Help make my training sessions more interesting! Running out of things to do.

[feesh]

When I get the clicker out these days, it's starting to get a bit boring and we do the same old routine every time. I could do with a bit of inspiration, as my mutt seems to be disturbingly intelligent and I am running out of things to do with her! I've tried getting a little stool out, with the intention of shaping her to stand on it, but she doesn't show any interest in it worth a click (even looking at it!).

We do: sit, down, stand, paw, 'in your bed' (which means lie on the towel), 'kennel', 'wait' (which means 'stay' for us: can get up to 1 minute) and our latest thing is some cringeworthy doggy dancing which I hate, but she loves! All she does is run through my legs and weave around my legs so far.

We also play the default leave it game, where she has to focus on me and not the food in my hand/on the coffee table/on the floor in order to get treats.

I've also just started trying some very mini recalls over food on the floor (not going too well as she still sometimes decides to scoff it en route!).

Any more ideas? Any ideas for adding distractions (in the house) to all those things generally?

[Slubberdegullion]

Do you want them to be just for inside?

We have had LOTS of fun training retrieval of specific items.

I can now say "slipper" "croc" "ball" and "toy" and most of the time I will have the correct one brought to me . It is most pleasing for my inner sloth, getting the dog to get my slippers for me.

[Slubberdegullion]

Doing a series of down, sit, down, stand, sit either with verbal or hand cues without clicking and treating jn between is good. I can really see her concentrating hard [canine focus emoticon]

Speak! Is fun to train too.

[minimuu]

If your training sessions are getting boring then there is a good chance your dog is bored to - can't have that!

Teach a push and pull - you can do loads with that.
Push doors shut, push a ball, push a box or bowl
pull/tug empty a washing machine, tumble drier, remove your socks, hat coats etc

Teach a name for each paw 1234 then ask for each paw in turn not just the boring hand shake or high five command. Back legs as well.

Teach to balance in a very small bowl - great for body awareness

Teach standing on a stool with front legs on the stool backlegs off then backlegs on and front legs off - leading up to handstands.


Nose target - again once you have this sussed you can teach loads of things


Jump in preparation for skipping together

Circling around you in both directions
Heel to walk on the left side
Side to walk on the right side and get to change direction when walking


Walk backwards
walk sideways
Walk with picking front legs up (like a dressage pony)

Hide under a blanket
Hide eyes

Yawn

Feeling adventourous walking on two legs (start with opposite then move onto two legs on the same side - some dogs love this!)

If she is eating the food on the recall go back a step use a toy or something less distracting.

Try a box for free shaping but put a treat in it first to get her interest. She may go in the box, she may push the box, she may throw the box.

I can do more

[feesh]

Oh my GAWD Minimuu, that all sounds exciting and terrifying at the same time!

I forgot she knows 'touch' as well (nose targetting a hand OR purple post-it note....she has now eaten a lot of post-it notes...). She likes doing that, we have fun with her having to chase after my hand to touch it, or leap in the air for it :) It's how we taught the doggy dancing stuff. Less success with the post-it note version though.

Pull - Hmmmmm I am liiiiittle bit wary of teaching her any 'life skills' that may later be used against me :D .......e.g sneakily pulling my socks off while I am on the sofa sleeping wholly absorbed by a TV documentary, or raiding the fridge.

I like the idea of numbering the paws - I think I can do that one.

I think I could do walk backwards as well, by trapping her between the coffee table and sofa, as she often walks backwards in that situation anyway.

And I could easily do circling.

There's a few to work on.

How do you teach 'jump'?

Free shaping with a box - been there, got the t-shirt, apparently the box was YUMMY......

[feesh]

Also, how do you teach 'hide eyes'? We have been trying to put 'rub your eyes' on a verbal cue since she was a puppy as she looks SO cute when she does it, but she won't do it on cue.

We have managed to get her to 'shake' on cue though, which amuses me greatly! I can get her to shake herself dry now before she comes in the house after a beach trip!

[minimuu]

Brilliant well done - re the box move onto the stool as you where but put the treat on the stool to start her interest - don't look at her and don't stand over her - then click and treat.

Also try all the commands she knows while you are sitting down - it is interesting the results you do or do not get as the dog get so used to our body language and also give the commands when you have your back to the dog.

hide eyes - depends on the temperament of the dog - some people stick a post it note above the dogs eye and as she wipes it off click and treat, you could gently balance a lead on her nose and she may lift her foot to wipe it off, she may just drop her nose! Those are starters. (one of mine actually got dust in his eyes and I clicked and treated as he was rubbing his eye so that was just taking advantage of a situation)

Jump give her a small jump and ask her to jump it - do not run forward so it becomes a bit like a standing jump - do this enough times - remove the jump and say jump - dog will jump!

With the opening and closing doors I only teach it with a tuggy. So a tuggy is tied to the doors I want them to open - obviously not the fridge or back door! Then they only associated the opening of the door with pulling the tuggy- good that they can close it though if it is drafty.