How to teach 'bow'??

[Dreeza]

i am getting stumped with this trick...and i really want to teach Oakley to bow. He does it on his own when playing...but it is really hard to reward him for it because when he does it...he is being psychotic, lol

ive tried directions from 3 diff training books....none work (and they are all pretty similar anyways)

any tips?? Please!? :D

[Doberluv]

What suggestion were mentioned in the books? Do you use a clicker? It is such a distinctive sound and you can't always get the reward to them fast enough and this, once primed tells the dog the reward is forthcoming. Praise is good, but sometimes muddled to them and dogs, it has been found respond to this sound very well. Also because dogs communicate soooo much with body language more than vocally, (although they do use some vocalizations for communication) getting the behavior first while using our hand signals and later adding a word is very effective and less confusing than throwing words at them that they don't even know yet.

What I've done is like you were saying....when the dog happens to stretch that way they do with their rears up, I'll try to catch it and praise because I don't always have my clicker right there. It's not like I walk around all day carrying my clicker. LOL.

Then too, I'll actively work at it by holding a treat in my hand and luring them into that position, being careful to bring the treat down in front of them not too far forward or they'll lie down, but not too far back or they'll get up. They'll follow your hand down with their noses and when they first get even close to the right position, I'll click and treat. Then I'll withhold the click and treat for that near right position and they'll try to come down a little more because they try harder to get the reward. When they come closer yet to the position, I click and treat. This is shaping behavior. My hand bringing the treat down IS the hand signal. It will become more subtle later. Once the dog is doing this quite well, I'll add the command, "bow."

In order to train anything, the dog can't be psychotic. LOL. They have to get to the point where they're use to training and learning skills.....working. So other obedience practice every day makes them understand that there's a time for work and for free time. The work can and should be made fun, but psychosis is not allowed at certain times. lol. Also, when teaching a new trick, I usually do some other skills first that the dog knows well to get him into the "training mode." (or mood) He gets the idea that it's a skill you're trying to teach....this new weird thing you're doing. It's not just like you're giving him a treat in some strange way. LOL.

[Dreeza]

hahaha, yeah, i was making him do other tricks first....

i am beginning to think the treat i was giving him was just waaaayyy too good...b/c that was part of the problem yesterday ( i have tried on other occassions too)

i didnt like my dinner (this weird potato/cheese/ham stuff my grandma made)...so, since it is little treat sized pieces i was giving it to him as treats (not from the table of course, we were outside!) He was going NUTS for it, lol, i couldnt get him to do anything before he licked my fingers clean of the stuff, and then, when i would try, he would twist any which way trying to get out of doing the trick, and just get the treat (course i made sure he didnt get it :p )

yea, i have clickers...but i am not good with using them...i need to work with him on that some more...i just always forget to carry it around with me....

he is a quick learner (when he wants...) so he should get that concept pretty quick...ill work on it later today :)

thanks :)

[Doberluv]

What you can do if he's just going bananas about the treats and not focusing on you at all, is set the treats on a picnic table or something when you're outside. Work with him quite a little distance away....like 15 -20 feet away. This is where the clicker would be good since you couldn't reward him quickly enough. The click would tell him he just did the right thing and he's going to get a treat. Then you walk over quickly and grab one treat and bring it back to him. It helps a little bit to get his mind more on you if you're not holding the treats. There's no such thing as a treat that is tooooo good. (not in the dog's mind anyhow. lol. and after all....that's who's mind counts at a time like this.)lol.

[sparks19]

For me the clicker seems to be useless. I always forget to have it and when i have it i give my dog the good boy and physical praise anyway. My dog knows that good boy means he is getting something good. it is the command that sets him free from stay when there is something yummy on the ground and he knows it.

For bow i have just been taking the treat and holding it between his front paws. Luckily he doesn't just back up to get the treat he just brings his mouth down to his feet and voila a perfect bow position. He is exceptionally easy to train though. he will work for anything. food, toys, affection whatever. with my moms dog its difficult because she is so short its hard to tell if she is even in the bow position hahaha and she backs up to get the treat even if i start from her nose and move it down slowly. This has also been the toughest trick for teddy to pick up. It has been taking some time and hard work to get this one drilled in.

Good luck I hope it works out eventually because it really is an adorable trick :D

[casablanca1]

Not entirely sure if this is a good idea, but I know that if I get down on the floor and do a play bow (yes, I am a goofus) my dog will play bow back. If I wanted to teach "Bow," I think I'd try that. Possibly at a time when no one else is around to bust a gut laughing. Cat people never understand.

[Dreeza]

rofl, i do that all the time when i am playing with him

but thats 1/2 the problem...thats when he gets into is crazy mode...i dont think that is an effective training environment for him, lol.

i did try it yesterday,....and he just looked at me like i was nuts, lol