Here’s part 2 of the tutorial of how to teach your dog to put their toys away using Free Shaping. Free shaping is rewarding approximations until you reach the final behavior without giving any prompts. The dog offers behaviors and you shape them.
“Put away your toys” is a cute and helpful trick. I like using Free Shaping to teach this trick because you never get stuck having a verbal cue or pointing for you dog to get the toy. With this technique, your dog learns to go directly to the next toy after putting one away. Let me know how this works for you!
This tutorial is for the 2012 Shape Fest. Any positive dog trainers can post trick tutorials using Free Shaping, just put in the title “Shape Fest 2012.” Feel free to post your tutorial/s as a video response to this video too!
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Thanks!
Here’s a tutorial of how to teach cop cop or your feet on mine. I can up with this method on my own and it has worked well with Tessa. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or message me. Thanks!
Here is a short tutorial of how to reward your dog without treats or toys – by playing chase! I was just practicing Tessa’s tricks, working on a little routine and once we finished the tricks, we ran around together. She loved it and it really helped her focus on me more. I did notice that she was bitting at my legs (probably a herding instinct). If your dog does this, stop playing right away (without using a NRM). You can also avoid this problem by playing chase with your dog and clicking before they nip, the tossing a treat or toy.
Here is a short tutorial of how to make some fun and easy kibble kongs for your dog. If you come up with your own kong, make a short video of your dog eating it and post it as a video response!
If you’d like, you can use cream cheese instead of peanut butter. If the kong uses peanut butter/cream cheese, you can freeze it.
Here’s a short tutorial of how to use Free Shaping to teach your dog to open their create, go inside and close the door. Tessa already knew this trick, so she makes it look really easy. 🙂
Free shaping is rewarding approximations until you get the final behavior. You don’t use any lures or prompts.
This video is for the 2012 Shape Fest. Anyone can enter their tutorial of how to teach a trick using free shaping as long as they use only positive methods.
Here is another treat idea. This movie explains how to make a fun and easy high value reward for your dog.
If taken out of the freezer just before use, this treat can last a long time. I bring it with me all the time when I go on walks with Tessa up on the hill and practice recalls.
This treat can be given to a dog to keep him/her busy for about 15-30 minutes.
Here are five exercises to do to help fix mild cases of food aggression in dogs. Food aggression is a lack of trust. The dog thinks that you are going to take away his/her food and guards it. It is best to deal with this problem in the beginning to prevent it from getting worse. You can use clicker training to build a positive association with you being around your dog’s food.
Here is a list of the 5 exercises demonstrated in the video:
1) Ask for tricks and behaviors
2) Hand feeding
3) Trade game
4) Dropping treat in bowl while passing by
5) Handling exercise
Caution: These exercises may not be safe to do with dogs who have more extreme cases of food aggression. Always be careful when working with a dog with food aggression. For more serious cases, contact a professional.
Never punish your dog for showing aggression in any way. Over time, punishing your dog can result in a dog who doesn’t show warning signs before biting creating a dog who is very dangerous to be around. It also creates fear and doesn’t actually solve the behavior.
Additional tips:
I have a movie on my main YT channel, ClickerPets, that may also help with mild cases of food aggression. It is a fun, mentally stimulating puzzle game that involves the dog’s meal. It is called the Triple Cup Kibble Challenge. Here is the link:
When you don’t have time to work with your dog during his/her meal, you can use prevention so your dog doesn’t end up showing aggression and practicing this behavior. Here are some tips:
1) Feed your dog little amounts throughout the day
2) Give your dog a Kong with his/her food in it
3) If you have a young puppy, take away his/her food and give it back with something better, like cream cheese, peanut butter, yogurt, cottage cheese – this creates a positive response in the beginning, setting a good foundation and preventing food aggression
4) With very young puppies, dangle your hand in their food. Do not use this techinque for dogs who already have food aggression
5) Make a “Peanut Butter Cup” for your dog. Click the video link below to see how you can make one for your dog:
Clicker games are fun games to play with your dog that teach your dog to be creative in the behaviors that he/she offers. In this tutorial, you will learn how to do a clicker game with your dog. With this game, you will wait and capture a behavior that your dog offers and then shape it. This game is very similar to free shaping, except you don’t have a goal of a specific behavior that you want to teach.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below of email me at clickerpets@ymail.com. Thanks!
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