# Tricks and mental exercise input wanted



## Vanbpoun (Jul 16, 2014)

Hey everyone, 

I'm pleased to say that our little girl is getting better and better with each passing month. She still has her quirks and "annoyances" such as eating trash, jumping on strangers, and her unrelenting desire to counter surf. 

However, I am looking for some other types of indoor tricks and mental exercises to keep her busy and happy for days that we have inclement weather. 

"Tricks" we have mastered
• sit
• lay down
• shake 
• high five 
• both paws 
• sit on two feet 
• crawl 

"Tricks" we have tried but cannot seem to get down 
• roll over
• find (when hinding treats)
• spin 
• hold/stay
• fetch 
(If you have any suggestions on how you got these to work please let us know) 

Ways she's occupied are toys, antlers, raw hides, bully sticks, Nyla bones, kongs, and of course cuddling. 

We are also doing things to work on manners like letting us down the stairs first, sitting before leaving a door or getting toys. 

Any thing you all do indoors to keep your pup happy is something I would love to hear. Also any kind of tricks to keep her from getting to bored. 

Finally, as a side note, in what ways have you gotten the message "no" or "stop" across to your V? We have tried several ways (clickers, nose tap, holding her and saying no, etc) but as soon as we release her she goes back to biting at the object or jumping onto the table/surface. 

Thanks in advance and I look forward to some replies.


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## Ksana (Mar 30, 2013)

I prefer "off" and "leave it" as opposite to "no". For "leave it" you need to have a higher value treat, so your pup leaves the object you are trying to pass. 

We also like to play hide-and-seek, find mama, find dad, find bird, find ball, etc. As he is on a skinny side, I found out he intends to finish the entire meal off if he has to use his nose to find it. So we play to find the food also. 

I give him a small piece to sniff so he knows what he is searching for. At some point of time, I may try a scent detection work as he has mastered to nicely sit in front of say a closed closet and show me with his paw where the object is hidden.

Nina Ottosson's puzzle games are good. We own three puzzle games I got for the last year Christmas. Our family was crazy about our V puppy so everyone got dog-related presents I think these puzzles helped out in mastering our boy's ability to play "find it" game.

I also like "sit" before eating game. "Fetch" is everybody's favourite game though. While I ask my boy to "fetch" slippers and balls, my husband ask him to "fetch" cell phone, camera, remote control, beer, etc.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Vanbpoun said:


> "Tricks" we have tried but cannot seem to get down
> • roll over
> • find (when hinding treats)
> • hold/stay
> ...


I can't help you with "hold" - I've found that one to be impossible! We try to work on "drop it" but he won't pick it up in the first place!

For "find it", make it really obvious. Get a strong smelling treat and let the pup watch you hide it. Then tell them to go "find it." They will know where to go and want the treat and do all the work themselves. Just keep making it progressively harder by having them stay in another room while you hide the treat, use treats that don't have much smell, etc.

For roll over, I always had them lie down and then moved the treat from their nose to their side, while gently placing my hand on their side and pushing a little. Eventually they get that they have to lie on their side and will then follow the treat and flip over too. It's hard with a mouthy puppy, though! We taught "play dead" sort of the same way as well.

Kyra Sundance's trick books are awesome for ideas and step-by-steps if you want to learn more for tricks fun. I would focus more on basic commands until you've mastered those though. Like "leave it", "off", "drop it", "wait", etc.

We don't use "no" either for our pups. We try to use specific commands so they know exactly what behavior we DO want. We do say "eh eh" occasionally, if we see them about to get in trouble. We say it loudly, so it's almost like a siren. It gets their attention and interrupts what they are doing. It's kind of like a noise of disapproval. We don't use it as much now that they know their formal commands though.

The big thing is just to be consistent. For example, our current pup is a pro counter surfer. Every time she jumps up, I have to remind her "off" and "sit." She does it, but then will go back to it. I probably have to give her those commands 5x in a row before she gives up. But now she knows what I want and is just testing to see if I mean it. The same thing with "stay." If they get up from a stay, you take them back to where they were and start again. You might have to do it a few times before they get the hang of it.


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

There's a good post about puppy toys recently that you can check out here:
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,30857.0.html

I find the wand toy is still a go-to on -20 degree celsius freezing rain days too!:
http://youtu.be/tGO922hT9LE

What worked for teaching tricks to Nico was to practice often (1-2 times per day) and be consistent with every detail until he eventually learned the oral or hand-signal command.

Roll-over: get a lie down then wait for the pup to shift over so they're on 1 hip (rear legs out to their side -- they will almost always eventually do this, it is more comfortable for them). Put the treat near their nose and draw it over to the shoulder on the side their legs are out on. From this position you should be able to get them to follow the treat into a roll over. (the key is nose to shoulder!) Practice following the treat a million times before trying without it!

Spin: we just had Nico follow a treat near his nose in a tight circle. Again, practicing a million times was the key for us! 

Stay: we learned this one in obedience class and from what I remember the key was to reward the release *not* the stay. If you reward the stay they think they can just get up and go immediately afterward. Pick a release that you won't say accidentally too often (ours is "let's go" which is okay... some others in our puppy class were "up up", "allons-y", and "move it") and reward the release _after_ a stay. Start with short stays, then longer, then with you dancing and jumping, then leaving the room, etc!

Hope this is useful! Sorry my post is so long!


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## Emilygreasley (Dec 1, 2014)

Have you tried the leg weave? It was mentioned at our puppy class as a bit of fun to help keep the pups mentally stimulated. Ted picked it up pretty quickly although we still need some practice! They also suggested teaching them to crawl - lie dawn then coax them forward on their bellies with a treat. We try and avoid tug of war as Ted is still a bit bitey(!) but chase the rope is good fun if you're fast. I sit on my knees on a non slippy floor with a tug rope and and move it back and forwards, side to side etc while he chases it - it's a bit like playing with a cat! It definitely gets him puffed


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