If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It

I bet you're thinking, "Is she dense? Of course we need to teach them things."

We know we need to teach our dogs to potty outside, sit, stay, walk and greet nicely, we teach them tricks ...

But how many things do we just expect them to do or figure out on their own?

It is quite possible that I am the last one to catch on because it didn't sink in to me until recently and I came to a realization that WHATEVER I want my dogs to do, the best way is to teach it as a trick.

We, humans, don't actually come with an instruction manual.

I do feel that there are many things we take for granted and expect our dogs to do just for the privilege of sharing in our lives. And that can be a cause of frustration for both ourselves and our dogs.

It kind of occurred to me when we were struggling with medicating Cookie's ears. 

It occurred to me but it didn't turn into true realization.

It wasn't until recently when the light bulb truly came on in my head.

We had somewhat hard time getting Cookie's harness on. Particularly with the excitement surrounding the act, we typically ended up chasing her all over trying to put it on. I didn't really mind but hubby found that frustrating. And Cookie probably by then thought that's how it was done.

Jasmine was quite easy in this regard, she knew what the harness meant and did her best to climb into it, even though not always the right way. Cookie did get excited, as she knew we were going to go somewhere, but didn't seem to quite realize the importance of getting the harness on first.

Then the idea struck. Why not teach it as a trick?

I've seen some videos of teaching a dog to accept a muzzle and I decided to use a similar technique.

I'd hold out the harness and offer the treat on the other side, so Cookie would have to reach through the loop to get it. When she did, I'd mark and release the treat. Gradually, I held the treat further and further, until the harness ended up in its right place but it was all Cookie's doing. Then I'd just present the loop and mark and reward when Cookie stuck her head through.

Needless to say it took only couple of sessions to get to things to where we wanted them.

Now, all we have to do is to present the harness and Cookie's head is right there. Easy as pie.

If I didn't figure this out, we'd be still chasing her around trying to get the harness on Cookie. This way, she gets it on by herself.

And that is when I really got to understand this. If you want your dog to do something - anything - teach it as a trick.

Teaching your dog tricks is fun for both you and your dog, right? Why not treat any behavior you want as a trick? Much more fun and much less frustration.

Am I really the last one to figure this out? 

Or are there things you'd like your dog to do which might get easier if taught as a trick?

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