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What unusual commands or tricks does your dog know? Beyond the usual sit, come, down, etc.
My coworker taught her GSD "wrong way." When she's walking the dog and the dog goes on the wrong side of a pole, she tells her "wrong way" and lets the dog figure out how to get untangled. Apparently the dog now knows that "wrong way" means to go around a pole from the other side! I thought that was pretty clever and useful!
"wrong way" is a great command. i wish i had thought of that 11 years ago when my shih tzu was little.
i have these two, but i don't know how unusual they are:
my shih tzu will "crawl" on his stomach for treats from one end of a room to another, pulling himself forward with his front feet and pushing with his back. it looks kind of like the military snake crawl that soldiers do using their elbows.
and i taught my parent's shih tzu to "dance" by accident. i was trying to teach him to roll over, but what he actually did was start rapidly turning in circles and bouncing while he did that.
When I had my Shih Tzu I thought that in keeping with her dainty and demure appearance, good breeding meant she did not grab that treat from my hand. She had to take it with finesse. So I taught her to very daintily stick out her tongue and pick up the treat when I say "Finesse!" and not make a sound, not chew her food with open mouth, just like a lady with breeding! She also learned how to play dead...I mean she would be on her back, head to the side, with tongue sticking out and completely immobile. I miss her to this day!
Last month, my family and I went on a weekend trip to a mountain resort and visited a shop where the owner sold some homemade bath salts and soaps as well as greeting cards. She had a chocolate lab named Bella greeting customers at the door. Just before we left, she had asked Bella to show the customers the greeting cards which were on 3 revolving display stands about the height of her nose. On command of "Show them the cards, Bella!", she would go and flip the display stands just enough to rotate the cards. "Next one!" would make her go and repeat it, until all three were shown to the customers.
But what topped the cake for us was when Bella was asked to pray and "say grace". Her owner told Bella to get ready to pray. Bella got down on the floor and crossed her front paws. Her owner had put a treat on top of those crossed paws and Bella looked away while her owner said a (rather) lengthy prayer. Bella did not once move, even after the prayer ended and the little people cracker was still there balanced on her crossed front paws. After a long pause from the owner, she finally (or what may have seemed to Bella eternity!) said "Amen!" and then Bella ate her treat! Oh man oh man! The dog got major ovation from us and treats (they carried dog treats in the store too for her). It was really amazing self-control!!!
Bella sounds very talented! The 'play dead' trick reminds me, I used to have a GSD that learned to 'die' on command when I pointed my finger at him and said "bang." He would stop whatever he was doing and flop over on his side. The funny thing was, whenever he didn't want to do the trick, he would sink s-l-o-w-l-y to the ground while very vocally complaining about it (whining, moaning, howling, etc.) It was quite an oscar-worthy performance.
Morgan, my dear Standard Poodle, learned this trick about 5 years ago--and she's taken first prize several times at various events...I say, "hey Morgan, let's say you're walking along and discover you're on fire...what are you going to do?" (Generally she gets very excited here, so she'll bark a bit.) Then I say, "Stop!" and she does. "Drop!" and not only does she do this, but it's a vocabularly word with multiple meanings, since she knows "drop the ball" etc. And then I say, "Roll" and of course she rolls over. Once, while performing for a crowd (and a prize!), I said, "let's say you're still on fire, then what?" and as if on cue, she started barking very excitedly, so I worked it and said, "That's right! Call for help! And then?" And she concluded with a roll in the opposite direction.
I love my dog! All of them, of course, but especially my PudelPie (who, yesterday, at 9 1/2 years, not months, ate a book!!!) So fresh. So sweet. <sigh>
Well, my female GSD knows "bang" (play dead), shake paws and "switch", meaning after she shakes right paw, you say switch and she'll give you another paw. "Guard Dog" command, she will run to the window or sliding door and start barking LOL
My male GSD was trained with german commands:
hier -come
Platz- down
Bring- bring (fetch)
Fuss- heal
Aus- let go, leave it
Sitz -sit
Pass Auf - watch out
And i strongly believe that "Wanna" should be a command.....
One of the women we do agility with owns poodles.she teaches the poodles this trick she will ask" Rowdy would you rather be dead or be a border collie?" and the dog flops down and plays dead! It is always a fun trick to do when the agility club does demos at the retirement homes as the old folks laugh and laugh. Some one else that use to be in the club had a little female dog and would ask it " Why did mom want a girl dog instead of a boy?" And the dog will lift her hind leg
While not a command or a trick, the 3 y.o. GSD we rescued a month ago opened the cabinet door under the sink to check out the goodies (chicken bones), in the garbage. We weren't certain if it was fully closed or slightly ajar, so it may not be that big of a deal. He hasn't tried it again after being caught the first time, but we've learned to keep the door fully closed and empty the garbage more often. It's been interesting to learn what an older rescue knows and I'm sure we'll see more surprises down the road.
The hospital I work for has a couple security dogs and they make rounds with the security guys . They get lots of love and cookies from hospital staff and patients and families. There was a GSD that is now retired. He knew that in the ICU they kept a box of dog treats in a drawer and when they made rounds he would come over and open the drawer with his mouth then look at everyone asking " OK who is going to give me my cookie tonight?" He had a way of making every one smile when he was around.
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She also learned how to play dead...I mean she would be on her back, head to the side, with tongue sticking out and completely immobile. I miss her to this day!
The 'play dead' trick reminds me, I used to have a GSD that learned to 'die' on command when I pointed my finger at him and said "bang." He would stop whatever he was doing and flop over on his side. The funny thing was, whenever he didn't want to do the trick, he would sink s-l-o-w-l-y to the ground while very vocally complaining about it (whining, moaning, howling, etc.) It was quite an oscar-worthy performance.
Fire Prevention Trick!
