“I LOVE MUDDDDDDD!!!!”
March means mud! Seriously, it’s Latin. Okay, I’m kidding. We all need a little silliness in our lives right now #cabinfever! My clients are all working from home at the moment and they’re all looking for fun things to teach their dogs. Check out the end of this blog post to get connected to all of our fun videos!
In honour of keeping some normalcy and routine, I’m going to keep going with March Mud Month.
For the entire month of March, we are dedicated to learning how to keep our floors clean.
With untrained muddy dogs, this room would either be off-limits or covered in mud.
Here are the four puzzle pieces that, when clicked together, make a picture of a well-trained dog sitting on a spotless floor in your front hallway.
Sit
Stay
Paw ( I could make this really cute, and use “Shake” instead of “Paw,” but I have another command called SHAKE (as in shake off your wet self on the front porch, instead of inside in the house. It comes in handy for bath-time too!)
Stand
You can read about the SIT here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/mud
You can read about the STAY here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/how-stay-can-help-your-house-stay-clean
And this week: PAW
Dog shaking a paw
How is teaching your dog to shake a paw going to help keep your floors clean?
It’s going to help you wipe your dog’s front feet.
The easiest way to teach your dog to shake a paw, or do anything for you really, is to catch them in the act and reward them for it. We call this “capturing a behaviour.”
Kneel on the floor in front of your dog.
Put your hand out, palm facing up. Almost every dog will bat at your hand. If they don’t, try running your fingers over the back of their forearms. This should do the trick.
As soon as they touch your hand with their paw, say: “Good paw.”
Pro Tip: Remember not to ask for “Paw” or “Shake” in the beginning. Your dog has no idea what that word means yet. Instead say “Good paw” or “Good shake” AFTER they have performed the behaviour.
QUESTION: How often should I practice this trick during this first teaching session?
ANSWER: Try it 10 or 20 times, and then add in some of the other commands that your dog or puppy already knows.
Work on a new trick a few times and then add in other tricks that your dog already knows.
Since the dog parks are closed, we’re all looking for fun ways to challenge our dogs at home.
For fun videos on dog training and dog tricks, visit us at:
GoBeyondDogTraining on Instagram and Facebook
BeyondDogTraining on TikTok
Dog balancing a treat on his nose
Enjoy your clean floors, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: Kelsey Mirehouse (howling muddy puppy,) Arseny Togulev (shake a paw,) Cole Wyland (dog waving,) McDobbie Hu (dog with treat on his nose.