Tricks of the furry and fun variety

[Sekah]

I'm a big fan of trick training. It's a wonderful opportunity to bond with a dog, it can strengthen and improve body awareness, it burns off energy (which is hugely helpful when there's 3 feet of snow outside) and of course it's fun.

 

So... she's not a border collie. Here's my 4 yr old Aussie, Cohen, working on one of her tricks: a walking handstand. It's been a long time in the making and I'm thrilled with her recent progress, so I'm posting it here.

 

http://youtu.be/CTsianZmLvE

 

Anyone have any videos they'd like to share?

[gcv-border]

That is an awesome trick! I didn't notice how you cued her. Verbal? Also, where did you find instructions for how to train this? Youtube?

[Sekah]

That is an awesome trick! I didn't notice how you cued her. Verbal? Also, where did you find instructions for how to train this? Youtube?

 

Thanks! She can cue off both a verbal and a physical cue. I normally use both in conjunction but removed the sound in this video because sometimes I get tired of hearing my own voice.

 

Youtube is my go-to for 99% of my trick training. There are quite a few how-to videos as well as progression videos for this trick. For us, we started with rear feet targeting a book, then two books, then a stack of books, then the wall.

 

 

And just because, here's another video. This is probably our newest trick. We're working to put it into a short sequence. I can't wait to take it outside onto the grass once the snow and ice melts. At that point it'll be a matter of speeding it up and streamlining things. (And a matter of trying not to fall over!)

 

http://youtu.be/TIT0A3QCFaY

[waffles]

Youtube is where I get all my inspiration as well for trick training. I love the rebound video.

 

 

I taught Levi to do a handstand the same way. Having his back feet on books, stacking more books, knocking the books over... finding a box to use, a chair, and so on. It was a pretty annoying trick to set up, and of course when he would knock the books over it would turn him off from training for a minute. I did see someone built a ramp instead of using books. I did get him doing a handstand eventually but I never ask him to do it as it seems awkward/uncomfortable for him to do (I think his back is just a bit too long for this trick). It was fun to see him lift his back legs so high and effortlessly though.

[Oko]

Of course you know I love Cohen's tricks, but awesome!!

 

I can't wait until Feist is older and I can teach her to handstand.