All dogs have better scenting ability than people. And all dogs are faster than humans. All dogs have the ability to learn new things throughout their lives. But some dogs are better than others at some things. What’s natural for your dog?
When people domesticated dogs and developed different breeds, dogs became specialists. Certain breeds of dogs became adept at specific tasks. Terriers are independent hunters who “go to ground” (dig) to find their prey. Scent hounds follow a trail. Retrievers get stuff. Herding dogs herd. It’s what they do.
That doesn’t mean that your Chihuahua isn’t capable of tracking a scent. It means that it’s not as natural a behavior for her as it is for a Bloodhound.
Training games take advantage of what your dog does naturally
The most successful training games take advantage of your dog’s instincts. Use what’s natural to play games your dog will understand, enjoy, and succeed with.
Like what?
We know that Boston Terriers, like Boxers, use their paws a lot. It’s how the breed “Boxer” got its name, from the breed’s tendency to stand on their hind legs and “box” with their paws. Even if your dog isn’t one of these breeds, if he uses his paws a lot, turn it into a game. There are a bunch of tricks for this, including the classic “Shake,” and/or “High Five.” If you teach both of these, be sure your hand signals are very different so you don’t confuse your dog.
Paw games work well for little games when you’re waiting around with your dog. If you’re in the waiting room at the vet’s office, you can play a paw game. Torque (Hope’s French Bulldog) uses his paws to tap her legs, alternating right and left. It’s another variation that works in tight spaces.
What else?
Some dogs are definitely more vocal than others. If your dog is chatty, why not build it into a behavior that you can signal? You can even make a game turning on and off the sounds with different hand signals or verbal cues.
Some behaviors can even turn into little skits – you can develop a dialogue, incorporating your verbal and hand signals. Perfect it, record it, and it may be the next TikTok sensation. What’s cuter than a dog seeming to understand and talk back?
They do understand
The part that you understand and many people don’t realize, is that your trained dog really does understand. She may not be able to “talk,” but dogs are capable of understanding hundreds of words, if we bother to teach them.
There’s a new product that teaches dogs to “talk” by stepping on programmable buttons. We’re not sure we want to hear what our dogs have to say all the time, but we know we want them to understand us.
If your dog does something interesting, mark it, either with a clicker or a “good!” Chances are your dog will do it again. If you reward the behavior, then name it, it will become part of your dog’s repertoire and fun for both of you. Even when we’ve seen a “trick” a million times, it still makes us smile. See our tip on Trick Training – tricks are not stupid!