advice for teaching new trick

[gcv-border]

I try and teach my dog a new trick (separate from the other stuff I teach him) over the holidays. This year I want to teach him how to back around my legs. I don't even know what to call it, but basically, the dog starts in the heel position and swings his rear around to the right and backs around my legs, in a circle, until he returns to the heel position. I want to teach both directions, but will be starting with one direction first. I don't even have a clue how to begin to teach this trick. Any advice from someone who has done this? Are there any videos out that show the steps in the teaching process?

 

I can put him in the heel position and back up, and he will back up too keeping fairly close to the heel position. But now I have to get across the idea that he has to swing his rear around, not back straight up.

 

Thanks for your suggestions,

Jovi

[Maralynn]

If he backs up on cue what about standing near a corner in a room so he has to follow the wall as he backs up? Then gradually move away after he gets the idea?

[Root Beer]

I try and teach my dog a new trick (separate from the other stuff I teach him) over the holidays. This year I want to teach him how to back around my legs. I don't even know what to call it, but basically, the dog starts in the heel position and swings his rear around to the right and backs around my legs, in a circle, until he returns to the heel position. I want to teach both directions, but will be starting with one direction first. I don't even have a clue how to begin to teach this trick. Any advice from someone who has done this? Are there any videos out that show the steps in the teaching process?

 

I can put him in the heel position and back up, and he will back up too keeping fairly close to the heel position. But now I have to get across the idea that he has to swing his rear around, not back straight up.

 

Thanks for your suggestions,

Jovi

 

If you have access to an x-pen, you have it made. Go into the x-pen with your dog and make it into a circle around you with enough room for your dog to move around you.

 

I've found that it tends to be easier for the dog to get the idea of this if you use a treat magnet to get the dog out of heel position, maybe across the front of yourself. Eventually, when it's on cue, you can cue it from heel.

 

Once the dog is in position, remove the treat magnet, and watch your dog's back legs. The dog is going to move, either forward or backward. If the dog moves backward, click, treat, and then move the dog back to the original position with another treat magnet.

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat, until the dog is very readily offering the step backwards. Next step - wait for two steps back, three steps, etc, etc. etc. until the dog is actually circling backward around you.

 

If you don't have an x-pen, you can use things in your house to block off an area around yourself. I've used chairs and plastic boxes.

 

Once the dog is going around, you can add a verbal and cue the move from different positions. Then fade the barriers.

 

I don't know of any videos of this, but maybe that will give you some idea of how to get started.

[Root Beer]

If he backs up on cue what about standing near a corner in a room so he has to follow the wall as he backs up? Then gradually move away after he gets the idea?

 

A corner can give you a good start, but at some point, you do need to get a full half circle and often when working with a corner, you will get a quarter circle and then straight backing.

 

But it does serve as a good way to start. You can extend the arc from a corner using chairs, barriers, etc.

[Maralynn]

Depends on the dog! Kenzi has great hind end awareness and a good feel for heel position. She'll back into heel position from 3-4 ft away not even looking where she is going! Something else that might work if you don't have an x pen would be a hallway that is blocked off by a baby gate - would give you a nice u share to work with

[Lindsaloo]

Zak George on YouTube has a video about this. There's also a channel called kikopup that shows how to do this as well as a whole bunch of other tricks. I just taught this to Ziggy yesterday. It starts with the back up command, then the spin commmand. You combine those two to get them to weave through your legs. But yeah, YouTube has hundreds of training videos that are really easy to follow and most of them use border collies. For me that makes it all the more fun to watch them! Good luck!

[gooddogs74]

Are you familiar with perch work for training hind end awareness? You can teach your movements this way and just add to the behavior to a hand touch or target or even a lure to get the dog all the way around you. Here are some videos for reference.

[Shawnee]

Thank you for posting those videos! That looks so simple! I am going to try it with my BC too!!!

shawnee