Top 10 Things My Dogs Do to Make me Smile

Every day is a joy with Maya & Pierson. And it’s the little things they do that bring it. In no particular order, here are a few of the cute things they do:

1. The breakfast dance and howl – Maya sit and stay while I fill up their food bowls. But before we get to the sit command, there is the dance. Pierson sometimes adds a cute howl, too.

2. Random spin – This is the very first thing they do when it comes to breakfast, dinner, or treats. I don’t even need to say ‘spin’ or ‘turn around’ any more. Ever since I taught them this trick, they do it automatically when they know its eating time.

Yay! Maya & Pierson have mastered synchronized spinning!

3. Play – Playing with them or Maya and Pierson playing with each other is very entertaining. There is nothing especially cute about the way they play. They play like any other dogs. But when I see them having so much fun, I can’t help but to be happy too.

At first, Pierson was afraid of the sprinkler. But after seeing Maya have so much fun in it, he decided to get in on the action.

4. Cuddle – My dogs aren’t allowed on the furniture. So cuddle time is extra special. Maya is an especially good cuddler.

Maya and I enjoy cuddle time on the porch swing.

5. Sleep on their backs – It’s so funny how Maya and Pierson can sleep in such odd positions on their back. It makes me laugh every time.

Maya really loves to sleep on her back.

Pierson loves to sleep on his back up against this wall.

6. Eagerness to learn cute dog tricks – Teaching Maya and Pierson tricks is so much fun because they are so eager. The attentive looks on their faces as I hold the treat and get ready to give a command is priceless.

Maya & Pierson love doing dog tricks for treats.

7. Maya’s heavy sigh – Actually, it’s more like a sigh and grunt combined. I can’t even describe it properly, but it’s cute.

8. Lay at my feet – Both Maya and Pierson want to lay under my desk when I work. It’s funny when they try to compete for the spot.

9. Maya when she gets excited – Maya got a compliment the other day. Someone told me, “That has got to be the happiest dog I have ever seen.” And it’s true. Maya is always up for an adventure and it shows on her face, in the way she walks, and in the way she whines with excitement.

10. Pierson’s fuzzy feet – The hair between Pierson’s toes stick up and make his feet look oddly shaped. They make me laugh every time. And it’s not just Pierson’s fuzzy feet, it’s all Maya & Pierson’s doggy parts. It’s the way Maya’s lip sometimes curls, the way she investigates everything with her brown nose, the way her ears flop around when she runs. It’s the way Pierson carries his tail when he walks (or prances), the way his eyes seem to lighten when he looks at me, the way his fluffy butt looks like big gray bloomers, and the way his body is white with black spots while his legs are black with white spots.

I did share this photo before, but I couldn’t resist sharing the photo of Pierson’s cute fuzzy spotted feet again.

What cute things does your best friend do to make you smile?

Maya’s New Trick from “101 Dog Tricks” – Teach Your Dog How to Play Dead

Maya now knows how to play dead.  It was super easy to teach her.  It took about 5 minutes a day for less than 15 days.  It was really difficult at first so I stopped the moment I got her to do it at least once.  But after the 10^th day, she caught on pretty well.  We perfected it on the days after and now she does it almost every time.

The book, “101 Dog Tricks” by Kyra Sundance and Chalcy, say that the prerequisite for learning this trick is stay and rollover.  Maya knows stay, but not rollover.  It’s actually difficult to teach her rollover since we have mostly hardwood floors and it hurts her back.  Perhaps we will try it in the spring.  Despite not having the rollover trick down, Maya learned play dead easily because she loves tummy rubs.  In fact, I did not use treats as her reward for doing this trick.  A tummy rub was the perfect reward for her on this one.

To teach your dog how to play dead, you can use a the finger point like a gun as your hand signal and the queue “bang!”.  I used “play dead” as my queue, but you can use “bang!” or even “boo!”.  I also used a different hand signal.

Start by putting your dog in the down position.  Then kneel in front of him, hold a treat to the side of his head, and move it towards his opposite shoulder.  You can help him a little but don’t push him.  Once he is on his back, give him the treat, tell him what a good dog he is, and rub his tummy.  Once he gets this down, do it standing and hold off on the treat and tell him to stay.  Make his stay until you give the release command, “okay!”, then give him his treat.

Maya is not quite to this point yet.  I may not take it to this level as I love to give her the tummy rubs.  Sephi knows this trick already.  She won’t go on her back, but she will stay until I give the release command.  Taylor this trick to you and your dog’s preference.  And learn more fun tricks from “101 Dog Tricks” by Kyra Sundance and Chalcy.

Dog Training Can Be Fun – Just Look at Maya

Remember the post where I said I was going to teach Maya some dog tricks from the book, “101 Dog Tricks”?  I was finally able to set aside some time and teach Maya how to shake hands with either her left or right paw.  I also taught her to spin circles.  These tricks were super simple to teach her and took almost no time.

Maya already knew how to shake paws, but she didn’t know the difference between left and right.  The book actually has you use one hand signal and two commands.  The two commands are “shake” for left paw and “paw” for right paw.  Despite the different commands, I think Maya figured it out by whichever hand I put out.  If I put out my right hand, she gives her left paw, and vise versa.

Spin circles was a little more difficult, but not by much.  The book actually teaches to spin either clockwise or counter-clockwise.  I have only taught Maya clockwise.  The command for clockwise is “around” but I say “turn around” instead.  Maya actually learned it so well that I don’t have to say anything.  I can actually just turn my hand in a circle and she does it.

How much time did I spend?  Less than 5 minutes a day for about 15 days.  I know my recent post about procrastinating was less than 15 days ago, but I have actually been working on these tricks for some time – just not every day in a row.  The “shake” for example, was started when I first bought the book and did a review.  However, I procrastinated and worked with Maya maybe once or twice a week – less often during the holidays.  But after the holidays and after my procrastination post, I worked with her every day until she completely understood.

These tricks aren’t very useful in the everyday scheme of things, but they sure are cute.  And just look at how much she enjoys it.  Remember that teaching your dog tricks is a good way to help your dog learn that training can be fun.  Teaching your dog tricks is also a good way to bond and establish a good relationship with your dog which will eventually lead to an all-around well-behaved dog.

“101 Dog Tricks” Challenge – Ongoing Review of Book by Kyra Sundance and Chalcy

This book, “101 Dog Tricks” by Kyra Sundance and Chalcy, cannot be effectively reviewed until I try teaching my dogs some of these tricks.  So I am starting with my younger dog, Maya.  Why am I starting with the younger dog?  Not because Sephi is too old (no dog is too old).  And not because Sephi is less motivated to learn than Maya.  But because Maya has some behavior issues and the best way to improve upon these behavior issues is to build a closer bond and to better develop communication.  Training, any kind of training, makes a better-behaved dog.  The book, “101 Dog Tricks”, states this and I know it from experience.

So this is my challenge.  I am going to start with a trick that Maya doesn’t know and work with her a little bit each day.  When she has learned that trick well enough for me to record on camera, I will post the video here.  I will also post the day I started with the trick, how often I worked with her on it, and how many days (or weeks) it took her to learn it.

But first, let me give you a review on the first part of the book:

The Introduction of “101 Dog Tricks” goes over the proper training methods.  Firstly and most importantly, remember that any dog training endeavor takes guidance, consistency, and motivation (or as per our 4/19/2010 blog post, http://americandogblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/fundamental-dog-training-tips-lots-of-tppc/, time, patience, positive reinforcement, and consistency).  The proper training methods which the book explains includes how to find what motivates your dog, how to help your dog be successful, how to keep training fun, the benefits of using both verbal cues and hand signals, and using luring to teach versus using force or manipulation.  Although this section of the book is very short, it is informative and very easy to understand.

Chapter One of “101 Dog Tricks” goes over the basic commands like sit, down, stay, and come.  Since Maya already knows these, we won’t blog about them.  Look for other blog posts on how to teach your dog these commands.

Remember, this is not a chore.  I will only do this for as long as Maya and I are having fun.  Also, I won’t teach Maya all 101 tricks.  She may not be inclined to do some of the tricks and I may not want to teach her some of them.  Speak, for example, is not one I want her to learn.  Sit Pretty may be a trick that is uncomfortable for her to do.

Other things I may not try simply because I don’t have access to the proper equipment (such as an obstacle course).  And one more thing – I will not teach the tricks in the order of the book.  I will probably start with the easiest and the ones which I think will be the most fun.

Although Maya knows how to shake already, I am going to start with teaching her to shake with either the left or right paw.  Other fun tricks we may try include Carry my Purse, Tidy Up Your Toys, Act Ashamed, Turn Off the Light, Soccer, Hoop Jump, Jump Rope, Crawl, and more!