Trent DeLucia: Teaching Your Dog Tricks

My previous blog was focused on training Bear and helping him get rid of one of his bad habits, but this time I chose a more fun topic.  I'm going to teach Bear how to sit.  I know this may seem like a basic trick that all dogs should know, but he was never taught.  There are some great tips and tricks in the book Do as I Do, by Claudia Fugazza, that are going to benefit my teaching immensely.

Since I am new to teaching and training dogs, the "Preliminary Training" section of my book was a great place to start.  It gave me helpful tips on what to do and what not to do when I start teaching.

"3 things to do prior to training:

1. Dogs cannot focus as well as they could on an empty stomach so start a training session after a small snack.
2. Make your dog feel loved and start to encourage before you begin.
3. Have treats out and ready to reward your dog with (Fugazza 15)."

Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 15. Print.

"3 things not to do prior to training:

1. Too much physical exertion before teaching your dog a trick will cause drowsiness and lack of focus so avoid playing at the park, long walks, etc.
2. Don't forget to refill the water bowl!  Dogs are more easily distracted while thirsty.
3. You cannot be in an impatient mood while working with animals.  You will only frustrate yourself and the dogs (Fugazza 16)."

Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 16. Print.

These tips helped me to prepare myself to teach Bear his first trick.  I fed him two green beans for a healthy snack about twenty minutes before we started.  I also pet him for a few minutes and brought the treats from the pantry to the living room.  I skipped taking Bear on his daily walk so he wasn't so tired for his lesson.  I also refilled his water bowl and made sure I was calm and ready to teach him.  After this, I was ready to perform the "Imitation Rule" teaching method:

"The imitation rule involves the dog learning that the cue "Do it!" means "copy the behavior I have just demonstrated" no matter what it is (Fugazza 16)."

Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 16. Print.

I decided to use the imitation rule on how I'm going to teach Bear how to sit.  I sat down, stood up, said "do it," forced him to sit down, and then repeated.  I repeated these steps about six times until I finally didn't have to force Bear to sit anymore.  When he sat by himself after repeating what I did, I rewarded him with a treat. Eventually, I just had to say "do it," and Bear sat down without me having to sit first.

The video shows that Bear learned how to respond to the cue, "do it."  It only took about an hour to teach him his first trick.  My family and I were very pleased and I can't wait to teach him more.  What do you guys think is a more challenging trick that I could try to teach Bear next?