Our training resolution

We were out for a cold sunrise this morning, and Shyla was willing to wear my hat for fun! She's really learning to trust me. A few months ago, placing a hat on her head would have freaked her out. Today, she seemed happy!

Lots of people have written about their resolutions for 2013, including all sorts of fun exercise and dog-walking programs. I've decided to try a completely different kind of program, focusing on dog training.

As I've written, Shyla and I have been taking multiple excursions to town each week for socialization and training. She's come a long way... but that form of training is hard work for her and for me. During these excursions, I am exposing Shyla to things that used to scare the heck out of her (like parking lots, new people, city noises, etc.), and I have to proceed very carefully to make sure that I don't stress her out. Needless to say, although I love seeing the incredible progress that Shyla is making, both she and I are exhausted when we get home!

So, as an antidote to that difficult socialization training that we will continue as long as it's needed, I thought that trying to teach Shyla one new trick/behavior every two weeks or so would be a good program for us. We can do the training at home, and it would be nothing but fun. We'll do some serious behaviors, like heeling off-leash (which we've just started), and we'll do some frivolous ones like taking a bow.

Before Shyla's leg fracture flared up, I had started to teach her to take a bow but then I stopped because I was afraid that it might hurt her leg. In the past week, we've started again, and Shyla demonstrated at sunrise this morning. The tongue flick was Shyla's idea!

We're also going to gradually work on strengthening her stay. Today, I practiced having Shyla remain in a sit-stay without swiveling her rump when I walked behind her.

Then, I used a trick that I taught her when she first joined our family to get her to whirl and sprint. I walk a certain distance away, and I hold my arm straight up in the air in a spot where I'm going to leave a few treats on the ground. Then, I walk away from the spot so that Shyla has to find the treats herself. When I said "find it", Shyla whirled around from her sit-stay and sprinted to search for the treats. She LOVES this game.

I'm planning to teach her a variety of tricks using positive methods, including a clicker and treats. I'm not opposed to luring a behavior to initially teach it. A few things on our list are a "high five", belly crawling, spinning, rolling over, and covering her eyes with her paws. I hope to be able to show you a new trick every couple of weeks.

Has anyone else taught their dog to cover his/her eyes with both paws? I don't know how to teach it, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience or suggestions. It seems like it would be very cute!

I'm also eager for suggestions about other tricks that I might teach Shyla. Thanks!