# Jobs?



## NeverGiveUpRAC (Aug 27, 2012)

Giving your Vizsla a job in and around the house? I've read a bit about this and I am interested to see if any of you have done so. It is supposed to help give them purpose, help them not get bored and give them some confidence, among other things.

Some examples I have read have been carrying laundry to hamper, toys in toychest, canned groceries away (curious to see how that would work), carrying things, opening doors, etc. I am sure there are more. 

Really, I would be super excited to be able to have my boy do one of these. Maybe put the toys or laundry into the correct bin. It would be impressive.

Anyone have little jobs for their dog or know how to go about teaching them?


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

Kauzy picks up his toys and puts them in his basket at the end of the day. He always puts his 5 favorite toys in his crate so they will be there for him in the morning when we put him in his box


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## NeverGiveUpRAC (Aug 27, 2012)

Smiled he entire time reading that, dmak! It is so cute! He just did it on his own? You never taught him to put them in the basket where they belong?


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

We get Lulu to shut the fridge, the dishwasher and doors. Mostly because we think it's cute . She knows a "touch" command from agility which just involves touching her nose to a target (plastic yogurt container top) and is very easy to teach. From there we just taped the target to whatever we wanted her to "touch" (i.e. close) and she was closing things all over the place! She loves it! I attached a little video of her closing the fridge. 

Cleaning up their toys is a great "chore" but definitely takes a lot of steps to teach. We've been working on the first step for a while which involves her fetching a toy that I throw, and dropping it into a basket that I hold under her face when she brings it back. I have a treat ready to pop in her mouth as soon as she comes back to me so she really has no choice but to drop the toy in the basket . Next step is to drop the toy in the basket while it sits on the floor in front of me. I started a thread the other day called "Brain Games" with a couple of books that you would probably love! They give step by step instructions on lots of tricks including service dog jobs like opening doors, fetching you a tissue, and getting you a beer from the fridge. Very useful. ;D


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## NeverGiveUpRAC (Aug 27, 2012)

Ohhhh it is all so cute!! I can't wait to get started!

I actually taught Cole "touch" a few weeks ago. I read it can be a great gateway to a lot of new tricks, as you say. I am going to try to try holding the basket and doing it through those steps. It seems easy enough! I will have to go wrote the names of those books down. I think having your dog do simple "chores" is just so impressive. That is adorable she enjoys knowing how to close things! Hehe Gonna go fins the book names and try to watch that video! Thanks!!


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

My training method was very similar to Lulu's. Putting his favorites in his kennel he taught himself. He would see me grab a handful of toys and put them in his kennel, so he started doing it himself. It started with us teaching him to "clean up". he quickly learned that all his toys belong in one place. Its cute because now he will go to his toy basket and pull out half his toys looking for a particular one, then he puts the rest back.


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

dmak said:


> he quickly learned that all his toys belong in one place.


Kauzy must be much smarter than Oquirrh. The second I get all of Oquirrh's toys picked up, he goes right back to the basket and pulls several out! 

I think this is a great idea. What kind of steps do you take to teach the dog "touch"? Do you hold an object out and wait for them to figure out that you want them to touch it or how do you go about getting them to put their nose up to it?


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

Oquirrh - It's pretty easy to teach "touch" and most dogs seem to enjoy it. Here's an article from the ASPCA that describes it pretty well. There are so many fun and useful behaviours that you can teach them after they learn to target! 

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/teaching-your-dog-to-hand-target


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## VictoriaW (Mar 16, 2011)

Oquirrh said:


> dmak said:
> 
> 
> > he quickly learned that all his toys belong in one place.
> ...


Um, smarter than my kids, too. Or maybe it is me who needs to wise 
up! :-[


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Here's a video I found awhile back showing how to teach the touch command and it features a vizsla mix. Is this from a forum member?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoPTo1wuBKU


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