I read Something Wagging's blog post regarding Train your Dog Month and then the subsequent post for the lazy person's guide to the challenge. I think we will give it a go.
I am going to teach Sophie to stretch/take a bow. I have been meaning to do this for awhile and just been lazy. So I think this is as good a time as any to try it!
1) I think it would be very cute to have the action on cue
and
2) there is a practical purpose. Sophie hates letting me stretch her out before tournaments. As in she will bunch her muscles and not let me. The vet can get her to stretch with some coaxing but she really dislikes it. But Sophie does stretch on her own when she feels like it. She will arch her back up, or her back legs out behind her and generally loosen herself up. So the vet suggested I put these various stretches on cue so that I can just have her do it before a tournament.
Now just to have the clicker in hand so I can capture the behavior and reward.
Wish us luck!
PS: Next week, I will update on how our second agility trial goes and our first attempt at the strategy games!
Elli's the same way with physical manipulation: it totally has to be her decision if it's ever gonna get done.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of capturing it. In the end, it saves time on your part. I heard a story once of a woman who could only get 1 click/treat in per day because her dog only did a special move when she woke up after a night's sleep. The move was similar to a stretch, but the dog always had one front leg out and one back leg out, thus, a pirouette! :D
Sounds like a good idea. Both of my dogs are totally pliant when I stretch them out, but active stretches are supposed to help more than passive anyway, so I tend to lure a lot of stretching behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of stretching a dog. Is there a special reason to do it?
ReplyDeleteXimena: Sophie usually stretches post naps so I just need to make sure I have my clicker handy!
ReplyDelete2browndawgs: It helps to keep them from causing any injury to themselves. Flyball and Agility are high impact sports so you want them to be stretched/loose to minimize the possibility of injury (I am assuming its similar to why a runner warms up/stretches before racing).
That's a great one! I taught Skye 'take a bow' when she first started going to day camp at work. For her it was because she has no social skills, and doesn't know how to get a dog to play with her. A well-timed play bow can get things moving past the awkward 'are we friends?' stage and on to the fun- she just needs me to tell her when to bow!
ReplyDeletegreat idea, patty!
ReplyDeletei definitely think capturing is the way to go here. we taught desmond "bow" that way in a matter of maybe 10 repetitions over a week or so. it made me want to use only capturing to teach desmond everything (if only...)
also, i love the idea of the "stretch" cue for that back-leg stretch they do. i'd love to be able to get desmond to stretch before we play fetch or go for a run, since he's got his leg issues and is a total maniac when he gets excited.