# I'm running out of tricks!



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I haven't taught Vegas any new tricks for about two months or so, I'm running out of things to teach him. The last thing I taught him was how to open the bathroom door. Here's the rest of the list

Sit
Down
Stay
Stand
Rollover
Wave
Shake
Cross your legs (no verbal command, I cross my legs first)
Bite the air (rabies)
Cover face with paw (sexy poodle is shy)
Turn right
Turn left
Heel (walking forward and back with me, still learning walking sideways)
Front (sit in front of me, against me)
Kiss her (licks Vienna's face)
Outside (rings bells on door)
Out (leave the room)
Kennel
Back (walk backwards)
Hold (holds/picks up anything I point to)
Off (all four feet on ground)
Pull my sock off (gently nibbles around toes to find just sock, then pulls it off)
Treat on nose, waiting for cue word 'Okay!'
Achoo! (pull tissue out of box)

Does anyone have any good guides on how to teach play dead? Anyone have any other ideas?

I thought about having Are you a X? Animals, like, bunny to have him jump, kitty makes him lick his foot or something.

My dog needs mental stimulation! He loves training, help us out!


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## sparkyjoe (Oct 26, 2011)

Wow, you've done great!

One of my boy's favorite tricks was "Find it!"

I used a favorite (fragrant) treat and would hide them around the house for Gabe to hunt down. I started by placing him in a sit/stay and would "hide" the treat while he could see, and in a fairly obvious, visible spot.

I slowly progressed to where Gabe was in another room and the treats were hidden in fairly tough, not visible locations (and not just on the floor, but up on boxes or other raised surfaces). This made him really use his nose to find the prize.

I tried to be consistent in the number of treats I would hide so he would know when the game was over, but I also had taught him through the years that "all done" meant that the current activity was through be it the game, nail trimming, or play.

Good luck!

p.s. I never did teach Gabe "play dead" but he did know "on your side" which made nail trims and grooming easier.


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## sparkyjoe (Oct 26, 2011)

Oh, oh, oh!

Another fun trick that I taught Gabe was "Bump", which is sort of like the fist bumps that all those hip folks like to do. (No, I'm NOT hip!!! LOL)

Gabe had long ago learned "Target" which was the cue to touch my palm or the end of his target stick. From there it was easy to progress to where he "bumped" my fist with his nose; all I had to do was hold my fist out in front of me.

This was always a favorite with people.


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## roulette (Feb 18, 2011)

I've got a great challenge for you...teach him to read!! This girl is amazing:

YoYoPoodle's Channel - YouTube


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I am teaching Bonnie to 'beg' right now. She has to be sitting and when I say 'beg' she is supposed to lift both front paws up and stay in the position. I started this with 'shake'. Then 'other paw'. Then 'both'. When I realized she was able to do both paws, I switched the word to 'beg'. She is doing pretty well with it, but just stays up for a brief moment. We are working on having her stay up longer. 

I have also taught her to 'dance' where she goes up on her hind legs and stays there. Now she can hop along on her rear legs. She has amazing body control, so this isn't difficult for her physically. My last spoo was unable to go up on her rear legs (she had bad hips and a weak back). Bonnie is just about 37 pounds, so not heavy. Maybe that's why she can do this?

Here she is at the window. I was on the outside and said 'dance' and my husband was on the inside with treats and the camera (as usual). She got a little carried away jumping straight up. The other one is of her dancing in the kitchen:


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## muffin (Oct 15, 2011)

LOL She's so cute!! That's a pretty impressive list! I have never been fully successful in teaching play dead, but the closest I got with my husky was by getting her to do "roll over" and when she wouldn't go all the way around I would give the "play dead" command and treat her. She got pretty good at it, but whenever I tried having her do it in front of company she would be too excited and roll all the way over and not stay "dead" for long enough. 

I didn't see fetch on your list, but I'm sure she already knows that! Also, you could teach speak and have her bark on command, then you can start teaching her "math" buy having her bark the same number of fingers you hold up. Like, you can say "two plus two is..." and hold up four fingers and she will bark four times! The way I did this with my shepherd was by holding out the four fingers and then I point to each finger and say "speak", eventually she understood when I hold up the four fingers it meant to bark four times. I jumped the gun and tried teaching different math problems all at once and it confused her, so I definitely recommend getting just one signal down pat before you try another. (You can always mix it up by asking two plus two, eight minus four, etc. As long as it equals the same number, it's the hand signal that they learn!)


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

That Math trick is pretty impressive sounding Muffin!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Oh, yeah Vegas already knows 'find' as well, that's my cue for when he needs to find the ball/bird (for hunting and tracking) I did a bit with target/touch/place, but I haven't found a need to use it yet.

I've tried the Speak and 'Sit Pretty' ones, but I've taught the dogs too well not to bark, so they don't like doing it and its hard to get them to do it on comment, and with my strict 'off' policy.. I worked with sit pretty for an hour in the past, it was frustrating and I just couldn't figure out how to do it through ANY of the help videos online.

And oh yeah, he fetches like crazy.






Opening door





RABIES





Leg crossing





Find





hm.. what about turning the lightswitch on and off?


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## MamaTiff (Sep 23, 2011)

Fun tricks!

I am teaching Darby to play dead. But instead of telling her to play dead I point my finger at her like a gun and say "Bang!" and she lays down. Still working on her laying there on her back- she gets too excited and rolls or gets up right away.

How about "weave", to do a figure 8 around your legs? That's on my list on tricks I want Darby to learn.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Oh, yeah, lol Vegas knows the weave between my legs as well.


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## MamaTiff (Sep 23, 2011)

Does he know bow? I ask Darby to say thank you, and she bows. (front feet go out amd her front half goes down while her butt is in the air) Soooooo cute!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

The "rabies" command is hilarious!! I also love how he jumps the gun with the "leg cross" command. Like "alright, I got this" while he keeps crossing them, and him looking up at you is so cute. Leroy loves the "high five" trick because every time I tell him to sit he's already waving his legs. I was trying to teach him the "hold" command and he kept messing up, and unknowingly I waved my hand like "no that's not right" and he tried to give me a high five lol.

I was thinking turning the light switch on/off would be fun to do. Or you could ask him "Where's the keys?" or "Wanna go for a ride?" and have him bring your keys to you. Or "Bring me the groceries" and teach him to fetch a bag. Maybe you could teach him to walk with a limp?

I tried teaching Leroy how to "sit pretty" and he could not get it. He tried several times but he's so lanky he kept falling over. He did "sit pretty" for a second and then his eyes got all wide as he fell sideways. I could see it in slow motion, like a tall tree falling down. The first trick I taught him was "play dead" when I point my finger at him like a gun and say "Bang!" - this was very easy to teach him because his favorite activity is laying down lol.

Still working on the command to pick up his toys, and eventually pick up all the dirty laundry and put them in a basket. If I can't train my husband to do it, I can train my dog right? lol


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

His tricks are all very impressive and so are you for teaching them all. You should take him around to old folks homes and schools. He is so entertaining! I can only hope to be half as good at training tricks as you are. My whippet can roll over, but that's about it other than obedience. Bonnie is much more amenable to tricks, so maybe over time I can aspire to have a trick dog, too.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Bow (Bravo! cue word?) or limp (let's run a marathon! cue word?) would be fun!! Thanks!

I've also though about giving a name to each of his toys and asking him to get them by name.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

How about "clean up" (putting away his own toys)?


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I was going to say weave through your legs, but you said Vegas already knows that one.

What about go to a marker and wait? Tab289 has a video on teaching that, plus the extra hard version where the dog has to stop and sit on the way to the marker.

I've taught Vasco "spread 'em!" ... puts his front feet on a chair and waits to be patted down. 

I have a little toddler box stool, about 9 inches high, that I've taught him to run to, put his front feet on, and walk a circle around the box.

I just got a couple of small hula hoops, so we are starting new fun stuff with those!

I find every time I get stumped for new stuff, I search Youtube and there is bound to be SOMEONE who has taught their dog something new and silly!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Going to a place on command, with hand signals and whistles, is already what I need to teach him for bird training.. maybe I should get onto that.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Fluffyspoos said:


> Going to a place on command, with hand signals and whistles, is already what I need to teach him for bird training.. maybe I should get onto that.


Speaking of bird training, how 'bout Lure Coursing, or Rally, Agility, Treiball, or any of the other dog sports? U could search any of them that have a set-up in yr area. Or check thru the local Kennel Clubs.

Lure Coursing is great. No permanent fields, just weekend practices wherever they have a space for the dogs to run. 

*'Cept yr gettin' mixed up mostly with them rascally sighthounds! *


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

.. Vegas is pretty stinking fast. The only time someone beats him to the ball is if he doesn't know exactly where it's at.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Here's some ideas for tricks! These poodles are amazing! I don't see mine doing any of these tricks though!


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## debjen (Jan 4, 2010)

Crawl..then crawl under chairs stools..etc..

I do the feet on a stool and walking around the stool only using the back feet..also can switch it up and have the back feet on the stool and walk around with just using front feet.

Go to your mat..lay down on a mat 

Working on riding a skateboard with Arrow right now..

Have a cone or other target ..where they go around the cone..working so they do it at a distance..or having 2 and the figure 8 around the 2 cones..


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## angrymeerkat (Aug 31, 2011)

*playing dead*

Your poodle is very talented with a very impressive resume of tricks. As for other tricks, you could try bow, dead, rollover in the other direction (they usually go in the same direction every time), sneeze or carry a bucket. 

I taught Spike to play dead pretty easily. For him it was the pre cursor to rollover. First, I would have him lay down. Then I would sit on the floor with him. I would hold a treat to his nose and move the treat from his nose towards the floor in an angular motion. Spike would follow the treat until he was on his side. Sometimes I had to guide him towards laying on his side with my other hand on his side as well. Eventually I was able to move away from him and give hime the dead command while sweeping my hands across my body.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

That video of the trick standards was cool! Bonnie can walk on her hind legs. I should work on some of those tricks!


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## ladybird (Jul 9, 2011)

What about balancing a ball on his nose? Balancing tricks are always cool


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Due to our power still being out and lots of free time, we were working on sneeze last night. He was starting to get it, but we're still working on it!


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