What tricks have you taught your dog?
Our Dakota, a white German shepherd, plays dead. When she was younger, we’d say, “Dead dog!” and she’d fall down and roll over on her back with her feet in the air. It was funny!
Now that she’s old though, we only ask her to play dead when she’s already laying down. But now she only slams her head on the floor. No more rolling over, but it’s still funny.
I’m trying to teach our other dog to close the gate to the back deck when she comes out. She’s a border collie, and they’re supposed to be smart, right? I’ve been teaching her to shut it by pawing at it. Not having much luck at this point, but the other day, I said, “Close the gate!” and she picked her foot up and pawed at the air. But she was no where near the gate. But I have confidence that she’ll get there.
So what are some cool tricks, or just cool things in general does your dog do, or that you’ve taught them?
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Meh, mine doesn’t take to teaching or training of any kind.
My old shepherd/queensland heeler mix ” Timbre” was a quick study. She could learn a new trick in just a couple tries. She could do all the usual, sit, stay, lie down and she could shake, roll over, sit up and beg, speak and would sit next to you and when you said “paw” she would sling a paw over your shoulder. She was the smartest and sweetest dog I ever had.
My siamese cat now ” Mia” is very smart and she goes on walks with me all over, tags along, never strays, ( unlike her boneheaded brother whose greatest claim to fame is the “ignore” command. lol
She stays right by me and runs to catch up and she will give love bites on command. If I tell her, ” I wanna a little bite” she will nip my hand or arm. haha
I have also had 2 other cats that would play fetch and one that would jump on your shoulder, even if I was in the swimming pool on command.
We didn’t teach her this per se, but our Maltese/Havanese follows direction pretty well.
“Go get your toy.”
“Go see so-and-so.”
“Go upstairs.”
And so on.
She seems to know what you’re saying and does it.
^^ Dakota is like that too.
I taught my German Shepherd to shake hands and I would never do that again in a million years!
Best trick I taught him was to speak, then speak to be let out and speak to be let in. Once he got the hang of that, he never scratched up/at the door again.
Russell is incredibly dumb.
He gets “sit”, “gimme your paw… now the other one”, and “go to your room”.
That’s about it. “Lay down” baffles him. A game of fetch may as well be calculus. He actually lets treats smack him in the face and fall to the floor so he can pick them up. Old Bub used to catch treats thrown across the room from him. Russell? Doesn’t even open his mouth.
Dummy.
@Dutchess_III: How do they know? I assume it’s our body language plus repetition. It’s sometimes uncanny.
Two more things my daughter reminded me of (that she taught her) — our dog will come when you whistle and will walk on her hind legs to follow around a treat.
Those Australian cattle dogs are super popular dogs in my area along with Border Collies, 2 of the smartest breeds ever.
After years of training, I have come to the conclusion that it is ” I ” that has been trained. I am easily emotionally manipulated by her , and she knows it.
The females in my life have always manipulated me emotionally. She is no different. And I love her any way.
(I wish someone well tell my border collie that she’s smart.)
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