Shetlander Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 So I've been trying to get Quinn to sneeze reliably on cue. Stupid pet trick, but I'm easily amused. However, it turns out Quinn is a method actor. Therefore, unlike my circus dog Lhasa who will give little fake sneezes 10 times in a row if there is kibble to be had, Quinn would only sneeze when he could actually produce a true, dramatic and actually messy sneeze. He must be able to feel the sneeze. BE the sneeze. This resulted in a majority of my cues being met with Quinn teeth snapping, making Scooby like noises and offering ear shattering barks (which I never want). Today after breakfast, Quinn came to me looking for some kibble which I didn't have with me so when he sneezed in a hopeful sort of way, I said the following to him. "You know, those sneezes when you feel like it, just aren't working for me any more. Anyone can just sneeze if something is in their nose. Even Sassy can just sneeze. If you want to get a treat, you need to sneeze when I tell you." Of course, he stared at me with his patented "You're stoopid. And mean." expression. But when we got to the office this morning as I was settling in, he came up to me and I asked if he was allergic. He looked at me and sneezed. Lots of excitement and a piece of kibble. I asked for another sneeze. He snapped. I told him no. He whuffed. I said NO. He sneezed (convincingly even). He's been reliably sneezing on cue several times since today. I really think the little talking to I gave him this morning had an effect. I wouldn't ever think so for my other dogs. It was just fun, nonsense talk but these smart Border Collie... What is that people say? "It's like they understand English." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 Annie is a talker. I don't mean an occasional sound; she has spurts where she carries on a conversation for minutes at a time, usually with a toy of some type in her mouth. I just wish I was smart enough to figure out what she's talking about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariji Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 My girl does it all the time when i'm talking to her she seems to understand. Yesterday at the dog park i threw her ball all the way over the other side. She ran to fetch it but got distracted by the water bowl that was over there and didn't bring back the ball. I asked her a couple of times where it was, in which she cocks her head and looks in the immediate area. Not wanting to walk all the way other there to get the ball with a baby that must weigh 20kg (or at least he felt like it) i told her (without pointing in the direction) that it was all the way over by the fence. In which she looked at me and turned ran ALL the way over and got it and brought it back to me handing it up so i didn't have to bend down. Everyone i was standing with was gobsmacked to say the least haha. She's brilliant at listening. My youngest however is on speed constantly so will offer whatever at the time is most highly reinforced which is generally a stop (lie down). Maybe when she matures and her little brain slows down she might be quite the listener too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 This is how I introduced "fuss" as a command to heel on my right side: "Allie, we've been using heel to mean you walk at my side, but sometimes I want you on a particular side and you pick the wrong one. So from now on, I'm gong to say heel when I want you on my left, and fuss when I want you on my right. You got that?" and she did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 lol, this is what Happy is like. people ask me how I trained her to do so many things.. and to be perfectly truthful? I havent the foggiest idea. I just talk to her like a human being and she does what I ask..if she doesnt understand, I show her an example, then she does it. I taught her to jump into my arms...ok actually I taught MISTY how, then I I brouyght them both in the same room I said "Happy, pay attention" andf I had Misty jump into my arms..then I booted Misty from the room said "ok Happy, it your turn" I opened my arms and said "up"..so she took a running start and lept into my arms. or I "atught" her to whisper as well, she tends to refuse to do it as a "trick" but if she barks loud and i say "Happy whisper please" she will tone it down to a huffy "voof" sound lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 People laugh at me when I say I'm reading Robin the training manual, but I really do believe that anything you do with them that increases word association is helpful and eventually leads to better understanding. When you gave Quinn his lecture, you said "sneeze" four times... he might well have picked out some chain of words that increased his understanding. It's a mystery . When I talk to Robin, I can see that he really wants to understand me. Those gold eyebrows go up, he tilts his head and his ears stick straight out...very dorky inquisitive look . Tonight we had a big step -- he demonstrated that he the difference between "bunny" and "lion" -- his two favorite stuffed animals -- well, almost stuffed in the case of bunny . I had read that to direct the dog's attention to where you want him to go, look in that direction -- it worked! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Poke is like this. I almost wonder if they *know* what you want all along, but stall at doing it until absolutely necissary. When you break down and chatter at them for a prolonged period of time they take pitty on your apparant jibberish speach of exhaustion and do what they knew you wanted all along just to keep their human in good spirits. Maybe they just know how far they can push us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Jin and I have conversations and I do talk to him like a person. I remind him that I'm not going ot play that game and he responds. People watch us and ask, does he really know what your saying? Absolutely. the problem is when he argues back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclare Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Jin and I have conversations and I do talk to him like a person. I remind him that I'm not going ot play that game and he responds. People watch us and ask, does he really know what your saying? Absolutely. the problem is when he argues back. Boy can I relate to this one. And on the rare occassions when I actually manage to win an argument (that is, when I won't give her whatever it is she wants) I swear she gives a grumpy "Hmmph" and goes to retreat to her bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted November 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 People laugh at me when I say I'm reading Robin the training manual, but I really do believe that anything you do with them that increases word association is helpful and eventually leads to better understanding. When you gave Quinn his lecture, you said "sneeze" four times... he might well have picked out some chain of words that increased his understanding. It's a mystery . Especially since the actual cue for sneeze is "allergic" and when I was talking to him I didn't use that cue. I also talked about treats which I almost always call "cookies." He probably has heard "sneeze" from conversation between me and others as I've worked on the trick with him, so he could have associated it with the behavior. And I no doubt say "treats" at times to people when I'm messing with them so he could know that word too. The same way he looked at me when a coworker once talked to him about "your mom" although I never refer to myself as his mom and only a few people reference me that way. Maybe simply because he has been so heavily rewarded any time he did sneeze for the past month that when his sneeze yesterday morning didn't meet with praise and a treat and I started yapping at him, he came to some sort of understanding that the criteria had been raised. I love all the stories of your dogs doing similar things. This is one of the things I admire most about the breed. Their level of intelligence and desire to understand what we are saying and wanting. All my dogs have been smart (of course! ), but only Quinn and the BC mix I had as a kid have had these crazy smart moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Absolutely. the problem is when he argues back. C'mon, admit it. The REAL problem is that he wins the arguments!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 They do get involved in what you are saying, don't they? Sugarfoot listens very carefully to me when I speak directly to her. She gets this look of intense concentration and you can almost smell insulation burning. I was out in the courtyard playing ball with her a couple of days ago - this always involves two identical oversized squeaky tennis balls, thrown in rotation. She grabbed one ball, ran it about halfway back and dropped it in anticipation of the next throw. I hadn't picked up the first ball yet - it was lying at my feet. I was talking with one of my neighbors so I wasn't quite as prompt with the pick-up. Anyway, she ran up and stood waiting. I looked at the ball she had dropped halfway across the yard and said to her, "Go get the ball!" she grabbed the ball at my feet and let it drop again, and I said, "No, go get the other ball." I had never said this to her before, but she unhesitatingly spun, ran back and snatched the other ball and dropped it next to the first one. My neighbor said, "Wow, it's almost like she understood what you said!" I turned to him and said, "No, not almost - she did." And she has responded to that phrase appropriately ever since. Not a big thing, but it shows that she's listening and working things out. Always a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclare Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 They do get involved in what you are saying, don't they? Sugarfoot listens very carefully to me when I speak directly to her. She gets this look of intense concentration and you can almost smell insulation burning. I was out in the courtyard playing ball with her a couple of days ago - this always involves two identical oversized squeaky tennis balls, thrown in rotation. She grabbed one ball, ran it about halfway back and dropped it in anticipation of the next throw. I hadn't picked up the first ball yet - it was lying at my feet. I was talking with one of my neighbors so I wasn't quite as prompt with the pick-up. Anyway, she ran up and stood waiting. I looked at the ball she had dropped halfway across the yard and said to her, "Go get the ball!" she grabbed the ball at my feet and let it drop again, and I said, "No, go get the other ball." I had never said this to her before, but she unhesitatingly spun, ran back and snatched the other ball and dropped it next to the first one. My neighbor said, "Wow, it's almost like she understood what you said!" I turned to him and said, "No, not almost - she did." And she has responded to that phrase appropriately ever since. Not a big thing, but it shows that she's listening and working things out. Always a good thing. Just this morning Daisy was trying to get me to play with her while I was getting ready for work. Since there were no toys around she picked up one of my socks and shook it around. I told her "No, get a toy." So she dropped it an picked up a t-shirt instead (yes, I'm a slob with clothes on my floor). Again, I said "No, get a TOY from downstairs." Now, we JUST moved into this new house and she has never lived with stairs before, but she actually looked at the bedroom door, looked at me, looked back at the bedroom door, and then went "woo woo woo." I'm pretty sure she was saying "I'm not going all the way downstairs!" Luckily she found a stuffy under the bed, so all was well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Anyway, she ran up and stood waiting. I looked at the ball she had dropped halfway across the yard and said to her, "Go get the ball!" she grabbed the ball at my feet and let it drop again, and I said, "No, go get the other ball." I had never said this to her before, but she unhesitatingly spun, ran back and snatched the other ball and dropped it next to the first one. My neighbor said, "Wow, it's almost like she understood what you said!" I turned to him and said, "No, not almost - she did." Sounds familiar. In fact been there done that many many times. "Wrong ball silly dog, get the other one" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLloydJones Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 ... "Go get the ball!" she grabbed the ball at my feet and let it drop again, and I said, "No, go get the other ball." I had never said this to her before, but she unhesitatingly spun, ran back and snatched the other ball and dropped it next to the first one. I do this all the time with Rhys bach at the dog park lake. He will sometimes try to grab another ball, so I shout "No, not that one, get your ball" and point to the right ball. Works pretty well, so we are communicating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 Oh, they understand! Buddy was out in the yard with a new rawhide yesterday. I wanted him in, so he came running to the door. I said, "Well, go get the bone!" He spun around, ran to get it, and happily zoomed back. It's really such a lovely feeling when you speak a sentence to a dog and he actually knows what you're talking about. ::Sigh:: Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pansmom Posted November 25, 2009 Report Share Posted November 25, 2009 I had to try this "training technique" myself after reading all these stories! Vala has been practicing shake. For a few weeks now, I've been giving a hand cue, shaking her paw, treating with the other hand during the shake, and naming it. (She is still scared to death of the clicker, so I'm training the old-fashioned way, with lure and voice capturing where possible... and it's slower. We're still working on shake and stay and recall.) Well, last night, I decided to give a lecture on "shake." I sat her down and very seriously told her I wasn't going to reach for her paw anymore, she was going to have to give it to me. Her reaction was to cock her head and in contrast to previous sessions when I would give the cue and say "shake" and she would offer a sit, then a down (other heavily rewarded behaviors), this time when I ignored the not-shake but good behaviors and looked away, she actually tried offering the shake next (first time ever). Shake is repeatable now - immediately after this we went and showed DH and he was impressed. Ever since, the shake is a new behavior to offer. She still isn't sure about the difference between shake and down (the hand cues are similar) but she's picking up on it. I think possibly talking to them seriously like this makes them feel proud and also they know they don't understand and they want to work harder mentally to try to figure things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogs & Dogs Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 The looks on people's faces when you speak in sentences to your dog are absolutely priceless. I love going to the dog park and giving complicated commands buried in a sentence and getting the response I'm looking for. Once a guy left the park and came back with his incredulous wife, who he claimed wouldn't have believed his story if she didn't see it for herself. "Go say hi" = greet other dogs nicely "Go play" = you're allowed to run away from me to go sniff the other dogs "What did I say?" = obey the last command I gave "All the way" = if her down isn't down enough for me People also get a big kick out of seeing our "find it" routine. Kit's not allowed to watch as I throw the ball with the chuckit. Once I release her, she's off to search for it (mostly with her nose, I suspect). But it always takes forever cause it could be anywhere. Her persistence is crazy and it always gets a laugh. Last week Kit also picked up on "Look who's here!", running to greet our friends that she didn't know had showed up. Most of the time they're smarter than we give them credit for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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