item.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Scent work is one of the most difficult exercises to train, and dogs can be particularly sensitive to criticism in this area. If your dog feels he has been reprimanded for choosing an incorrect article, he may doubt his understanding of your wishes and use an avoidance technique to get out of doing the exercise.
PREREQUISITES
Fetch (page 24)
Helpful: Easter egg hunt (page 98)
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG IS SUDDENLY HAVING TROUBLE
Have you changed your soap, hand lotion, or laundry detergent? How about your diet or medication that may affect your scent? Was someone smoking near your articles? New flea spray? Carpets cleaned? Visitor at the house? Changes in scent can temporarily confuse your dog.
BUILD ON IT! Continue scent training with track a person’s scent trail (page 194).
“Things I don’t like: fire ants, waiting in line, pineapple.”
STEPS:
1 The articles should be free from your scent and marked for identification.
2 Tie down two out of three articles. Scent the third, and place it alongside the others.
Your dog will not be able to retrieve the unscented articles.
Praise your dog when he picks up the scented article.
3 Tie additional unscented articles to the mat.
4 Have all the articles not tied down.
Do not accept a wrong article from your dog.
Encourage your dog, and soon he’ll be sniffing out your article reliably!
expert
Contraband Search
TEACH IT:
Similar to a drug-detection dog, your K-9 will sniff out contraband. Three volunteers participate, one of whom is given a tea bag. Your dog searches for the “contraband” tea bag scent, and indicates the possessor. Train your dog to indicate the find with a signal such as sitting, lying down, or nuzzling the tea bag.
1 Build on your dog’s knowledge of finding hidden treats (page 98), by transitioning to finding a tea bag. Hold the tea bag to your dog’s nose, and use the word “scent” to indicate this is the scent to seek.
2 Hide the tea bag in an obvious spot, and place a treat on top of it. Instruct your dog to “find it” and let him eat the treat when he does.
3 After several repetitions, rub the treat on the tea bag, and hide the tea bag only. Encourage your dog as he searches, even pointing and running alongside him. He will probably come close to the tea bag, but not know what to do. At this point, place a treat on top of the tea bag, and praise him when he gets it. This transition period will be a little confusing, as your dog learns that he is searching for the tea bag, and not the treat. Eventually, you will hide the tea bag only, and when your dog finds it you can toss him a treat.
4 Once your dog has the hang of searching out the tea bag in hidden spots, try placing in on a person’s knee, as they sit on the floor.
5 Now try the real thing; three people sitting in chairs, one of whom is hiding a tea bag. Leave enough room between them for your dog to search from the sides. Hold a duplicate tea bag to your dog’s nose and tell him “scent.” Send him on his search with “find it!” At first, help your dog by guiding him to search each person, as he may think the tea bag is somewhere else in the house. When he indicates that he has found the tea bag, praise and reward!
WHAT TO EXPECT: This is an advanced skill that requires not only intelligence and a good nose, but discipline and diligence. A quick learner can master this skill in four weeks.
PREREQUISITES
Easter egg hunt (page 98)
TROUBLESHOOTING
WHAT KIND OF TEA SHOULD I USE?
Many dogs are crazy about mint!
CAN MY DOG FIND A TEA BAG IN SOMEONE’S POCKET?
Yes, but it will be more difficult, as the s
cent will be confined to a smaller area. The longer the tea bag sits in their pocket however, the easier its scent will be to detect.
BUILD ON IT! Now that your dog is familiar with scent work, try find the object with my scent (page 190).
TIP! To perform confidently and happily, your dog must have a clear idea of expectations.
STEPS:
1 Hold a tea bag to your dog’s nose as you tell him “scent.”
2 Place a treat on top of the tea bag and have your dog “find it.”
3 Rub a treat on the tea bag and reward your dog when he finds it.
4 Place the tea bag on a person’s knee.
5 Have your dog search several people for the “contraband” tea bag.
expert
Track a Person’s Scent Trail
TEACH IT:
VERBAL CUE
Scent
Track
Your dog has an extraordinary nose and can track the path traveled by you or another person.
1 Lay your track in moist grass, where the scent will be easiest to detect. Scuff your feet at the beginning of your track to create a “scent pad,” and continue scuffing as you walk about 50 yards (46 m) in a straight line. Drop odoriferous treats, such as hot dog slices, along your path every few yards and use small cones or flags to remind yourself of your path. Leave an object with your scent, such as a sock, at the end of the track. Stuff some treats inside the sock to capture your dog’s interest.
2 Outfit your dog in a harnesses and 12’ (3.7 m) lead and bring him to the scent pad. Tell him to “track” and let him find the first treat left along your trail. Unlike in obedience, when tracking your dog leads—showing you where to go. Walk slowly, allowing him to pull forward. Do not reprimand him for veering off track, but do not let him pull you off course.
3 When a working tracking dog finds a scented object, he is trained to signal the handler by lying down. When your dog gets to the end of your track and nuzzles the sock, tell him to lie down (page 16) and reward him with a treat from inside.
4 Now try a gradual 90-degree turn in your track. Note that your track holds its scent for a day or more, so use a variety of training locations. Take note of the wind direction. If your dog is traveling downwind from your track, it may be that he is airscenting. Graduate to a 20’ (6.1 m) lead and farther spaced treats as your dog becomes more independent. Increase difficulty by aging the tracks before following them.
WHAT TO EXPECT: It is often hard to distinguish between a dog off-track and a dog picking up scent that has blown downwind. Have trust that your dog knows his job and assume your role as coach rather than teacher. Dogs enjoy scent work and can be tracking a trail of hot dogs within a few weeks.
PREREQUISITES
Down (page 16)
Helpful: Easter egg hunt (page 98
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG STAYS CLOSE TO MY LEGS INSTEAD OF LEADING
Keep your lips zipped and let his instinct take over. The more you talk to your dog, the more he will look to you for direction.
I’M BUNDLED UP FOR COLD WEATHER—AM I LEAVING ENOUGH SCENT?
Yes, your scent will come through your clothes. Your dog can also smell the scent of the smashed grass blades under your feet.
BUILD ON IT! Expert trackers can follow aged tracks with several turns and over a variety of surfaces.
TIP! A dog’s sniffing behavior involves taking short, deep inhalations that pass air over olfactory receptors deep in the dog’s snout.
“Track a person? I thought I was tracking hot dogs!”
STEPS:
1 Lay a 50-yard (46 m) straight track. Use cones to mark your path.
Drop a scented sock filled with treats at the end of the track.
2 Have your dog sniff the scent pad at the beginning of the track.
Let your dog lead as he searches for the treats left on the track.
3 When your dog finds the sock, have him lie down to indicate the find.
Chapter 12 Love Me, Love My Dog
Puppy dog eyes can melt the hardest of hearts and unravel the strongest of wills because we, after all, love our dogs. Obedience trainers and dog behaviorists may scorn as we sleep with furry foot warmers or perch our pooch on our lap and (heaven forbid!) kiss him on the lips. But rules are made to be broken, and we promise … we won’t tell!
“Quo me amat, amat et canem meam.” Love me, love my dog. This Latin proverb quoted to Saint Bernard has been repeated in almost every language throughout the centuries.
Go ahead and celebrate the close bond between you and your dog with the intimate tricks in this chapter. These expressive behaviors will endear him to all!
easy
Kisses
TEACH IT:
Your dog licks or noses the lips or cheek of you or another person.
1 Sit at “doggy-level.” Give the verbal cue and place a treat between your teeth as you lean forward. Allow your dog to take the treat, and praise him with “good kisses!”
2 If you do not wish your dog to kiss you on your lips (although I can’t imagine why!), put some peanut butter on your cheek, point to it while saying “kisses,” and let him lick it off.
3 With a treat held behind your back, point to your lips or cheek and tell your dog “kisses!” When he licks or noses you, mark the instant with “good!” and reward him with the treat.
4 Now try it with someone else. Have a helper apply some peanut butter to their cheek. Point to it and cue your dog. When he licks your helper’s cheek, tell him “good,” and reward him. Step back and send your dog a farther distance to give kisses. Phase out the peanut butter and have your dog return to you for his treat.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Dogs will often learn this trick within a week, although shy dogs may require more coaxing.
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG BITES MY LIP
Address this issue separately by telling your dog “easy” as you allow him to take treats. Bop him on the nose if he bites, and say “ouch!”
MY DOG IS SCARED NEAR MY FACE
Your dog is putting himself in a submissive position by coming close to your mouth (which in dog culture could lead to a bite). This trick requires trust. Try holding the treat several inches from your mouth, and as he reaches for it, bring it closer to your face.
TIP! In dog packs, a dog will lick the lips of a more dominant dog, as a way of showing subservience
1 Let your dog to take a treat from your teeth.
2 Put peanut butter on your cheek.
3 Point to your lips for a kiss.
intermediate
Paws on My Arm
TEACH IT:
If your pet peeve is a pet that jumps on guests, teach him to welcome visitors with paws on their arm to give him a safe and manageable way to show his enthusiasm.
1 Sit on the floor with your dog on your left. Raise your left arm in front of him and lure his head upward with a treat in your right hand. Your dog will probably place one or both paws on your forearm, in an effort to reach the treat, but if he doesn’t you can coax his paws onto your arm with your hands. Once your dog is in the correct position, with his paws resting on your arm, allow him to nibble treats from your hand.
2 Try this exercise while standing up. Use the verbal cue and hand signal. You may wish to hold the treat in your mouth until you are ready to give it to your dog to keep him from becoming distracted by it (hot dogs or cheese work well).
WHAT TO EXPECT: Dog’s can often learn this trick within a few training sessions. Your guests are sure to thank you!
TROUBLESHOOTING
MY DOG PUTS ONLY ONE PAW ON MY ARM
To start, you may have to use your hand to guide his second paw up.
MY DOG IS STILL JUMPING ON PEOPLE!
This hand signal will become an invitation for your dog to raise himself to your arm. Be clear with your rules—without an invitation, your dog should be reprimanded for jumping on people (assuming that is your rule).
BUILD ON IT! Once yo
u’ve mastered paws on my arm, use a similar action to learn say your prayers (page 42)!
TIP! Position your arm perpendicular to your body and have your dog approach from the outside so as to prevent him from knocking you over or overextending your shoulder.
101 Dog Tricks Page 16