Ask/share instructions about tricks

My friend thought that we would create a thread where people can put instructions and tutorials about how to teach tricks. My friend thought that people could ask or provide here ideas how to teach tricks. My friend has noticed that there are weekly trick threads here. However, there are not actual instructions in them. This thread doesn't necessary need to be only for us. My friend thought that people don't need to talk only about one trick at the time but they can talk alternately different tricks. So, this thread is going to be different than those weekly trick threads.

My friend thought she would start by asking about this trick:
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247358

Has my friend understood correctly? That in that trick the dog would stretch his limbs away from his body. Are there some skills that dog should have before teaching that trick? Could someone advice how to teach that to the dog? There are some videos in that thread but they don't include actual instructions.

What kinds of tricks does Lotta know and how is she normally taught things?

A lot of the weekly trick threads have thoughts on how to teach a trick -- but it's hard to give a step by step for each one that will work for everyone. Every person has their own style of training and every dog their own style of learning. Some dogs understand shaping, some do better with luring, some capture the behavior, some use targets, etc. I know this isn't super helpful - but all really depends on individual tricks, circumstances and what the dog & person are comfortable with.

When I teach a trick I might combine several methods and am constantly thinking of new ways to get the desired outcome. Sometimes I'm just not communicating properly with my dog and need to reevaluate what exactly I want the dog to do and how I might accomplish that.

Yes, the frog leg trick is when the dogs legs are splayed backwards. You can lure the dog into the position, capture it when he does it naturally,shape the behavior by rewarding any movement of his back legs, teach the dog to lay on a pillow where his back legs are kind of forced to be in the right position. There's nothing that the dog has to know ahead of time, except I'd start with the dog laying down.

Lotta doesn't know many tricks yet. There is not only a one way Lotta is trained with. We have written/are going to write about Lotta's training in this thread. However, although we are looking for easy tricks, you can put other tricks here as well.

My friend though that she would tell more clearly what was her idea for this thread. My friend meant that she doesn't mind if others wants to ask advice as well when we wrote:
My friend meant that there doesn't need to be set order. One can discuss also later about some trick if she still needs help with it. People can put written instructions in this thread. They can also put tutorials where one shows and explains how to teach tricks. Those tutorials should show all the stages. My friend needs such.

She meant that there are not such tutorials in those:
My friend knows and understands what you told. Of course people can put different kind of tutorials in this thread.

When we are talking about this trick:
It seems simple enough that if a tutorial would include instructions for example for shaping one could easily add luring. Does someone know if there is such or could someone make one where someone would show it with a pillow? It should show all the stages.

My friend would also like to teach Lotta to shake. My friend has tried to find tutorials about it. In many of them the dog is teached to give only one paw. However, my friend would like to teach Lotta to shake with both paws so that when you give Lotta your left hand she will give you her right paw and vice versa? This is the only tutorial where the dog is teached to do it by herself. http://www.howcast.com/videos/509723-How-to-Teach-Your-Dog-to-Shake-Hands-Dog-Tricks
In many other tutorials the trainer just grabs the dogs paw.

We have tried to find out how to teach that trick. This is what we have found out so far:

1) You should teach one side at the time.
2) Each side should be named differently.

My friend has seen videos that shows what kind of tricks dogs can do. (There are no instructions in them) In some of the videos the dog gives a paw and it's named like "paw" and "other paw". Are those suitable names and how does Lotta know which paw is "paw" and which paw is "other paw"?
Since my friend wants to teach Lotta to shake with both paws and she first teaches one side, should she name the behavior when she has teached one side? If so, how does she know when should she name it?


My friend would like to ask also about this:

Some of the tricks are teached by targetting. When you teach the dog to target hand and a Post-It, do you name both of them touch? If you later teach the dog to target a Post-It also with his paw, should you name it differently?

Although we told that: "My friend meant that she doesn't mind if others wants to ask advice as well when we wrote:"
"This thread doesn't necessary need to be only for us."
You can suggest also something else besides the ones we have asked about in the previous messages. Since Lotta doesn't know many tricks yet, my friend is looking for easy tricks.

I have never taught the frog trick so I have no idea how to do that but some easy tricks to start off with are spin and bow. Does Lotta know either of those?

The dog will learn whatever cue you want her to. So your friend should pick out a cue she wants to use for the right paw and a cue she wants to use for the left paw. She make one "paw" and one "other paw", she can make one "shake", she could even make no voice cue at all and simply teach Lotta to give her left paw when your friend puts out her left hand and her right paw when she puts out her right hand.


Teaching two paws might be a little tricky because you want to make sure you don't discourage her from using her second paw while you are teaching her to use her first paw. So if you are teaching her to shake with her right paw first you want to make sure you don't accidentally stop her from wanting to ever use her left paw. I've never taught a dog to use both paws so I'm only guessing.

I would probably teach them both at the same time using different hands. First I'd encourage Lotta to paw at your hands with either paw. To do this you can wiggle your hand around on the floor or playfully tease her so that she paws at your hand, then reward her. Repeat this until she is quickly, repeatedly pawing your hand. She can use either paw/both paws, you just want her to learn that you want her putting her paw on your hand. So get her to be good at this using both of her paws.

Once she is good at pawing you can start teaching her to use a certain paw when you hold out a certain hand. So if you want to start with her right paw you would hold out your right hand. If she paws with her left paw just ignore her and keep your hand there. When she uses her right paw then you can reward her. Do this several times until she seems to get it. Then do your left hand and wait for her to use her left paw. Again wait until she does it correctly several times in row. Then try the right again. Then the left again. By doing only a few repetitions of each hopefully she will not stop using the other paw.

Once she has learned to use her right paw when you use your right hand and her left paw when you use your left hand you can add in voice commands before you offer the hand. So for example you can say "paw" then offer your right hand. Then say "shake" before offering your left hand. This way she will learn the different verbal cues for the different paws.


When I have a dog target my hand or another object with his nose they both have the same name. If I want him to target something with his paw it would have a different name than when he uses his nose. For example using his nose I would say "touch" and using his paw I'd say "target".