I do unfortunate things sometimes

[potato_head]

So I made the decidedly un-thought-through choice of reading a bit of a violently transphobic blog (nothing like reading that a person wishes all trans people were dead! Certainly brightened up my afternoon!) which I am not linking because TBH spreading hate and giving it attention is just not my MO. So instead, as I was thinking about this earlier and hopefully it will cheer me up, I am going to take inventory of the commands Tripper knows! This should be interesting since he's learned two different sets of commands from Dad and I, and has learned a lot of very nuanced commands because we're a bit haphazard about teaching him.

I'll separate the commands out by function.

Obedience/Behavioral

Sit - he responds to the verbal cue ("sit") 80% of the time, but responds every time to the visual cue that we originally taught him, which is the ASL sign for 'sit'. Dad tries all of the time to cue him by pointing at him and sort of wagging his finger up and down as he says 'sit'; this just confuses him, LOL, and he'll often turn around to try and figure out wtf dad is pointing at.

Lay down - he responds most of the time to the verbal cue ("down"). I work on this with him a lot now. He...can't go from 'down' to 'sit'. He doesn't seem to get the concept. Dad cues him with "lay down" and pointing at the ground.

Come - He knows several different cues for 'come'. First is the visual cue (slapping my chest with my right hand). He responds to that almost all the time. He also knows "come", but will respond to it less often. If we're inside and he's just hanging out, he responds to "c'mere baby/pretty boy", lol. Dad also whistles for him when they're out in wide spaces (he takes Tripper hiking etc.)

Stay - This is one we're still working on. He responds best to a combination of the verbal cue ("stay") and the visual cue (ASL sign, again). He'll 'stay' as long as you're in view and looking at him; if you turn your back, he'll probably stop staying, and if you go out of view he will definitely move. However, if there's a good reason for him to stay (for example, when he's covered in mud or been sprayed by a skunk), he'll stay for quite a bit longer than usual.

Down - Contextually, to get him off of furniture. He responds very well, especially because if we're telling him "down" he knew very well when he got up there that he's not allowed.

Drop It - He has two different kinds of 'drop it'; one, cued by "drop it", is to drop the item on the ground. The second, cued by "can I have it?" cues him to drop the item into my hand.

Food Zen - I work on food zen with him regularly because he's a piggy :P "no" commands him to leave a piece of food alone (but still requires some work; doesn't always work). "Stop begging" commands him to, well, stop begging; his begging can be pretty problematic, since it includes things like tapping the food with his nose to tell you he'd like some. Yeah, I really want my sandwich now that it's covered in dog snot.

Heel - He doesn't actually know this yet; I spent some time working with him on it last summer, but he seemed to have a lot of trouble grasping the concept. I'm not sure if it was the command I was using ("with me") or that he was still a bit young and excitable (he's only turned 3 this year). He does, however, know "come on", which cues him to follow you/stay with you, although he'll also run in front of you, off to the side, etc.

Touch - The basic command. He touches your palm with his nose. Cued by "touch".

Play

Up - Slapping both hands with the chest, or saying "up-up!"; if you're standing, cues him to jump up on his hind legs and plant front paws on your chest. Contextually, "down" is used here to tell him he can drop down again, although he'll also do it without being cued if he gets tired. If you're sitting down, it'll cue him to jump up and put his paws in your lap. "Down" won't cue him to get off here because he's an asshole sometimes and also doesn't realize how heavy he is :P

Kiss - Cued by making a kissy-face and smoochy noise. When Dad does it, it cues him to lick Dad's face. When I do it, it cues him to put his head down so I can kiss him between the eyes. He keeps the two straight (and does seem to understand really well that I don't like my face licked...he only does it if I'm annoying him :P)

Play - Cued by me calling his name ("Trip!") and then making a barking sort of noise. He'll jump into a play-bow and watch me for a clue as to what he should be doing and with who (it generally cues a high-energy game, like chase or wrestling). Unless he doesn't want to play, in which case he'll just wag his tail. IDK if he'll respond to this from anybody else, since I'm the only one in the family who makes animal noises uses it.

Bring It - Cued by "bring it". Uh, he brings it. Only works for balls. Also, if he drops the ball too far away, "bring it" will cue him to grab it and drop it closer.

Tricks

Show Belly - Once he's in 'down' position, I cue this with "show your belly". He doesn't like to roll over too far on hard surfaces, so I'll reward him for just lifting the front/hind legs on one side off the ground, but I've found that he understands the concept anyway since I cued him while he was laying on the bed and he rolled all the way on his back with all four legs in the air.

Mouse - I posted a video of this awhile back. "Mouse" plus a visual cue of pointing at an object he can jump onto; he'll jump up onto it, turn in a circle, and sit facing me (and looking at me very attentively). (It's notable that he can also be cued to jump up on something if you point at it, like most dogs; pointing is a piece of human body language that most dogs understand implicitly. However, if you just point to a piece of furniture, he'll only climb up on it and lay down).

I'm honestly, often surprised by his ability to pick up commands very quickly. Originally I only meant to teach him 'mouse' for the sake of the video, which was for a presentation I was giving on clicker-training. I spent about three hours with him on it, all in one session, and by the end we were both exhausted and cranky (never again!). I didn't even teach him the turning behavior during that session - I tried, but he wasn't getting it, so I just ended with jumping onto the ottoman and sitting facing me. A month or so later, I decided to see if he recalled the trick at all, and cued him (without the clicker even in my hand, which generally makes him more attentive to my commands because he knows he'll get treats). He did the complete trick, including the turn. I was surprised and did it with him a few more times; it wasn't a fluke. He retains it even now, even though I haven't reinforced it in any clicker sessions since then.

Comments

[anobjectinspace.livejournal.com]

I remember Mouse! *grin*

Dogs are so smart. Most people say to Holly "Give me a kiss" and she'll lick their face. For me, it's what I originally taught her which is to touch her nose to mine.

[poto-heart.livejournal.com]

Yes :D Tripper surprised me today - he was running outside and rain through some mud, but his feet were dry by the time he came inside from walking on the grass. But his belly was covered in mud he had splashed up onto himself; which he apparently noticed, even though I hadn't. He just kind of walked around for awhile instead of flinging himself down on his bed or the couch like he usually does after playing, and when he finally did lay down it was on the tile. He wouldn't lay on his bed or on the furniture until I cleaned him off :P he's a very tidy dog.