Recently a member of the public handed in 3 ducklings whose mother left them, the team health checked them and found a new mum in a pond and released them with the new mother!
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Static leg weave
This is another great trick to teach body awareness, but does require some human co-ordination too!!
What you will need:
treats
Possible cue words:
Weave
How to teach it:
You need to have treats in both hands, and your legs wide apart.
With your dog facing you, using 1 hand, lure them between your legs and round the back of one of your legs. As they come round to the front, using your other hand lure them back through your legs and round the back of your other leg. Reward and cue.
Spin
Spins are great for helping your dog build body awareness, as well as being fun to do.
It is important that you donโt do too many at a time, and that you teach it both ways.
Use a different word for each direction. I cue the anti clockwise direction using my left hand going anti clockwise, and the clockwise direction using my right hand going in a clockwise direction.
It is important that your dog always starts from a stand so as not to hurt their pelvis or hips.
What you will need:
Treats
Possible cue words:
Spin, twirl, circle, left, right
How to teach it:
With your dog facing you in a stand position, put the treat on their nose and at nose height move it away and round them so they turn/spin to follow the treat. When they are ยพ way round cue your word, and reward when they are back facing you.
If they are struggling, try the opposite direction, some dogs find one way much easier than the other.
Bow
This is another fun trick, but can be quite hard to nail, especially if your dog is good at doing a down/lie, so getting the cue word in at the right second is important! This trick can be quite difficult for some dogs to master, it can take a bit of owner patience!
What you will need:
treats
Possible cue words:
Bow, bend
How to teach it:
With a treat in your hand and your dog standing, put the treat close to their nose and bring it slowly down and in towards their front feet. Your dog should drop their elbows to the floor as they follow the treat. Cue and pay in that position, do not cue or reward if they drop into a down/lie.
Hand touch
This trick can help develop focus as it gives your dog a spot to focus on.
What you will need:
Treats
Possible cue words:
Touch, hand, target, boop
How to teach it:
Have treats in one hand, behind your back. Present the flat palm of your hand to the dog, a few inches from their nose. Hopefully your dog will touch your palm with their nose. Cue and reward. If your dog shows no interest after 5 seconds, take your hand away and re-present it, a little closer.
If you dog uses their lips, mouth or teeth to touch, remove your hand and re-present, we want them to touch using their nose.
Middle
Middle is a position I use when I want my dog to be safe when we are out and about. It positions your dog between your legs, with their shoulders in line with your legs, facing the same way as you.
As your dog is close, you can maintain control โ its prefect for novel situations, where your dog might have not seen something before, for example a horse and rider approaching.
What you will need:
treats
Possible cue words:
Middle, between, legs
How to teach it:
With treats in both hands, lure your dog behind your leg with one hand swap hands to bring your dog through your legs, holding them still when their shoulders come in line with your legs. Reward your dog using both hands, and so your dog can see what is approaching. Release by tossing a treat out.
Our First trick is Settle, A settle is basically installing your dogโs off switch, teaching them that its ok to switch off.
Possible cue words:
Settle, chill, calm, relax
What you will need:
A blanket/towel to lie on, it creates a bit of a boundary.
Lots and lots of small treats/kibble
How to teach it:
Lure you dog into a down on the blanket/towel, donโt ask for the down as they will be too rigid. Put a treat on their nose and move it around so the hip flops and they are in a relaxed position, preferably with their front legs open in a โvโ shape.
Toss a treat in between their legs and cue it. We toss the treat rather than feeding it to the mouth, as it makes the blanket the rewarding point, so they are less tempted to pop up as the hand moves. Toss treats in between their legs in rapid succession, cueing the position.
As your dog begins to learn the position, begin to reduce the amount of treats, so pay for one cue, verbally praise the next cue.
On/off an object
A fun trick to do, especially seeing what you can get your dog to put their paws on out and about.
It has the added benefit of teaching a paws off, all 4 feet on the floor so can help stop jumping up at people, counters etc.
What you will need:
Treats
Raised object, not to high to start, eg book, child step, yoga block, outdoor step
Possible cue words
On/off
How to teach it:
Using a treat, lure your dog forward so they step up onto the raised object. As soon as both front feet are on reward and cue it.
To get the dog off, drop a treat a little away from the on object, cue off, give your dog a pet and another treat. By getting 2 treats and a fuss, 4 feet on the floor becomes very rewarding.
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