Dog just casually cleaning the house

Grummer

Grummer

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW_N-dujGXw]dog tricks: Golden Retriever Grace cleans the house - YouTube[/ame]

and one of the comment followed...

Can I trade my husband for this dog???

lol!!
 
Oh wow, good dog. And smart person who trained him. Makes me think about all the useless tricks most dogs get taught. Roll over. Speak. Sit. Doesn't get the house cleaned. And the dog seems so happy! I noticed that tail looks like it could be very useful for dusting.

At the end, he seems to be waiting for a treat:)
 
:ty:Grum, that brought me a smile.
I taught that same thing to my bigger Rottie a few years ago, using a similar cue - "clean it up". Used treats and initially started from the end of what you see there <in vid> as a behavior chain - which is actually a long string of behaviors put together. Going to a toy, picking it up, carrying it, carrying it to the basket, releasing it and releasing it into the basket are all several things and generally <especially for dogs for whom retrieving is not a "natural" thing - for the Rottweiler breed, it is not> - it works well to teach the end product dropping the item into something- first.

For me as a trainer- what I tell people, is- tricks and behaviors in general are great ways to bond with your dog and show her how to learn; also provides enrichment for the dog. What is simple from a human perspective is usually utterly foreign and nonsense to the dog at the beginning, so teaching them various things helps learn better and gives them something to do.
 
dogmom said:
- it works well to teach the end product dropping the item into something- first.
Click to expand...

I would never have thought of that but it makes sense. Now I've got an image in my head of a dog going and getting his toys, 1 at a time, bringing them to the box, and then wandering off with them. So "clean up the mess" would become "rearrange the mess" ha.

I was teasing about the useless tricks.
 
:wave:amylynne, "re-arrange the mess"- that's good, I can sure see that!
Technique I described is called backchaining. First I taught my big Rottie to actually show enough interest in picking up a toy AND retaining hold - by reinforcing attempts with treats...again, a step not always needed <my youngest Rottie decided one day to simply play Fetch altogether and brought the ball back to hand - nothing I taught her - she'll play ball like a Lab>
Then with the bigger dog, I reinforced her dropping a held toy into a basket, first using my hand underneath, between her mouth and the basket - because she did and will play with toys, but playing with toys with a person and holding onto a toy to do a longer behavior, are technically two different things....then I reinforced longer and longer retention of the item to be carried. And so on. Did this over the course of a few months.

no problem....many people actually do think tricks are too "silly" , so I tend to just automatically explain my perspective.

:)
 
amylynne said:
Oh wow, good dog. And smart person who trained him. Makes me think about all the useless tricks most dogs get taught. Roll over. Speak. Sit. Doesn't get the house cleaned. And the dog seems so happy! I noticed that tail looks like it could be very useful for dusting.

At the end, he seems to be waiting for a treat:)
Click to expand...

I thought the dog was going to dust the floor withy her tail! LOL Finlay was trained to pick things up and help take your coat off and boy did that help when I hurt my back. He would pull my socks off me too.
 
:wave:whatdidyousay!

when I volunteered with a service dog organization, one of the behaviors we worked on with the dogs was taking off clothes- socks, coat etc.

I'm glad to read about your experiences with Finlay.
 
When I was out shopping with Finlay people would come up to me and say
my dog is behaving better than some kids in the store. I once dropped underpants in a store and Finlay picked it up and a woman was really impress. I trained Finlay to puck up my keys too encase I dropped them and did not hear it. He loved to picked them up for me.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I thought the dog was going to dust the floor withy her tail! LOL Finlay was trained to pick things up and help take your coat off and boy did that help when I hurt my back. He would pull my socks off me too.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought before he took off to pick up the first thing.
 
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