# Fav resources for trick training



## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

I use Amazon wag training treats when we're intentionally training. We use other stuff like cheese (see avatar pic) or small pieces of bread crust for impromptu training moments in the house.

Sometimes it's not so much the brand but things to pay attention to or boxes to check off to pick what's best for you and your puppy.

-do you care if it's a single ingredient treat or can it be a processed product

-glycerin is used to increase shelf life on processed products. Does that give your puppy the runs?

-whats your budget

-do you want something precut small or are you open to cutting down big pieces into smaller dime size training treats yourself

-how salty is it? (Jerky tend to be high salt.. super salty treats are not ideal)

Those points are a combination of questions Ive asked myself, considerations I've seen posted on the forums, and will help you determine what's best for you and your baby as far as a training resource goes.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

BennieJets said:


> AND does anyone have any advice/insight re: shaping? I've attempted a few times to do shaping with a box, but Bennie never gets past putting a paw on the edge. Inevitably she gives up and flops down and looks at me 😜I'm likely making it too hard, but I try being generous with the treats.


Are you using a clicker? If done correctly, shaping shouldn’t be frustrating at all for the dog:

_Your goal should be about 15 clicks a minute—that is feedback an average of every 4 seconds. With that rate of feedback and reinforcement, your dog should be having lots of success, understanding what you are looking for, and working eagerly for you. If you notice your dog getting frustrated, then you are probably asking too much and need to adjust your criteria._






Shaping Success | Karen Pryor Clicker Training







www.clickertraining.com


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Following for advice from experienced trainers on shaping! It seems like some dogs catch on to shaping better than others, some find it frustrating. I think there's also some precision as well as flexibility needed in how to move your benchmark for what gets rewarded as you get "more of" or "closer to" the target behavior. I find myself a bit impatient/rushing when she seems to start to get it, and I might too quickly raise the bar when she hasn't really figured it out yet. I also think I may sometimes be naming the behavior too soon.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

There are good trick dog training resources here Trick Dog: Resources – American Kennel Club. And you can get virtual titles by having a CGC evaluator view videos of your tricks!

BTW you can train with verbal markers rather than clickers. I found clickers to be a challenge when Lily was young. I had a hard time managing a leash, the clicker and treats. Getting one thing (clicker) made me much better coordinated. I also like being able to have three verbal markers (oops, good (keep going) and yes! (awesome your finished for now and here's a cookie)).. I can emphasize quality of work with verbals. You can't do that with a clicker. Lily also did not do well with shaping for a number of things like a dumbbell retrieve. I had made the mistake of teaching her to put balls down when she was a pup since she was very mouthy and grabby over the retrieved object. She remembered that vey clearly and 100% of the time put her dumbbell down about 6 feet away from me. I had nothing that was subject to shaping so I had to teach her a force fetch. She long since has learned that play stops if she doesn't give me the dumbbell or other obedience fetched item to me directly and hold it until I tell her to give it to me.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

I really love this woman's trick videos. Not as polished as lots of them, but I think she explains things really well. 
One of her dogs is deaf, so I find she is really creative and I like how she uses markers and shows the progression of behaviours.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

Basil_the_Spoo said:


> I use Amazon wag training treats when we're intentionally training. We use other stuff like cheese (see avatar pic) or small pieces of bread crust for impromptu training moments in the house.
> 
> Sometimes it's not so much the brand but things to pay attention to or boxes to check off to pick what's best for you and your puppy.
> 
> ...


Thank you for this! I'm good with the treat aspect... I tend to use good quality kibble as she eats ground raw for meals. Though I did have to readjust recently as the quantity I was using was giving her the runs once per day. Her system seems to appreciate raw more than kibble.

I'm moreso looking for resources folks turn to to teach tricks. I've watching some of Kikopup's stuff... But I'd love to hear what else people turn to. Who do you "consult" most when training Basil?


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Are you using a clicker? If done correctly, shaping shouldn’t be frustrating at all for the dog:
> 
> _Your goal should be about 15 clicks a minute—that is feedback an average of every 4 seconds. With that rate of feedback and reinforcement, your dog should be having lots of success, understanding what you are looking for, and working eagerly for you. If you notice your dog getting frustrated, then you are probably asking too much and need to adjust your criteria._
> 
> ...


Well poop I am definitely not clicking 15 times per minute! Hmmmm.... I seem to get stuck with my expectations, I think... I resonate with what Oonapup says.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

Oonapup said:


> Following for advice from experienced trainers on shaping! It seems like some dogs catch on to shaping better than others, some find it frustrating. I think there's also some precision as well as flexibility needed in how to move your benchmark for what gets rewarded as you get "more of" or "closer to" the target behavior. I find myself a bit impatient/rushing when she seems to start to get it, and I might too quickly raise the bar when she hasn't really figured it out yet. I also think I may sometimes be naming the behavior too soon.


I think part of my problem is expecting more too fast. Like when she achieves the goal, I reward maybe five times and then expect her to give more... I can't remember who I was watching but that was what they were doing. Clearly the dog they had was experienced and I need to be more patient with Bennie. I like what you say about naming the behaviour too soon.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

lily cd re said:


> There are good trick dog training resources here Trick Dog: Resources – American Kennel Club. And you can get virtual titles by having a CGC evaluator view videos of your tricks!
> 
> BTW you can train with verbal markers rather than clickers. I found clickers to be a challenge when Lily was young. I had a hard time managing a leash, the clicker and treats. Getting one thing (clicker) made me much better coordinated. I also like being able to have three verbal markers (oops, good (keep going) and yes! (awesome your finished for now and here's a cookie)).. I can emphasize quality of work with verbals. You can't do that with a clicker. Lily also did not do well with shaping for a number of things like a dumbbell retrieve. I had made the mistake of teaching her to put balls down when she was a pup since she was very mouthy and grabby over the retrieved object. She remembered that vey clearly and 100% of the time put her dumbbell down about 6 feet away from me. I had nothing that was subject to shaping so I had to teach her a force fetch. She long since has learned that play stops if she doesn't give me the dumbbell or other obedience fetched item to me directly and hold it until I tell her to give it to me.


You've given me so much to look up. 

I really want to play fetch with Bennie. She was a star at it in the house and with stuffed animals/tug toys initially. But now I notice she's not as keen to return with the object. And when we play outside she won't even pick up the toy... just mouths at it and waits for me to come and get it 😜.

I'll look up the AKC link. Thanks so much!


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

For Want of Poodle said:


> I really love this woman's trick videos. Not as polished as lots of them, but I think she explains things really well.
> One of her dogs is deaf, so I find she is really creative and I like how she uses markers and shows the progression of behaviours.


This is PERFECT!!! I'd love to work on fetch... and at one point we had a good rhythm inside (I know outside adds its own layers of distraction). 

So excited for this resource!


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## Tulsi (Jun 8, 2021)

I find kikopups videos very detailed, inspiring and lovely to watch.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

BennieJets said:


> Well poop I am definitely not clicking 15 times per minute! Hmmmm.... I seem to get stuck with my expectations, I think... I resonate with what Oonapup says.


I disagree with the need for 15 clicks per minute. I think quality is more important than quantity when learning a new trick. When a dog starts getting frustrated I back off and rethink the method. 

The example you gave was that she will only put one foot on the box. Obviously I would have rewarded the first few attempts where she put one foot on the box. I would then switch to trying to lure her onto the box with both feet. I would hold a very tasty smelly treat up over her head at an angle where she would feel tempted to stretch up to get it. I would position the box conveniently in front of her, so it would be natural for her to use it to help stretch up for that treat. Distracted by the smelly treat, there is a very good chance she will put both feet on the box. When she does, I would click and give her the treat. I would then give her half a dozen more treats, give her ear scratches, and tell her she's the most awesome dog ever. It's a treat party. This will make a huge impression on her. Let that impression sink in for a minute or so. She done good. Then repeat the lure. Give her another half dozen treats, but don't get quite as excited. Give her head space to think about what she just did. Wrap up with two or three really easy tricks, such as touching your hand, rewarded with kibble, and send her off to think. Ideally, let her take a nap and sleep on her success. 

On the other hand, say she absolutely refuses to get on the box. She stares at the treat, grumbles, shifts her weight, licks her lips, and maybe gives a yip of frustration. I would move to a different part of the room and do some other trick she already knows well. Reward her with a lesser value treat, such as kibble. Give her three or four commands and rewards in rapid succession, so she knows she's still a good dog. Then send her away to think. She will know she missed out on the awesome smelly treat, and she will quietly ponder the question.

While she's thinking you need to think too. The first thing I would ask myself is whether there was some problem with the box itself. Did it seem like a sturdy surface to her? She's not going to get onto a box that seems like it will tip or collapse under her. I might try a different object, like a footstool, if I thought there was the possibility she really didn't like the box. 

I would then think about different ways to lure her up onto the box. Maybe simply holding the treat over her head isn't what she needs. Maybe a touch command would work better. Over two or three days I would brush up on the touch command by holding my hand in all different places, encouraging her to move her body to reach my hand. Between my legs. Under a chair, so she has to duck her head to reach. Up on the couch, so she has to jump up to reach my hand. Up on the wall, so she needs to put two paws on the wall to reach it. Up on the stair railing, so she needs to climb three steps to reach it. Then just casually hold your hand with the box in front of it, so it's entirely natural for her to put both paws on the box while she stretches forward to target your hand. Treat party! Shower her with treats to let her know she did something awesome. Repeat the lure. Then finish up with two or three easy tricks with lesser rewards and send her away to think.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The purpose of a clicker is to serve as a bridge to mark execution of a desired behavior to receiving a treat as a payoff for the behavior. You need to form that bridge by loading the clicker before using it. After that you click one time to essentially say "good" to the dog without actually saying the word. If you think you have to click many times per minute then the clicker will lose its meaning (in other words it will become as irrelevant as Charlie Brown's teacher). As I said above I am not good at timing on a clicker since I am a klutz. But I do understand the appropriate use of them. I have a person who has come to noivce classes with more than one dog at my club. She is an "over-clicker)" and used to use is so indiscriminately that it was VERY upsetting to some handlers and dogs. She is a friend and although I never told her she was not using the clicker for its intended purpose I did ask her to stop using it in class because other people couldn't get their dogs to focus because they couldn't ignore her clicks. She was happy to put it away. Now she over-treats but that doesn't make any noise so no problem.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

It helps to know your dog. I never taught Babykins to roll over and play dead. Why? She doesn’t like to roll over on her own so why force a trick she’s uncomfortable with when there are plenty of others. It also helps to know how your dog reacts to surfaces and how bold or timid a dog is with new situations. Is the box on a slippery surface or unstable when Bennie steps in? Are bennies’s paws shaved underneath so her feet aren’t slipping? Would a larger box with lower sides work to start? Some dogs don’t care and will step on anything while others are cautious or even too scared. Your plan to shape may not be working for many reasons beyond your shaping skills.

When I was teaching Babykins her tricks for her AKC titles, I looked at multiple videos to get ideas, then I mixed and matched them to find what worked best for my dog. I can’t remember which trick it was but I combined ideas from 3 different trainers teaching the same trick using bits and pieces. There’s often more than one way to train so if one method isn’t working, look for another.

When I taught beginner agility, we taught get in a box to teach hind end awareness to dogs. Start with a box at least as big or larger than Bennie. The sides should be lower than the dog’s armpits. Box should be stable so it doesn’t move when the dog touches it. You can wedge it against your shoes or something heavy. We lured dogs into the box with treats. Some dogs just got in … others needed careful shaping. Make your box so low, easy and unthreatening for Bennie that she’s not afraid to put a paw in. Cut the sides down to 2-3”. It doesn’t even have to be a box to start … train it in a dog bed. You might want to do it in a different area that where you started to Make it a fresh attempt. Use high value rewards to start.

I’m another one who prefers to mark with my voice, for all the reasons Catherine mentioned. I can’t imagine training to a degree that you click so often… you mark as needed, not by some artificial timer or quota.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Thinking about what Skylar said, a few things I have found helpful for Annie: 

Upping the value of the treat increases
enthusiasm, and I can get away with more 'no reward' attempts before she gives up. Annie is MUCH more inclined to try out new behaviouts when tuna fudge is on the line than if it's a piece of kibble. A tiny bit of frustration is often when she makes a bit of progress. I do find I need to often have a flurry of clicks (many clicks in a row), then when I decide she knows that piece, slightly up the critetia, there is a tiny bit of frustration, and poof! A breakthrough, and another flurry of clicks. 

it isn't necessarily 'correct' or even necessary, but I find it helpful to have a mini party/jackpot whenever Annie makes a breakthrough . So I click, tell her nice things in a happy voice, give her extra treats, and then go back to nothing but a click. 

Also think about what surface you are on. I do a lot of training on the kitchen floor mat, on the deck, and in the office on the carpet. Annie slides on our floors and that makes teaching many tricks much harder as she doesn't have secure balance. 

Well, this has been a reminder to get off of poodleforum and start working on our expert tricks again.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

I agree with lily cd re that too many clicks just becomes background noise. The clicker is primarily a tool to tell the dog, "yes, what you just did is what we're looking for." Unlike lily cd re, I have a lot of trouble with vocal markers; my timing is much better when I use a clicker. Different strokes for different folks.

There's also a concept,"Reward the try." Mentally visualize each motion a dog would need to perform to complete the trick and how all those motions would chain together. As the dog is learning the trick, click and reward the first two or three times the dog performs a motion at the start of the chain. Then stop rewarding and wait for the next motion in the chain. Reward that instead. Continue until the dog has figured out the whole chain, and then throw a treat party.

As an example, here's how I taught Galen to army crawl. I first taught him Down. We spent a couple of months on Down, since it is so essential for so many activities. Eventually I phased out the rewards for Down. Instead I held a treat about six inches in front of his nose and asked him to Crawl. Of course, he had no idea what Crawl meant. However, he's a bright lad, and he knew I wanted him to do something. With the treat right there in front of his nose, he stretched his head as far towards it as he could. Reward the try! I clicked and gave him the treat, because this was a good honest try. We did this a second time. Then I held the treat a foot away from his nose. A foot was too far for him to stretch, so he moved one of his front legs. Again, reward the try! I clicked and gave him the treat, because moving his leg and his head towards the treat was an honest effort. I held the treat at 12 inches two more times and rewarded him each time he moved a leg towards it. Note, none of this looks like an army crawl yet. We are just building the foundation.

Next I held the treat 18 inches away. Now he can't get it even if he stretches his neck and flops a leg forward. He needs to move both front legs. His first attempt at solving the problem, naturally, was simply to stand up and walk over to the treat. I closed my hand over the treat, cheerfully said, "Ah ah," and put him back into his Down with no reward. I held the treat out at 12 inches again, waited for one leg to come forward, wiggled the treat alluringly, and waited for the other leg to come forward. Then I clicked, gave him the treat, praised him, and gave him three more treats. He had resisted the temptation to stand up and had instead solved the next stage of the chain. I repeated this exercise three more times and called it quits. We still don't have an army crawl, but we have good progress.

The next day, after he had slept on the problem, Galen knew immediately to offer me a wiggle forward with his two front legs. I rewarded the first wiggle with a click and three treats, then I downgraded to a single treat, then I stopped marking and rewarding it at all. Instead I continued dangling the treat tantalizingly out of reach. Galen, my bright lad, considered the problem and dragged a hind leg forward. I clicked and gave him a treat. The next time he tried standing up and walking over. Again, I told him, "Ah ah," and put him back into his Down. I made things a little easier the next try and rewarded him just for putting his two front legs forward. Then I went back to waiting until a hind leg came forward too. In this manner we slowly crept across the room, three legs at a time.

Finally I held the treat a little bit further away, and he moved all four legs to get it. Big treat party! I praised him, gave him 8 or 9 treats, and scratched his ears. Awesome puppy! We repeated, and I gave him six treats for moving all four legs. Then we quit for the day.

The next day I started again by luring him only to move his two front legs, and I rewarded him with one treat. Then I waited for his fronts and a back leg, and I rewarded him with a single treat. Then I waited for both front and both back legs, and I gave him three treats. We practiced this a few times until I was only giving him a single treat. Finally I waited for all four legs to move forward and then a front leg to come forward again. Another treat party! In this way we gradually built up distance without causing two much frustration. 

As I said, Galen is a bright lad. He knew that moving forward was the key to the treat jackpot, he just needed head space to solve the problem of getting his limbs to work properly to crawl. Now he will voluntarily flop down and crawl forward, wearing his most adorable expression, when he thinks he deserves an extra special treat.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

cowpony said:


> I disagree with the need for 15 clicks per minute. I think quality is more important than quantity when learning a new trick. When a dog starts getting frustrated I back off and rethink the method.





lily cd re said:


> If you think you have to click many times per minute then the clicker will lose its meaning (in other words it will become as irrelevant as Charlie Brown's teacher).


The 15 clicks per minute is a Karen Pryor quote, and was specifically in response to the OP’s question about shaping. Definitely _not_ for capturing or luring or any other techniques I may not be aware of. 

I used shaping to teach Peggy to use her scratch board. Took about a minute from showing her the board to enthusiastic scratching. Generally speaking, that is about how much time I spend at any one time on new tricks. Then I let her brain digest it a while before trying again.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Skylar said:


> I can’t imagine training to a degree that you click so often… you mark as needed, not by some artificial timer or quota.


Just clarifying again, because now I’m worried I’ve confused the OP: That quote from Karen Pryor was specifically for shaping. It is incredibly powerful in very short sessions, but no, you absolutely do not want to be clicking up a storm with any other training technique.

@BennieJets, that really is an important distinction. I have only used shaping a handful of times with Peggy, and even then, I only keep it in my toolkit because she _loves_ it. Some dogs might not. And some owners might not enjoy it either. Using a clicker doesn’t require that you employ the shaping technique.

This book was my introduction to clicker training:






Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor 189094811X 9781890948115


Buy a cheap copy of Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor 189094811X 9781890948115 - A gently used book at a great low price. Free shipping in the US. Discount books. Let the stories live on. Affordable books.



www.discoverbooks.com


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

A couple more thoughts. Some dogs take to shaping and you can accomplish a lot in one session. For others it might work better to get one win, reinforce that a bunch, and then end the session with a treat scatter or similar. Then the next time you set up to work on training, they'll probably offer the behavior from last time and then you can ask for more precision, both feet, etc. 

I feel like for Oona, (I think) she gets frustrated if I raise the bar or change my expectations in a single session more than once. So we've been splitting it up over multiple days. We've been working on putting her toys in her box and she doesn't have it really yet, but each time we work on it she offers the last target behavior faster and does it more times. We started with just picking things up. Then picking them up and dropping them, then dropping them near, then in the box. She is still picking toys up that were already in the box and dropping them back in, since she gets that she is being rewarded for dropping things in the box. She doesn't yet understand that I want her only to take toys from outside the box and but them in. Because, (duh) she doesn't actually care what "clean up" means to humans. But this means that if I don't reward her for taking something out of the box, or taking something out and dropping it back in, she starts to offer other things like stepping in the box, walking around the box, etc. And that is when I think things get tricky (pun intended) for me, because my impatience and her frustration are sometimes hard to disentangle. I feel discomfort/anxiety when she is offering all her behaviors trying to figure out what I want. I don't think she is particularly upset or frustrated when she does this, but I find it kind of painful. I'm just becoming aware of this dynamic so it's interesting and I'll try to observe it more carefully. When it seems like she's not going to have another success I usually ask her for something else she knows and we call it a day. But I don't know if it's because it's actually time to stop, or if I just can't stand watching her throw behaviors at me. Anyway I don't think it hurts to split sessions up. It's just a funny observation about the psychological dynamic that I experience anyway.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

Oonapup said:


> But this means that if I don't reward her for taking something out of the box, or taking something out and dropping it back in, she starts to offer other things like stepping in the box, walking around the box, etc.


I don’t know if it’s right, but I do acknowledge the offered behaviors. “Good feet!” For stepping in the box, but no treat. So she knows I’m actively engaged, and her efforts are not for nothing, but it’s not what I want.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Starla said:


> I don’t know if it’s right, but I do acknowledge the offered behaviors. “Good feet!” For stepping in the box, but no treat. So she knows I’m actively engaged, and her efforts are not for nothing, but it’s not what I want.


I don't know what the thinking is on that. When she offers something that is very extra, I sometimes can't help myself and I do like you do - ie, good rollover! But when she's just offering random stuff I usually say nothing or "try again!"


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

FDSA has a self study class for tricks. Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE160: It's All Tricks!

As for shaping, they are running a shaping class in this session. Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE135: Shaping Demystified The top working level (Gold) is sold out, but the limited working level (Silver) and auditing level (Bronze) are still available. Tuition starts at $65 US, and they offer scholarships that cover half the auditing level tuition.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I wish I could find the Zak George video in which he teaches a chin rest. 

He has a lot of content online, some of which you may find useful, but there was something about his approach in that _one_ segment that unlocked a big door in my training sessions with Peggy. Something about the rhythm, I think, which doesn’t come naturally to most people—that little dance between increasing the difficulty incrementally and knowing when to reward for good enough.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

Oh my gosh so much to work with here!!! SO glad I brought this issue to the forum. I really really appreciate all of the input. Once I am no longer contending with COVID in my household I'll come back to carefully take some notes and apply 😄


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

BennieJets said:


> Oh my gosh so much to work with here!!! SO glad I brought this issue to the forum. I really really appreciate all of the input. Once I am no longer contending with COVID in my household I'll come back to carefully take some notes and apply 😄


Ugh, sorry to hear you're dealing with COVID. Hoping for a quick recovery for everyone affected.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

Oonapup said:


> Ugh, sorry to hear you're dealing with COVID. Hoping for a quick recovery for everyone affected.


Thank you!! It's not been tooooooo bad here. Mostly just a waiting game. School screenings are a bit intense right, so part of it is also making sure we're all in compliance with that. I'm doing online classes myself, and I see clients online too, so it's all a juggling game. I am SO GLAD that Bennie has such a great "off switch" and has done pretty well adapting to not being able to hit up the trails to blow off steam. We're relegated to our yard, which gets stale for me but she's a great teacher to stay in the moment and find the small bits of joy.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Here's a good video on how to train a "Hold". One great thing about this particular video is that he shows the exact same training with several different dogs. You get to see different reactions from each dog. Not something I see very often. These are hunting retrievers but the hold command has so many uses. I haven't taught this to Elroy yet. I think it's a good place to start. Thoughts?


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

94Magna_Tom said:


> Here's a good video on how to train a "Hold". One great thing about this particular video is that he shows the exact same training with several different dogs. You get to see different reactions from each dog. Not something I see very often. These are hunting retrievers but the hold command has so many uses. I haven't taught this to Elroy yet. I think it's a good place to start. Thoughts?


Well, just a couple of minutes in my first thoughts are "Ohhhhhhhh hold. As in, "hold this object.'" Clearly my brain hasn't kicked in and is still in rest holiday mode. For some reason I clicked play thinking hold meant hold still and I didn't understand why he was putting his hand in her mouth 😂 

I sure wish these pups would get a treat for their work! He says good but they don't get anything. Must be a reason for that? Bennie would be like "Whoa, what up, where's the pay?"

Thanks for sharing Tom  Good to see other trainers in action.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I can pretty much guarantee Peggy would run at the sight of a dumbbell if I used those methods. I think training should be fun for dogs and humans alike, and Peggy is very clear about what she thinks is fun. 

I’ve not gone through it in-depth, but this looks like a good resource to get you started @94Magna_Tom:









Shaping the Dumbbell Retreive


A series of 10 lessons will be presented that show the building block skills necessary for doing an excellent obedience retrieve on the flat and retrieve over the high jump.



www.2coolbcs.com





(Scroll down for videos.)


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

PeggyTheParti said:


> I can pretty much guarantee Peggy would run at the sight of a dumbbell if I used those methods. I think training should be fun for dogs and humans alike, and Peggy is very clear about what she thinks is fun.
> 
> I’ve not gone through it in-depth, but this looks like a good resource to get you started @94Magna_Tom:
> 
> ...


 Agreed- it is a very goal or end-oriented approach without the joy through the process. I don't think it would be my style, nor Bennie's. _Especially_ without treats


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

BennieJets said:


> Agreed- it is a very goal or end-oriented approach without the joy through the process. I don't think it would be my style, nor Bennie's. _Especially_ without treats


Lol yep. Peggy loves the treats. We also use a lot of play in training, and she thinks shaping is a super fun challenge. I’m always amazed at how quickly she progresses.

That reminds me I’ve not pulled out the clicker in a while. Going to go surprise her with it now!


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