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Q. We adopted a young dog from the animal shelter. She seems very bright. My kids want a book that will show them how to teach her tricks.
A. These folks telephoned before they came in so I pulled a stack of books for them to pick up after school. The “Sad Puppy” trick with photos of a dachshund caught my eye when I flipped through “The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever: A Step-by-Step Guide of 118 Amazing Tricks and Stunts” by Larry Kay and Chris Perondi.
The authors suggest two cues for their “Sad Puppy” trick. The visual cue is dropping your own chin to your chest. The verbal cue options are “sad,” or “sad puppy,” or “are you sad?” They write: “Start with
They write: “Start with your dog in a ‘down-stay.’ Kneel in front of her and look at her without moving or speaking. The moment she moves her head down — even an inch — mark it and deliver a treat to her mouth. Remain still and wait for her next downward head movement and reward her again. “Once she understands
“Once she understands how to earn rewards, she’ll lower her head again as soon as she swallows each treat. That’s the moment you make her work a little harder — she will have to lower her head a bit more to be rewarded. Free shape her head movement all the way down to the floor, an inch at a time.
“Free shaping is like the children’s game called Hot or Cold. Instead of using lures, you’ll reward your dog for guessing the behavior you have in mind. As the game (or learning) progresses you wait to reward your dog so that she does more of the desired behavior. When she guesses correctly, she earns a jackpot.
“Add the visual cue and the verbal cue. Once your dog can rest her head on the floor consistently, drop your chin to your chest as you name the trick. At this step, give both cues together before you mark and treat.
“Add duration and distance: Get her to hold the pose (up to five seconds) after you cue by delaying the mark and reward. If necessary, toss each reward between her paws to help her stay in the pose. Finally, increase your distance from your dog and stand up to cue.”
The authors explain marking: “There are two types of marking — voice marking and clicker marking. You can mark with your voice by saying ‘Yes!’ or ‘Good!’ A marker word works best when you speak it the same way each time, with the same enthusiasm, pitch, and volume. Your dog will learn faster when you mark the exact moment of success.”
The authors go on to explain how to use a clicker for marking because its short duration pinpoints the exact moment when your dog does what you want. “To speed up your dog’s understanding that a click is a positive sound, use the clicker as you hand feed all your dog’s meals for four days in a row. Simply click and then hand feed, click and feed, click and feed.
“Stay silent so that your dog can focus on the click. Hand feed each meal in a different place in your home, and your dog will generalize — she will come to understand that the click means something good will happen anywhere she hears it.”
