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Training Tip #83

Power of Opposites

When trying to eliminate a bad behavior, focus on the new behavior you want your dog to do instead.

If you want to eliminate jumping, reward sitting as an incompatible behavior.

Happy Healthy Dog?

• Trained properly
• Fed correctly
• Groomed regularly
• Exercised daily
• Spoiled constantly

Dog Trick Training

Dog trick training can consist of any dog trick you can dream up. The best dog tricks are ones that are unique that no other dogs or very few dogs can do. For dog trick training you can capture unique and weird dog tricks by rewarding your dog every time they perform this trick.

Before you begin to teach your dog tricks you need to have a cue that your dog understands as having completed a behavior that will earn your dog a reward. A simple way to mark a behavior is to use the word “Yes”. To make this reinforcement cue have value to your dog when teaching tricks you can get 20 to 30 small pea sized treats. It does not matter whether your dog is sitting, standing or lying down you can say “Yes” and give them a treat. After repeating this with two or three sessions your dog should perk their ears whenever they hear “Yes”.

To capture the best dog tricks you can watch your dog play and say “Yes” any time your dog does anything you want to capture. Interesting dog tricks that have been captured include weird yodeling or funny poses.

For other dog tricks you can use a small treat or toy to lure your dog into any position you want. For example to teach your dog the trick of roll over you can start with your dog on the ground in the down position. Next you can lure your dog with a treat behind their head half way down your dog’s body. You can reward small successes when training this trick and with each step you can require your dog to go a little further until they do a full roll over.

Other dog tricks such as shake a paw can be trained by holding a treat in your hand. Your dog will either sniff at the treat or paw at the treat. When your dog paws at the treat you can say “Yes” and reward with a treat or toy.

Any dog trick can be trained by using a lure or capturing a behavior by using a reinforcement cue such as “Yes”.

We want to see the dog tricks you come up with. Go to www.MyDogSpots.com to share your success.

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