Teaching a dog basic obedience is a necessity for his and your safety. But beyond the basics, many owners find it rewarding to move to more advanced tricks.
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Know Your Dog's Currency
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Training any dog is much easier if you are using the correct currency. That means that you are using the reward that your dog loves best. For most, it is a food treat. However, there are some that prefer praise or a favorite toy. Training becomes much easier when you are using the proper motivator. More advanced tricks require the dog to do something that is not a naturally occurring behavior. Without a strong motivator, she will be more difficult to train. Choosing the right treat will be the key to getting your dog to do the more advanced trick.
Make Smaller Goals
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For teaching an advanced trick, you must break it up into smaller parts. Each part of the trick becomes it own trick, rewarded appropriately. For instance, perhaps you want to teach your dog to fetch the mail and bring it to you. Then you may want to break up the trick into going and staying by the mailbox, taking the mail out and holding it in his mouth, then bringing it to you. It has just now become three separate tricks. You will practice the first part until the dog has mastered it, then add the second, and then the third.
When to Teach
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Train your dog to do advanced tricks at a time that works better for the dog. Teaching tricks when you first get home and the dog is overexcited is probably not the best time to train. Likewise, right after eating is not going to work efficiently if you are using food as a motivator. Find a time of day when she is alert but not hyper, wants to eat but is not starving, and not too tired. This gives her a better chance at success. Practice frequently to make sure she is retaining the trick. Advanced tricks will need constant reinforcing and repeating to make sure that she is consistently performing the task.
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