Friday Fun: Elka the Talking Doberman

I don't have any video yet (I know, sorry), but one of the tricks we're working on with Elka is video-worthy: saying "Hello".

I've mentioned that Elka is very vocal, and that she says "out" when she needs to go outside to eliminate. I don't know how many talking tricks we're going to end up with (probably not as many as Mishka the husky on YouTube), but a few seems pretty cool, and viable.

The reason I even got the idea is because of this situation: A few months back, one of our college neighbors knocked on the door. It was her birthday, she said, and she was having a party. If they got too loud, she said please come tell them, and they would cool it. I was amazed and pleased; none of our college neighbors had ever done such a thing. She introduced herself (I forgot her name), I introduced myself, and Elka, who of course was standing next to me. She looked down and said "Well, hello Elka!" and Elka looked up at her and said "Hello." I was so floored I couldn't even think to reinforce her or anything, and we finished our conversation and went our separate ways. I turned to Jim, who was on the stairs, and said "did you hear that?" He had.


So, now with the lovely weather we've been having, we've had the screen in the front door again. Elka is re-acclimating to those sounds (people walking past, car doors, the screen jostling in the wind) and will alert us to each one of them. Awesome. Since they don't all need our attention, I've been working to redirect her. She hasn't yet said "Hello" cold, but will make reinforceable "Hello" noises once she starts going and then I say "Elka. Hello!"

She's a bit confused so far as to what I'm marking, but she's getting there. And she's "talking" more, which makes me think maybe we'll add more. I also don't want to muddy her "Out", which has gotten pretty reliable.

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.

Doberman Do's: a short list

Elka is my first dog, and my first Doberman.  We've been over this, I know.  And of course, as my smart and beautiful girl, I find her to be unique and, well, some days more perfect than others.  Of course, some days I'm more perfect than others.

What I'm going to lay out for you I'm sure applies to living with dogs in general, but definitely applies to Doberman living.  Their distinct intelligence and personality makes life with them both easy and hard, from what I've experienced and from what I've gathered visiting Doberman forums.