Flint in a the circus

The how to teach "Shake-a-paw" video

I get asked by a surprising number of people how to teach their dogs to "shakeapaw".
As if that is THE trick that all dogs must need to know... How rude would it be to have a dog that doesn't know how to shake its paw!? ;)
When i ask what they do, they usually say "I grab the dogs paw and give it a treat".
Yes, this CAN work for some dogs... but for others they need a little more help to discover where their own paws are. Below is video of me working with Daisy ( A dog for adoption) THis is just daisy's first session and she's already getting it! I started filming after she was reliably touching the book with her paw (took maybe 5min), and i did this by lure-ing her onto the book. After that all the training is shown in this video. With just some editing to cut off the parts of me going back and forth to get more treats.

I clicked for 1 or 2 paws (not very picky right now since she is just learning -the goal is just to teach her to use her paws now). Daisy also shows off her "back-up" which i taught her yesterday. So my goal is to motivate people and show that it doesn't take that long to train a dog!

Daisy: 1 yr old Husky-X. for adoption. She was found as a stray. Is great with other dogs, and very cuddly. She is just excited to see new people, but will calm down and sleep while you work. Would be a great jogging partner.  Email me if interesterd ahkneetah@gmail.com

Most Useless dog tricks

Some of Flint's most useless, but entertaining tricks!
Oh, don't make the same mistake as me... Don't show "Seizure" trick to small kids and at senior homes!

Ok, It's not REALLY useless =) Many of these tricks teach on back-leg /self awareness

A great weekend!

Flint did AWESOME for her first starters trial!
For her first run she got and first place for her 10' height class.  and a "Q" ( Q =Qualifying Score-Which means zero faults and when you get 3 Q's for a perfect run, you get a title)

For Flint's second run, she ran too fast and her momentum took her over the table and she faulted there (I will be sure to slow her down next time) but we still placed second.

Flint's 3rd run was a Jumpers .. I guided Flint along the wrong path.. then i stopped.. and thought "WaaaAT?? Somethings not right.." and I was totally lost.. and there were no numbers on the obstacles anymore because i was doing things backwards!! So i was awarded an "E" (=Eliminated) haha! I have always been directionally challanged so this doesn't come a surprise to me at all!!  I think I will only do 1 run a day.. 3 just totally fries my brain ahah ..

Also this weekend: I did my first cat spay =D.  In conclusion: Awesome weekend!

Above: Flint and her ribbons

Above: Flint very dissapointed at me haha

Nail Trimming is Just another Trick!

Watch how positive reinforcement totally changes what the dog thinks about nail trimming..
The CLICK sound of the clippers is now a cue that it will get a reward, just as if you were using a clicker.
So the dog now anticipates for the click rather than struggling, and fearing for when you click-it.

I was a little manhandling the dog at first b/c i wanted to show how bad it was with nail clipping... but it had already gotten so much better from when we first cut its nails and used a toy as a reward (last week). Normally, it would be biting, struggling frantically, and would no way let you bring a clipper near him!

When i first started (not shown in video) I actually rewarded the dog with the clicker just touching to dog, and touching the paw.

This really didn't take long at all (Two 5min sessions for this dog).. The sad thing is people bring these "difficult" dogs to the vets/groomers (who wanting to get the job done quick)  would  flip the dog over on the side....and the dog's fear would further increase so it would start biting/mouthing. So then they would put a muzzle on the dog.. and go ahead clipping while the dog is screaming bloody murder, or trembling in fear.  

So.. take  10minutes to train your dog!
It is NOT about dominating the dog, punishing them when they don't stand still, scruffing them, or holding them tighter... to show them you are boss. 
Rather, REWARD the dog, and convince them that Nail trimming and restraint is not scary at all.
You decide..which is better for the relationship b/n you and your dog.. and which will build TRUST??

Positive reinforcment works for all sorts of animals, not just dogs.

This is a cool video of a cat doing tricks.

There is lots of positive reinforcement trainers doing some awesome work. My inspirations are  Emily Larlham and Silvia Trkmann.

With positive reinforcement people train dolphins, cats, rats, goats, horses..etc etc.. not just dogs!

Puppy School Graduates

Videos from the Puppy Graduation. Good Luck with all your future training, it was a fun class!

Doggy Inspirational quote

Clicker games with a Puppy

This is a video of a 3month old puppy performing some "tricks" so people can get an idea of what clicker training is and how it works. Basically, a clicker is used to MARK the very momment the puppy did what you asked for.
It's similar to how correcting a dog only works AS the dog is in the act of the bad behaviour. However, clickers and positve reinforcement works to teach the dog what TO-DO rather than simply saying "NO!" all the time.


This video shows Day 2 of me taking care of this puppy and is already beginning to understand some crucial words. Try to pay attention to the timing of when i click/say GOOD then reward these behaviours. Below i also explain some of the words I am using in the video that i want the puppy to learn.

Command	Puppy Interpretation	Why it’s useful
“Go get it”	go to where owner is pointing at	-dogs don’t instinctively know what a pointed finger means. They may learn it growing up but spending the time to teach them this will allow you to be able to SEND the dog to an object or location.
"bring it here	Bring what i have in my mouth to owner	With toys now, but with practice it could be the remote control or garbage the puppy has stolen. The pup is also learning to play fetch a safer game then mouthing people!
"Stay"	Don’t move from current location	I also create  distractions by throwing treats, toys and waving things around that the puppy would normally bite at. I click&treat WHILE the dog is staying, and especially at any point the pup really really wanted to go for it but resisted. This great trick works on impulse control of the pup. It's a treat/toy now, but with practice, they will be able to resist chasing a stray cat.
“Stop"	Stop what I’m doing and look at owner	Useful if your pet gets all riled-up or is chasing something inappropriate
"Rollover"	Go from Liedown position and roll over on back to end up on other side.	just a fun trick for showing off to friends J But hey, the more tricks u teach a dog, the more they will watch and listen to you!

Initially while teaching new words to a puppy, I use lots and lots of clicks&treats! As the puppy understands the words consistently though, you can wean them off treats. (For example in the video I no longer need to treat "Sit" EVERYTIME as this puppy knows it very well)
To help you grasp this: A "click&treat" just tells them they are doing what you want correctly, but onces they know it you don't need to tell them all the time they are correct.
I consider this different from bribing because the dog is not really working for the treat.. it's working for that approval "Click" or "Good dog!" -for which GOOD THINGS will follow.

I Hope this helps some of my first-timer students!

Puppy Tricks Class starting June 6th in Yorkton, SK

THe Yorkton Animal Health Centre has kindly allowed me to host a PUPPY TRICKS CLASS! It's a small indoor area, so class size will be limited to five and you can expect lots of one-on one time.

Classes starts June 6th, every Monday evening at 6pm, and the class will consist of 6 lessons plus a graduation at the end. (*There will be no class on the monday of June 27th)    Cost is $90 for the entire lesson package, and spots will be filled at a first come, first serve basis. It will be a great way to socialize your new puppy and learn some puppy tips!
Basics will still be covered like sit, down, stay, as well as various tricks like spin, roll-over, play dead, and much more!
There will be weekly homework for the owners and a good sense of humour and willingness to learn will be a must for the humans!

For more information or to register please email me at ahkneetah@gmail.com or call/text at 306-620-9870

Pepperoni!

"Give-it" is a great trick. Once they learn that, you can control everything in their mouth.

Even the world's best treat -Pepperoni!
I taught this using only REWARDS. I am not using intimidation and as you can see Flint's ears are perked up and her eyes are bright (she does not look scared). My "gve it" command is cheerful, and no threats tied to it.. It's just another trick for Flint. :)

Everyone Sit!

I have an amazingly smart foster cat. And very food motivated. So far i have taught her "sit, High-five, and hoop" and her name of course. All in just three 5 minute training sessions! (I like to think i'm an efficient trainer :)  It really doesn't take long to train animals at all! just multiple-short-fast-fun lessons is all it takes. I probably spend more time just thinking of HOW to train a trick in the most effective way possible...   rather than actual training!

My newest foster cat "Maple"

Maple has been at the SPCA since November. When i first brought her home as a foster parent she had signs of chronic stress, and muscle atrophy from sitting in a kennel for so long. Her skin was flaky, and the tip of her ears were crusty, plus the tapeworms didn't help either (dont' worry no more tapeworms!)

She hid for the first few days and i was really worried about her, but she has really come along now!  She was so uncivilized... didn't know how to eat from a hand, didnt' respond to human voices...

She is a bouncing ball of fur now though, plays with FLint, and responds to her name and she has even learnt to Sit for a treat. She is so active ... doesn't need cat nip to be high.. and always playing.. come to think of it, i dont' see Maple sleeping very often! She is like the border collie of that cat world. But she is still very cuddly and likes to be held and petted.

 She does have the  "stray cat syndrome" where she devours any food as fast as she can.. and will always eat eat eat. Since she's getting chunky though i know she is eating more than she needs! So I am now starting to train her and get her to work for her food.

Heres a video so hopefully someone will want her. She was so stressed at the shelter, I really want her to fine a home and not have to go back to the shelter!

Shake-a-paw for the unwilling dogs

I recently trained a labx great dane to "shake-a-paw" in a day where owners claimed to have tried for 2 years!
"Shake" is usually an easy trick to teach dogs, because some dogs will naturally paw you to get your attention. Not this dog though. First i tried hiding a treat in my palm to see if it would paw it.. (nope) then under a towel to see if it woudl paw it (nope) perhaps a cup (nope)... I waited and waited... but this dog never used its paws for anything other than for carrying it's weight!
This is quite serious... so i went down to the basics...

How I teached a dog to Shake-a paw:First I chose a paw to work with,
-I lured it onto a book and when it had that one paw on the book, I gave it a treat.
-When it did this reliably, i slowly added mroe books so it would actually have to lift it's paw to place it on the pile of books
-Then as it lifted it's paw, i would put my hand out before it reached the books and reward whenever the dog's paw touched my hand.
-Then do it without the books in the way-TA DA!

Now this dog won't stop shaking it's paw when you have a treat  =)

Note: i didn't just grab the paw and reward.. because i wanted the dog to do the motions itself and reach out. Plus for a dog that doesn't like it's paws handled, that method could result in a dog that cringes and retracts it's paws when the command is given,  because it has associated the command with someone grabbing it's paws -complete opposite of what u want!

Go PLaY with your DoG

This may just be me.. but I love crazy dogs. I love working with crazy dogs and I am bad for encouraging flint's destructive, rambunctious, energetic nature!  So long as it's safe, and the dog knows ON and OFF signals i see no harm in it :) Playing has lots of benefits..

 Benefits of PLAY:

1. For submissive/shy dogs (like flint)  playing does wonders to build on confidence, and a confident dog will be more willing to learn new behaviours (important in trick training!)
2.  Playing safely re-directs a dog's prey drive to something appropriate like a ball or tug-toy. It becomes an outlet for their natural behaviour  and a dog gets to be a DOG! A dog that is allowed to be a dog, will be better at overcoming distractions like chasing a squirrel when you say "Leave it" because  the dog thinks:  "Meh.. i see those all the time" (actually you throw stuffed animals for Rover all the time, but he can't tell the difference!)
3. Toys become another reward for good behaviour. Especially good if you dont' want to rely on treats to reward those pudgy pooches!
4. Play  keeps a dog active, healthy and happy.

5. Builds on the Bond between you and the dog -this is an obvious one! If you are fun, your dog will like you -need i say more? 

                                    

Flint too proud to show me what she did =P

Flint trying to keep Arthur off the road

Who needs to carry dog toys around when you have sleeves!

Deaf Cuddly Cat Looking for a Home (ADOPTED!)

Update Feb 3, 2010: Adopted!!!  Hurray!!  

This is my new foster cat: "Amie" and since i like to rename animals.. i call her "Allura" for beautiful. She is a 1yr old spayed Turkish Angora and is looking for a caring, understanding, indoor only home. She is deaf, but very friendly and cuddly -will wrap around your neck like a warm fluffy scarf and purr up a storm. She is an amazingly easy going cat who was fine with getting her claws cut, and even a BATH! She is very good with cats and very comfortable with dogs. In fact, she doesn't have a concept of personal space with dogs and will sneak dog food as the dog is eating or chew their chewtoys alongside them
(so becareful if you have a possessive dog!).
She also walks very good on a leash! Though she is deaf she acts just like a normal cat and meows or purrs when she wants attention. I have already taught her to come by using sign language!
 

How to make your own dog clothes

\I've gotten very creative these days! There is no way i would spend $15 on a dog coat.. as i already rarely spend more than 10bux on a T-shirt for myself! Plus, all the doggy cloths at the Petstore i deem obselete as the material is usually too thin, or Flint doesn't fit the sizes (she is somwehre between a medium and a small). SO i went to a children's store where they sold used clothes for $1 and i modified it for her :) ..(using my knowledge of anatomy of the dog hehehe... ) No, its not that difficult really: I just cut off the sleeves, sewed it close, then I cut holes where a persons breasts are for the dog's legs.. And finally resewed the sleeves back on in their new location. And to prevent the body of the sweater to droop (as a dogs waist is usually tucked up) I tied a band of fabric around her waist (later i will resew this smaller or modify velcro strap onto it)

Below: This dog coat is the work of my friend Kelly. She hates putting dog booties on so she took the sleeves off a child's pJ's, sewed one end close and sewed it to a doggie vest. This way you just plop the dog into one body suit!

                                                           Top: Yup, she can still poop =P