Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tuesday Training 42

Mother Nature's dealing us a crappy hand this week, which means we'll need to stay inside and weather yet another snowstorm in the next 24 hours. That leaves lots of time for potential training.

I totally stole this trick from Sara & Oreo.  Despite the fact that I knew cards would get punctured, slobbered on, and bent in the process (Marge is not as elegant and gentle with her jaws as Oreo is), I just had to try it for myself.





I first shaped Marge to pick a single card out of my hand using a clicker and treats.  Shaping it didn't take her long, as mouthing an object is usually one of the first behaviors that she offers.  She did have some trouble when picking one card from a hand of multiple cards, though.. I guess since the slobber made them stick together a bit..

At the beginning of the video, Marge was mildly distracted by Layla, who was hopping up on to the furniture to get as close to the heat vent as possible.

So, where to go with this simple little trick? Leave it as is, or build on it to teach Marge something more complex?

Let me know your ideas!

21 comments:

Sara January 11, 2011 at 6:22 PM  

Cool! She's a fast learner!

If you could get Marge to deal the cards, I'd be truly impressed!

Diana January 11, 2011 at 6:35 PM  

wow, that was fast. Great job! Diana

Cyndi and Stumpy January 11, 2011 at 6:47 PM  

Ha! That's wicked cute. I'd go to a joke store, get a marked or special deck and then have her identify the correct card when placed on the floor in front of her.

Stella January 11, 2011 at 7:19 PM  

Use Speckled Chihuahua's method and start her out as a money maker.
Set her up in a mall or taverna and see how she does!

Only joking, Sam, but its a cute trick and I might try it on Stella!

Cheers,
Stella and Jo

Kathy Mocharnuk January 11, 2011 at 7:51 PM  

FANTASTIC, you all stay warm and be careful with all that snow!

BRUTUS January 11, 2011 at 8:32 PM  

Teach her to build a house out of the cards LOL!! I just love free-shaping too, so fun to watch them figure things out (I just free-shaped a dumbbell retrieve - maybe you should go buy a dumbbell!!!). Thanks for sharing, we always love watching Marge!

Michelle, Brutus & Carmen

Sam January 11, 2011 at 8:36 PM  

Have a dumbbell already :) - Marge was doing really well with it, too, but we've slowed up on it lately. She prefers to retrieve with toys right now.

Chris and Ricky January 11, 2011 at 8:54 PM  

Awesome job! Marge learned that so quickly! I'm glad you stole Sara's idea because now I won't feel bad when I steal it too! LOL!

Two French Bulldogs January 11, 2011 at 9:32 PM  

Oh my word! Hysterical. Good job Marge
Snuggles,
Benny & Lily

houndstooth January 11, 2011 at 9:35 PM  

I think you'd better be careful! If I read a post later about how Marge ran off to play Texas Hold'em, I'm going to remind you of this post and that you started it! :P

Tucker The Crestie January 11, 2011 at 10:03 PM  

This is a great idea - I can't wait to see how you develop it.

Lorenza January 11, 2011 at 10:34 PM  

Marge!
You are sooo good!
I know I had a bad trainer!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Wyatt January 11, 2011 at 10:49 PM  

That is so cute! It looks like the start of a magic act. Maybe she could pick several cards in a row and it would magically make a full house or 4 of a kind, when you reveal them!! :)

Wyatt

Deborah January 11, 2011 at 10:52 PM  

That is awesome! I have never seen a dog pick a card before! I'm not sure where you go now. I can't wait to see what's next!
xxoo
Deborah

ForPetsSake January 11, 2011 at 11:29 PM  

Very cool...maybe she could pick the cards, then stack them in a pile, eventually picking the "right" one? Just a thought ;)

Unknown January 12, 2011 at 12:02 AM  

Cool, Marge is a fast learner, she is so clever!!
I watched Sara's video too and had already stolen the idea from her this morning. After seeing your video and reading Ricky's comment, I'm so happy I'm not alone, LOL!!! We are still doing it because Eva doesn't like to put things (except foods) into her mouth.

LauraK January 12, 2011 at 12:15 AM  

I thought Sara was so creative in coming up with that trick- that's awesome that you tried it out! Marge is such a fast learner, maybe she and Oreo should get together and play a few hands? Now THAT would be a great tricky t-day!!

My dogs really aren't too keen on putting things in their mouths, so I don't know if they could learn this one. I could try I guess- especially if we have a lot of inside time. Hope you all are keeping warm and learning more fun tricks!

Anonymous January 12, 2011 at 8:32 AM  

That is so awesome! I'm going to have to steal that, as well. Maybe you could try getting her to take the same card every time and turn it into a magic trick?

Fred January 12, 2011 at 9:03 AM  

Awesome! Yes--more tricks!!! :P

KB January 13, 2011 at 11:15 PM  

That's really fun! Do you think that you could teach her to choose one card in particular? Either one from a particular position in the hand or a specific card that you mark with a scent... Maybe too hard.

In any case, I love it!

Kari in Alaska January 20, 2011 at 12:22 PM  

I never thought to train my pups to do that!

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

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