What's Your Favorite "Trick" to Teach Your Dog

I’m reposting “Take a Bow for Instructing a Play Bow” from September, 2019 (as a result of, properly, see “In the meantime” under). However I’m glad I discovered it, as a result of I’d love to begin a dialog alongside the traces of: “If you happen to might solely educate your canine one “trick,” what would it not be? After all, that brings up the query of what’s the distinction between a “trick” and some other conduct we wish to elicit, however we are able to add that into the dialogue if we wish.

Right here’s from 9/2019: Our good pal Debby G came over lately, with a report on how her canine Monty was doing. Monty was discovered on a porch a yr in the past spring, ravenous and near dying. Right here’s a photograph of the poor factor quickly after he was discovered.

Not surprisingly, though bodily wholesome now, Monty has plenty of fears, together with even the sight of one other canine. The excellent news is that Debby is a devoted canine proprietor, and that she has a fantastic group of trainers serving to her. Her major purpose is to stroll Monty down the road with out him freaking out each time he sees one other canine. They’re making good progress, strolling in parallel with a type of worth-his-weight-in-gold Goldendoodles who’s secure, unreactive and possibly hoarding pet food to ship to rescue organizations if he might simply come up with the automobile keys. I had only some ideas so as to add to the remedy plan, and one among them was educating a play bow. As I stated in a 3/19 submit about working with fearful canines:

It’s onerous to be fearful if you’re taking part in, and that’s true for each individuals and canines. One in every of my favourite cues to show nervous canines is to Take a Bow . . . “bowing” is a play solicitation gesture to canines, and it’s onerous to be nervous and playful on the similar time.

Monty jogged my memory that my absolute, all-time favourite trick to show ANY canine is a play bow. I’m not really positive why we name it a trick, because it’s no completely different than a sit or down–we merely put one thing that canines do anyway on cue, proper? Sit and down themselves are attention-grabbing, in that they ask a canine, in some methods, to squelch it’s ahead motion, to pause, to comprise itself. They’re nice methods to get a canine’s consideration, and, let’s be sincere, to get him beneath management.

However a play bow? Ah, good day enjoyable! The canine might transfer down and backwards, however the transfer is pleasant, relaxed, and an invite for many motion within the close to future. Placing a play bow on cue has so many advantages that if I had been queen I’d decree or not it’s part of each canine coaching class within the universe. (Is it in yours?)

The advantages of placing a play bow on cue are many:

THEY RELAX NERVOUS DOGS As I discussed earlier, asking a canine to do a play bow routinely results in leisure. I taught Willie to play bow on cue, and used it once we had been engaged on his response to unfamiliar canines. Not solely was it profitable in that context, however after some time he started doing it on his personal when he was starting to really feel careworn. At the very least that was my robust impression. Moreover being an motion integrally concerned in play, a play bow additionally asks the canine to stretch and chill out his muscular tissues, which ends up in one other one among its advantages:

IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR DOG’S BODY Dr. Chris Zink (PhD, DVM and goddess of canine sports activities medication) writes and speaks usually concerning the significance of stretching out a canine’s muscular tissues earlier than train. A play bow is a good way to try this. In “The facility of the trick” she describes a spread of workout routines we are able to do to maintain our canines wholesome, beginning with a play bow earlier than any bodily exercise. Dr. Zinke is aware of greater than anybody I learn about canine physiology, construction and well being, and if she says we must be asking our canines to play bow earlier than train, we’d do properly to concentrate. In her implausible seminar at APDT in October, 2017, she defined that the overwhelming majority of sports activities accidents are mushy tissue accidents from over use, not from a particular incident, and are sometimes undetected by each proprietor and GP veterinarian. Stretching can do rather a lot to forestall that type of progressive harm.

ITS THE PERFECT “INCOMPATIBLE BEHAVIOR” Is your canine doing one thing you’d somewhat she didn’t? Barking out the window when one other canine walks by? Scratching on the door to go exterior? The most effective methods to cope with an unwelcome conduct is to show the canine a unique response to the set off stimulus. See one other canine out the window? Then do a play bow and good issues will occur. Wish to inform me you must go potty? How a few play bow as a substitute of etching into the door body? Simply watch out to not let it “say” too many issues–be considerate about the way you need your canine to make use of it to speak with you.

IT MAKES US HAPPY Do you, or do you not smile when your canine does a play bow, even when simply in your coronary heart. Properly, that’s sufficient proper there, proper?

If I wasn’t so fortunately busy coaching Maggie to run in Open, tending my ever increasing backyard, and cooking issues I most likely shouldn’t (I’m speaking to you, apple galette.) I’d have made an excellent video for you illustrating how one can educate a play bow. Ah, however I’m, and I didn’t. Right here’s one from Kikopup, my favourite supply of coaching movies:

And when you have a canine who insists on mendacity down–right here’s one on educating a bow from a down:

And by the best way, right here’s Monty now… fortunate boy, hey?

MEANWHILE, again on the farm, Spring 2025 Version: Covid + COPD + Bronchial asthma + POTS + CFS . What might go fallacious? It’s been a time. The nice information is that I’m right here and I’m respiratory and solely cough once I speak.

Jim received Covid too, however recovered quick. Alongside along with his loving care and a few nice medical assist, I had a devoted nurse by my aspect nearly on a regular basis.

I’ll be effective, simply gonna take a while. However Maggie Mae continues to thrill me–right here’s a photograph from one among our nice farm sitters, Dani P.

Seen alongside the highway on the best way to acupuncture. Adorsable.

The triumph of my asparagus planting: Six vegetation, planted two years in the past. 5/6 vegetation useless, this one, attempting its finest.

Glad to say the strawberries are doing rather a lot higher!

Appreciated the colours on this…

I’ll finish with this, a pop up Columbine that ought to by no means have made it in such a high-use space. It will get smushed by the hose, stepped on, and abused every day, and but, it’s thriving. A great reminder to us all.