Command Clinic: Heel (with a bonus Front)

The other day, Elka and I were playing with Gumby. Maybe we'd just come in from a potty trip, and it was celebratory tug? I don't remember. Regardless. When we play tug, I like getting Elka all riled up and snarling like she really means it, and then having her "drop it" and then either Down, or Heel. My fiancé hadn't seen this mystical "heel" happen, and had us repeat it several times.

Elka will go from facing me into a heel pretty well at this point, off leash in the house, and also in the yard. If she's a bit crooked, I say "Excuse me, straight" and she straightens herself out in relation to my heel, and sits. I can also say "Front", and she'll swing her hindquarters around and sit in front of me. But how did we do it?

(Front, if slightly crooked)

To sniff or not to sniff?

When you're out on walks, do you allow your dog to sniff willy-nilly?

Do you use sniffing as a reward?

Do you say no sniffing, no how?

I do all three, depending on the situation. Sounds confusing? Elka mostly has it straight. I've come to my criteria as we grew together.

June 22 is Take Your Dog To Work Day!

Apparently, somebody decided June 22 is Take Your Dog to Work Day. I don't disagree with such a notion; I think it's a great idea. Especially because they keep doing studies on people who can take their dogs to work, and coming up with a measurable reduction of stress and an increase in job satisfaction.

But, I can't take Elka to the library. If I was going to commit to the notion that she's really-truly my service dog, I guess it would be no contest, but I don't feel that my migraines, at current, reduce my quality of life such that I suffer from that degree of disability. Some people do, and I know that I'm profoundly lucky. Anyway, I did the next best thing: I took Elka for a walk in the library park.

Command Clinic: Go to your Bed

Elka is allowed on the furniture.  I declared this early in our relationship.  There are, however, times it would be really useful for Elka to lay on her own bed.  When the couches and chairs are full of humans, for instance.

If all of the "comfy" spots are taken, Elka will frequently pace around for the entirety of the time, sometimes soliciting play or pets, sometimes not.  Judicious application of a Kong or Monster Mouth frequently helps.  But having her realize she can lay down on her bed would help a lot more! I mean, really, I can't blaming Elka for preferring the furniture; it's clearly warmer and more comfy. However, we've begun to work, in earnest, on "go to your bed!"

Command Clinic: Teaching a new trick

When I teach Elka  a new trick, it happens for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes it's because I see or hear about what another dog can do, and I think "Well, Elka can do that."  Sometimes, some behavior she's already exhibiting is something that I wand to shape and encourage into a complete behavior.

Whether you're using a clicker or not, you need to have criteria.  You have the finished product in mind, and have to have an idea of what steps you want your dog to correctly take in order to reach that product.

"Find it" is something Elka already knows, depending on the context.  She knows the names of a few of her toys (Gumby, Pokey, ball, etc.) and I can say "Where's Gumby?  Find it!" And she'll find Gumby and bring him to me.  We in fact play the "Where's Gumby" game for some indoor fun; I have her down-stay in the kitchen and I hide Gumby in the living room, and then release her.

Then I heard about the Kyra Sundance Trick Dog title, and thought, "Well, Elka can do that."  I'm confident she has Novice in the bag (and already have a willing witness lined up), and am more or less confident about the Intermediate, but thought we ought to brush up, and perhaps add some more.  You can always add more tricks.

So, I saw the "Which hand holds the treat?" and thought it could be a different "Find it" context. To teach it, I have Elka sit, show her a treat, rub it between my hands, and then close each hand into its own fist, with the treat in one of them.  She can sniff both hands all she wants, and lick; I decided that my criteria for the trick to be successful is for Elka to put her paw on the hand that holds the treat, as it seemed much clearer to me than just nosing or licking.  Sometimes she will sniff the correct hand for a good long time before bringing the paw into play, but really, we've only had two sessions of it.  Unless I have it in my teeth, I can't use the clicker for this particular trick, as both hands are already occupied, so I'm using "Yes!" as a marker for when Elka uses her paw correctly.