05 April 2015

Positive Pet Training #14 - Teach Your Pet Something New in Ten Minutes

Mr. N is becoming quite adept at clicker training and he can learn a basic trick in a few minutes. We do a lot of structured shaping where I have a goal in mind and I try to "nudge" him towards the final product. We don't do a lot of free shaping where I just wait to see what Mr. N has to offer because he gets frustrated if he feels like he lacks directions.

So I thought I'd see what he came up with. Mr. N (being the diva he is) likes to stomp at me if he thinks I'm being unclear or if I'm not rewarding for something he thinks I should be. Sure enough, I sat there and he started to stomp at me and I clicked and treated and put it on cue. My hand signal is tapping the floor with my fist once. 



As you can see from the video, he caught on pretty quickly that he would be rewarded for "stomping." From start to finish, it took less than ten minutes complicated by the fact that I also had my phone out to take pictures and he was like do you want me to pose pretty for a picture or work? 

Shaping really makes dogs think and I love playing the "game" with dogs. I also worked with Mr. N's friend, Sage, shaping for two five-minute sessions and she was regularly offering a wave by the end of the ten minutes. And this is a dog who hasn't had much experience with clicker training and shaping. 

Ten minutes. That's really all you need. Your dog can learn a lot in those few minutes and it's better for them to have shorter, frequent sessions anyway.

Have you tried training your pet to do something new in ten minutes? 


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48 comments:

  1. Mr N is so clever :-))

    sumskersandearlskers13.blogspot.com

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  2. That is awesome! We aren't big into tricks around here. Mom likes to watch other dogs do tricks, but she isn't motivated to teach us tricks. You are a talented pup, Mr. N.

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    1. Mr. N likes being the center of attention so he loves doing tricks and getting attention lol.

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  3. Great video, Mr. N! We love clicker training! Keep up the good work!

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  4. Love the video and positive training Mr.N!

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  5. Sold me on the video - Harley wasn't a clicker trained dog, but I would love to start with Jax. I think Harley would fall right in. Thanks so much "everyone" for the opportunity for the prize pack!

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  6. Mr. N. I wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for the Liebster Award. Congratulations! I so enjoy your website. You can read about it here! http://bit.ly/1CKSkVv

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  7. Lol, Mr. N, who is training who? :-)

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  8. What a sweet Spring Training Prize Pack! We would love to get our paws on it :-)) Just entered! Nice job on learning how to "stomp", Mr. N! Keeping training sessions short as opposed to lengthy and potentially boring and/or frustrating is key in teaching new behaviors and brushing up on already learned skills :-)

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    1. Thanks for entering! Mr. N has a short tolerance for frustration so I need to keep an eye on him.

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  9. Oh that look on his little face when he gets it!

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  10. We do a lot of shaping sessions where I let the dogs decide what we work on. It is so fun to see what they offer and what they want to learn. I am glad Mr. N taught you something! :)

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  11. He's so smart. Clicker training is a great way to teach a dog. My only challenge is I have to train one dog out of sight and earshot of the other two or everyone gets confused as to what is being clicked.
    --Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats

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    1. There's a clicker that makes multiple noises so you can train multiple dogs, I think. I forget which brand.

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  12. Great job, Mr. N, and Mom, for being so observant! I want to try a little more free shaping with Luke too. That's what we used for his basic commands and that went very well, but for his tricks I've been luring him to do what I want. I'd love to see what else he can come up with on his own.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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    1. I find object-based shaping to be easier to start off with. Mr. N likes knocking things over.

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  13. Mr. N is so smart! I'm so lazy about working with Rita on training. She's not super into tricks. I had a really easy time teaching both of our previous dogs to roll over, and when I had such a hard time trying to teach it to Rita, I kinda gave up on any other tricks. It only took you ten minutes because you have such a good base with him. With Rita... I need to build up that base before I can get to the 'new trick in 10 min' phase with her. Another thing to add to my to-do list. (Right after I brush her teeth....) :)

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    1. Admittedly, I've worked with him a lot and he has experience with shaping. But Sage doesn't and she also learned a new trick in ten minutes! And she's not my dog so I don't have that connection with her either. If you like, I can try to video her next time I work with her so you get a better idea.

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  14. I loved this challenge! Our new trick actually took 15 minutes, but that was still less time that I'd envisioned it taking.

    I love his stomping :)

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  15. I love taking advantage of behaviors they offer naturally! That is how I taught Ruby's "how do boys pee" hind leg hike. I bet you could even teach Mr. N. to "count" this way!

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    1. I want to teach him how to kick his legs back on cue at some point. He's always doing it.

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  16. I love this trick, and I'm absolutely going to be trying it with Laika this weekend. It's so amazingly cute and simple. Now I don't think Laika will look nearly as cute as Mr. N doing it, but you know.. It'll do :)

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    1. Thanks for sharing it, Jen. I'm looking forward to seeing Laika do it! We joke that Mr. N practices cute poses while we're sleeping at night.

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    2. Mr. N. is such a smart boy. My Delia stomps at me when she's frustrated. I will have to try this with her. I am intrigues with clicker training. Definitely have to check it out.

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  17. Mr. N is such a cutie!
    I have wondered about clicker training but never tried it. What if you don't have your clicker on you but need to give him a command? Will he still respond?

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    1. I just use the clicker to teach new things mostly. He responds to all the cues he knows without the clicker. The clicker is just there to "mark" the behavior I want.

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  18. Mr. N is such a clever cutie pie! You are so consistent and patient and encouraging - and this is what makes the difference. We're just starting our clicker training journey....keep us in your thoughts! :)

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  19. Great post and I love the idea of training in 10 minute sessions. Also love the video!

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  20. Mr. N is such a good student! And cute, too! My furangel Husky Gibson used to "stamp." We used to do this skit where I'd ask him if he wanted a treat "right now" and he would stomp his paw and woo! Boy, I miss that. I'll have to each one his younger siblings now! Thanks for memory, Mr. N!

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    1. Aww. I think all the Huskies stomping together would be adorable!

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  21. I don't know about 10 minutes, but Luna learns pretty quickly! We mostly use praise for training because food can make her go a bit nuts. Too food motivated!
    -Jessica from Beagles & Bargains

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  22. I'm super impressed with Mr N unrolling the yoga mat! That is very cool. I taught my dogs to High-Five in about 19 minutes.
    Love & biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

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    1. 19 minutes is super specific lol! Mr. N knows that too. It's such a cute trick.

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  23. Too cute! We've never done clicker training but it sure does make a statement and that stomp?! It was great to see Mr. N. in action.

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  24. Mr N makes it look so easy! I think I need to learn more about clicker training.

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  25. Mr. N is such a smart boy! I really enjoyed the video, thank you for sharing!

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  26. So clever. I need to work more on shaping with Kilo. He likes to be lured and directed but he does offer lots of things so I need to get on it. I want him to wave but he doesn't offer that? I found it tricky to handle the clicker and treats and tricks.

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    1. I taught Sage how to wave using a clicker and she doesn't offer it either. What I did was I had her touch a spoon with her paw and then once she was used to raising her paw, I took the spoon away. And ta-da! A wave.

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  27. Mr. N is so smart! Chuleta is too old to bother with new training, but she has learned a number of commands in her life with the help of clicker training!

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  28. I want to teach all my dogs how to Stomp now@! We use the clicker a ton for the look at me game when we're out walking and they respond better to the clicker than any verbal marker. Did you shape the stomp? I'm not sure how to get them to do it... let's talk!

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  29. Mr. N is so smart. All we have to do is give Mom Paula our cute look!

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