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Monday, January 7, 2019

The Incredibly Fun Training of Hachi

I thought that you might enjoy seeing another snippet of Hachi's training. I am working on sit and down with him, in a game that is sometimes called "puppy pushups".

Sit is very easy for Hachi. It's what he does naturally when he's waiting or is curious. Hachi almost never lies down while we interact with him. That makes it hard to teach him how to lie down when we say "down".

Trainers usually say to teach "down" by having your puppy sit and then slowly lowering a treat to the ground near their front paws. That did not work with Hachi despite trying many times. He'd just dance around trying to get to the treat and would never lie down.

Then, I was playing with him, and I slapped a toy onto the ground in front of him. He dove into a down to try to capture the toy. A light bulb went off in my head... it was a way to get him to lie down!
I repeated that move many times with a toy in my hand and then rewarding Hachi (click/treat) when he went into a down. Gradually, I was able to remove the toy from my hand so that slapping the ground with my hand was enough to get him to lie down.

That's where we are now. I say "down" and then I slap the ground in front of him to lure him into a down. I am gradually increasing the time between saying "down" and slapping the ground because I want him to eventually respond to the word rather than responding to me slapping the ground.

Please realize that there is nothing aggressive or intimidating about me slapping the ground. It's completely derived from play and he responds like he did when I had a toy in my hand.

I mix in lots of play with "training" - it's my hope that training will feel as fun as play to him.  You'll see a section in the video of me playing tug with him in the midst of training.

I hope that you enjoy the video of Hachi in action!!!

28 comments:

  1. I come over and sit next to you and watch you and the puppy...that is too cute!!!!

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  2. Hatchi could teach Mitzie a few things.
    He is so cute. And full of energy too.

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  3. the video is hurting my face from smiling. he is so smart and so are you... great training video..

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  4. What a fun training session for you, Hachi! We were smiling and laughing out loud at your antics☺

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  5. It's always so fun when those lightbulbs go off for the humans involved in training ;) It would definitely keep things interesting (and entertaining) if you did have to continue to slap the ground forever--but I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can get to just the word soon!

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  6. You are an amazing trainer! I could watch these videos all day! I can't wait to see the progression of Hachi in training and in the pack. What fun! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. That's cute! I don't like the "down" thing either. Maybe I should train Momma this way.

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  8. Like some of the other comments our mom says her face hurts from smiling so much when watching Hachi. He is just too cute!

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  9. Oh yea, that video sure made us smile too! You could see how happy he is in those eyes!

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  10. Great job on teaching him sit and down. He's the cutest.

    I linked this post to Awww Mondays.

    Have a woof woof day Hachi. My best to your hard working mom. ♥

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  11. The video is so adorable! He definitely seems very focused on you. I think I might get distracted by his cuteness. LOL

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  12. At our house, we use group training for down. We all sit in a line, and the older dogs do down, Mom helps the newbie with down, then we repeat until the little one gets it. Works well for us. Last used with Madison https://youtu.be/HVBl9980U3c

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  13. Hachi thank you x 70 for the wonderful action video on my bday too. Perfect entertainment. I tell you one thing you are 100% in concentration mode and have great eye coordination with Mom's hand. LOL KB love your
    'down' command and obviously Hachi does too. That little bark about 3/4's thru the vidoe was funny
    Well done Hachi
    Hugs Cecilia

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  14. LOve love love this video. Our training director has been using play training with her sheltie puppy and it is amazing everything he already knows at 8 months old and he loves every minute of "training"
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

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  15. He is learning so quickly, and that look in his eyes, all fun and love.

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  16. Oh my I am dying!! Those paws! Those ears!!!!! He is one SMART boy! I love how he throws himself into going "down" and how he barked at the end!! He is just too precious!!!

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  17. OMD...that head tilt is to die for!!

    Such a good boy!

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  18. He's so enthusiastic, I love it! That just made me smile, especially when he started barking at the end. I think the slapping hand is a great idea. Luke had trouble with down at first too, and since he's more responsive to gestures than words that would have worked for him I think!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  19. Such fun memories that brings back. Our Ellie learned as quickly as could be. Lucy, on the other hand wanted an explanation of every single command, as in, "sit? where? how long? why?" Her "down" was corrupted and she misunderstood that the action was for me to say "down" and then to push her down. She thought it was great fun.

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  20. You do such an amazing job at shaping his behaviour. Love it!

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  21. Slapping the ground with a toy for down is a brilliant idea. I am going to let my trainer friends know

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  22. Thank you for warming my heart this cold evening!

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  23. How lucky for Hachi to get to do his training in the comfort of his BIG bed:) He is so smart - at the very end of the video we think he was pondering that down and will be doing it on command very soon. We DO love the training videos.

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  24. Hachi you are doing a pawesome job of learning new things and it looks like you have a very cleaver human to teach you all sorts of new and exciting things. Milo, Jet & Arli

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  25. Hachi is sooo darn cute and smart, too. LOVE his earnest face and those perfectly white-tipped paws.

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  26. Its so fun to see Hachi learning new things. They all learn differently,, dont they? Tweedles did her DOWN just like Hachi does.
    love
    tweedles

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Thanks for your comments!!!!!