How to teach a dog to do a thing

You can teach your dog using three different methods. I have found that different dogs and different tricks warrant different methods and they all have their good and more annoying qualities (i.e. patience).

Luring

Luring your dog is probably the most used method, the down side is people forget to stop using the treats, and then the dog becomes dependent.

Put a treat to your dog's nose and start moving it down between their paws. Some dogs drop their butt right away and for some you need to wait it out. Mark with a “yes”, a noise or a click a clicker (click here for an explanation on markers). Add the cue in AFTER your dog knows the movement. Most people add in a cue (command) too early.

Capturing

Capturing your dog entails putting a word or cue to an action they are already taking. It can take longer because you have to pay attention to your dog in order to catch them doing what you want. In my opinion, it really cements the learning into their brains. y

Raj had the habit of putting his head down between his paws. I wanted it on cue (because it is super cute). I watched him and 'caught' him when he was about to put his head down, I clicked and then gave him a treat. Eventually, I gave him the cue “head down” when I thought he was about to put his head down.

Shaping

Lastly, you can shape a dog’s behavior by breaking the behavior into tiny steps, clicking and rewarding at each step and making it harder and easier as you go. I taught Zoey how to play dead using this method. We started with a 'sit' and then 'down' and then a kicking of the legs out to be on her side and finally a flathead on the ground for the huge dramatic effect.

It doesn't matter which method you use. You will be successful. Luring is the most friendly for beginner dog owners where shaping and capturing are the most powerful for the dog, but the owner needs a lot of patience and know how on how to break down each step. Let me know what method you tried and what you tried to teach with it.

This week-choose a trick like a sit, down, or spin to teach your dog. Use one of the above mentioned techniques. Tell me how it went. What did you teach? Share with the Happy Tails NWI community!