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  • Con Slobodchikoff, Ph.D.
    Slobodchikoff is President and CEO of Animal Communications, Ltd., specializing in pet behavior problems and in educating people about the behavior of animals.

« When You’re Smiling, Your Dog Smiles With You | Main | When You Are Generous, Your Dog Is Watching You »

April 20, 2011

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dog food

Thanks for sharing. Now i know that my dog must be in the mood when teaching a trick.

My pet's care

I love teaching my dogs tricks mainly so I can show my friends that they can be good, sometimes! Both of my new pups have learned sign language for 2 commands; sit and down. Since I would typically make them sit for a treat, I began to pair that with a raised finger and voila! silent command learned. Then I paired down with the movement of the raised finger pointing down and now people think my pups are geniuses!

dog food

Simply say "Kiss me" anytime your dog licks you. As an incentive you can put peanut butter on your face for him to lick off and say "Kiss me" while he is licking it off. After a while your dog will "kiss" you anytime you give the "Kiss me" command.

Siobhan Mulligan

Hmmm...fascinating insights. I will watching Sheeba more closely now to see what tricks her natural habits lend themselves towards. Thanks for the idea!

Dog Training Collars

Keep adding new activities to your dog's training. This will keep their mind stimulated. Provide adequate play time as well. Dogs need to play and also need to be walked. This keeps them from getting bored. When a dog is bored, they get into more trouble. If they don't have things to do and toys to play with, they may decide your couch cushion is the perfect chew toy.

shock collar

Dog behavior training works best when you stay calm. If you get upset and excited, the dog will also. Stay calm and avoid yelling and never hit your dog. Using treats as a training aid is much more beneficial. You want your dog to respect you as the leader. You do not want your dog to fear you. Keep training sessions short. Fifteen minutes is long enough. Keep it at the same time each day and eventually your dog will learn to understand what you want.

dog clicker training

With any trick, split it into small segments and educate each at a time. If it is a sophisticated sequence, start with the final element and train this first. Then add the earlier aspect to the start and build up from there. This course of is called reverse chaining. It helps the canine to learn as he at all times ends with the familiar part. Shaping is also important. As an alternative of ready for the whole end result before rewarding your dog, you reward him for getting nearer and nearer to your goal. Every time, it's essential to ask him for somewhat more. The same processes still apply for instructing each element.

Cheryl

Great food for thought. Thanks!

elizabeth deitz

I love teaching tricks to dogs because of what it teaches the humans. It serves as a good reminder that it should ALL be fun and games. My students love the training as much as their dogs do.

Tom F.

Very sensible article. I don't think we teach dogs much we just ask them to do what comes natural to them.

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