# Neat tricks to teach?



## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

You could get a clicker and get started straight away with it, it is a really great way to train! Although for now I wouldn't be too bthered with 'tricks' yet and just spend time reinforcing teaching his name and also 'come' which will be invaluable for the rest of his life! With a pup I would carry small (but tasty!) treats with me everywhere and keep using the word 'come' and reward with a treat...we will soon absolutely love hearing that word, which is what you want...

However some flashy little tricks I have taught Harry are...crawl, walking backwards, knowing left and right spins, rolling over, weaving through my legs, target hitting,...all taught with a clicker. Is a clicker something you would be interested in?


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Hi Emma and Tilly! You are on the other board too!! I just started using this one, so hi over here too :wavey:


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd spend lots of time on rock solid recall, leash behavior, and manners with company. As far as tricks, we like "gimme five," though some puppies can be a bit pushy with it if you teach it early. 

"Go to your spot" is another nice one and comes in handy at mealtimes or when you have guests.


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## PowderPuff791 (Mar 12, 2009)

We should start another thread - "all the little tricks that you thought were cute when they are a puppy that you wish you didn't laugh at, that they keep doing now?!"

I agree as above - work solidly on the manners and the tricks will develop on their own from routine - they are super smart and it doesn't take long for them to pick things up!


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## kgiff (Jul 21, 2008)

Basic manners and coming when called. Tricks are fun, but the sooner you start positively rewarding correct behavior, the better.


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## ohdish! (Nov 22, 2008)

With Knox we've concentrated most of our efforts on teaching him recall - fun games, great treats and LOADS of excitement involved. We also use a clicker to learn/practice/reinforce desired behavior and now, whenever I take the clicker in hand, boy, he is one alert, expectant puppy, ready to play! Tricks he's learned - sit, stay, lay down, roll over, spin (to the right), twirl (to the left), kiss, high five, and pray. "Pray" was a behavior he came up with on his own - he would come and sit right at my feet, with his head bowed down, wanting a pet. It looked like he was praying so I simply began marking the behavior with the clicker. Neat how that works.

For us, the clicker, a great treat and enthusiastic praise, have been key. In many cases the treat acts like a lure. For instance, teaching Knox "spin" just meant having a treat in hand and moving it in a circle around his head. When he'd naturally follow it, I'd click, say "Good boy!!!" and then treat him with more praise. Once he got the behavior down, that's when I'd actually SAY "spin" WHILE he was spinning so that he connected the behavior with the word. It wasn't long until I could just say the command and he'd do it. Same idea with "lay down" and "roll over" - the treat acted as a lure. With sit, kiss, and high five... these were behaviors he offered on his own. I didn't need to lure him with a treat. Still, I used the clicker to mark the exact moment he did what I wanted (like when his butt hit the floor in a sit) and then came the reward and party. Hope that makes sense!

Heel/walking well on a loose leash has been the most challenging for us. At almost seven months, Knox is still practicing this though I have to confess, I don't work with him on it as often as I should.

Just make it as fun and positive as you can and congrats on your new pup!


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Don't understand a lot about clickers, I'll read up on it for sure!! Thanks for the advice. We are working on come with a treat. He seems to get his name. You've all been such a great help!


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## Darcy (May 7, 2009)

One really cool trick that Darcy cought onto very quickly was sit and stay, once he mastered the two commands i added a treat to the end of his nose and made him wait patiently. I heald his head up with a very light touch under his chin until he would hold his head in place on his own. Once he had this down i added the get it command, at first he would drop his head and let the treat fall to the ground. I would quickly get the treat and place it back on his nose and make him wait patiently. Now when we do this trick and i give him the get it command he will move his head very quickly and grab the treat before it hit's the ground. It is a very cool trick.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Taught my puppy westie how to wave and taught Tysen how to spin on command using clicker. now if only I had spent more time on recall!!!!!!


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## FishinBuddy (Nov 20, 2008)

I think basic obedience commands can very easily carry over to great looking tricks. For instance, one that I do which people think is great is I put the dog in a sit or down stay and I walk about 6ft in front of him. I then say "Bailey Heel" and he gets up comes around my back and sits in heel position. People think that is the coolest thing ever. It just happens when you consistently work on Heel. Ill admit his recall is only 50% (and we are working on that) but I have began to use Heel as his recall since heel position is embedded in his thick little skull....once you get a good stay, down, sit and heel, the posibilities are endless. One more "Trick" I like is backwards heeling. You walk forward with the dog in heel and then stop and walk backwards and the dog heels backwards also. Sometimes tough to teach but the clicker can def. help with that trick


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