Tricks Training

Mumble has now completed all three levels of Agility Classes at Zoom Room Culver City. We have had so much fun learning obstacles and learning how to put it all together to run through a course. As the end of Agility 3 started to wind down, you might think I'd be ready for a break from weekly training (we did, after all, start our first Agility class back in August, and it was immediately following our Loved Dog "Manners" class). But instead, I was a little panicky thinking of life without that structure of a dog class every week. Mumble is such a great dog, but he is also one of the most challenging dogs I've known! Not because of any behavior problems, but just because he is so darn smart and so energetic, he is constantly in need of a new activity! Going to agility every week had been so great for giving him the mental stimulation he needs on a regular basis!

Enter tricks training. The Zoom Room also offers a Tricks class (two levels actually), so we enrolled in Tricks 1. Each week we are now going to the Zoom Room on Tuesday nights to learn to play dead, ring a bell on command, take a bow, turn around in circles, and other exciting things.

The other dogs in Mumble's weekly Tricks class include his best friends, Chopper and Charlie, and one new dog, Hunter. We get there a little early and I take Mumble through a few agility course runs before class starts.

Here's how it has gone so far:

Week 1: The first week of class, we were given a clicker for training. Mumble is such a baby when it comes to unfamiliar noises, so of course the very first click caused him to tuck his tail down and try to run away. Both the trainer and I tried to get him to tolerate the clicker by giving him a treat, but he is very stubborn / strong willed, and once he decides he hates something, that is that! He clamped down his jaw and refused to even take a treat. So we gave up on the clicker until a later date... The first week, we were introduced to these tricks:
"Spin" - this is where the dog turns around in a clockwise circle. Learning it involves leading the dog around with a treat in your hand. Mumble kept sitting down halfway around, which was amusing, but not quite right ;)
"Twirl" - this is the same as spin but counter-clockwise
"Sit Pretty" - this is what some people call "beg" (or what Charlie's mom calls "Buddha"). The dog sits back onto his back legs with his front paws up.
"Take a Bow" - This looks like a yoga pose - the dog has his but in the air / back legs straight, and is leaning down in the front. Dogs do this all the time to stretch, but it turns out it is really difficult to actually teach!
"On your side" - this is apparently the precursor to playing dead. The dog goes from laying in a regular "down" to laying on his side with his head down on the floor too.
"Touch" - the dog puts his paw on your hand, like he would for shake or high-five. Mumble already knew this :) It is the pre-skill to learning to ring a bell, turn off a light, or touch a mark.

Week 2: By halfway through the second class, Mumble was able to tolerate a modified clicker - I first introduced him during the week with a clicky-pen / highlighter. Then during the class, I had a clicker which I had added layers of tape to so that it wouldn't be as loud. During week 2, we kept practicing the tricks from week one, with the following additions:
"Touch" became touching a bell. So on command of "touch," the dog touches a bell to ring it.
"Yum Yum" - this will be really funny if it ever works. It basically means that on command, the dog licks his lips! We tried to use a treat to get the dogs to stick their tongues out and then "capture" that moment.

Week 3: In week 3, Mumble was in the full swing of tricks training. He's figured out that the clicker corresponds with treats, and he was performing really well. In week 3, we added the following to our repertoire:
"Bang!" or play dead: We started saying "bang!" with the on your side trick so that it will eventually be linked to that for the dog to play dead. Of course, when I say bang, Mumble just jumps up and runs away from the noise!
"Mark" - an easy transfer from touch - this is where there is a mark (we used a small square of carpet sample material) on the floor and wherever you put it, when you say "mark," the dog runs over and touches it. Mumble had an advantage because in agility, the dog learns to "mark" a spot at the end of an obstacle, so he was on his A-game for this trick. Apparently, this is so that a dog working in TV will go to a designated spot.

So that's as far as we've gotten so far! Week 4 is coming up and we were instructed to bring a favorite toy and a toy box to start teaching the dogs to put their toys away. I'll be really excited if Mumble actually learns that one, as my living room is frequently scattered with lots of toys now. Stay tuned for further updates and pictures!