How's Tricks?

Jacqueline and Angel are spoiled. Have been from day one. I have never taken them to an obedience class, never read much about how to train them, and rarely correct them when they "exhibit undesirable behavior". I am just lazy that way I guess.

I don't ask much of them, and all I really care about is that they don't soil our floor with their waste. Angel is tops in that department. The boy simply will not pee, or otherwise, in the house. His potty etiquette is unrivaled, and predates his arrival in our home. His first night in the house my wife and I marveled at how he would walk his little self over to the potty pad and make a direct hit. When he got a little bigger, and he no longer needed his potty pad, he would wait until I took him outside before he would do his business. He wouldn't even indicate he needed to go out. He would just wait. There have only been a handful of instances where papa "went" inside the house, and nearly all were because he was sick.

Jackie, on the other hand, had a bladder the size of a pea when she was a puppy, and had to be provided with a potty pad that she could get to at a moments notice. And that was after she learned what it was for! We spent a lot of time watching her carefully for any sign that she might need to go so that we could whisk her over to the potty pad. Unfortunately, by the time we realized we were about to experience "an event" it was over.

We would escort Jackie to the potty pad anyway so that she might better understand where she is supposed to do such things. It worked, and before long she began to get the idea. However, Jackie is small, and so we still need to have a potty pad at her disposal because it's really not fair to expect her to wait over eight hours before someone is available to take her outside.

In any case, potty training has pretty much been the extent of their training. We do try to discourage them from barking at whomever happens to come to the door, or pass by the house, and have also tried to set limits on chasing the resident cats, but other than that I think it's safe to say Jackie and Angel are not the most disciplined dogs on the block.

With all that in mind I still think it's time, albeit a little late, to teach them manners when it comes to meeting other people and animals. However first I thought I should show them who is in charge, and teach them how to take commands from me, their daddy. So we have been working on a few simple commands that earn them a small treat as a reward. I first taught both of them that they simply cannot grab the treat from my hand, but must wait until I say, "OK". Then they may take it from between my fingers. Both have mastered this first step.

Since that first lesson we have been working on a couple of simple tricks. Angel has been a hard sell on this. My first lesson for him was to learn how to sit on command. I started off by telling him to "sit" while I gently pressed on his hindquarters with one hand, while dangling a treat in front of his face with the other. He would generally respond by focusing his eyes on the treat, locking his knees, and refusing to sit. I had to resort to folding his back legs under him, and thereby showing him what I was after. I think he understood what I wanted from him, but he was just being stubborn. After a while we got to the point where I wouldn't have to fold his legs, but I would have to press on his back. That went away after a while, and for a while all I would need do is touch his back. Then I would only have to point at his back. Now I just show him a treat, tell him to sit, and viola! He sits.

Jackie loves to please her daddy, and she learned how to sit almost on the first try, so she was able to advance to sitting up very quickly. She was sitting up after only a few sessions, and now does it as soon as she sees me with a treat. She's so damn cute when she sits up for her treat.

So here are a few pictures intended to show off Jackie and Angel's newly acquired talents. Or not.

This is Jacqueline sitting up. Also affectionately known as "Teacher's Pet". Angel takes the whole training thing less seriously than his sister. He is all about the treat end of the deal, however, and gives his full attention when he hear's the rattle of the treat box.

Check in next week for a new chapter in The Adventures of Angel and Jacqueline. And don't forget to check out the Carnival of the Dogs at Mickey's Musings, and the Friday Ark at The Modulator for more interesting animals.

Posted by Jeff at March 2, 2006 1:58 PM