We humans are soooo superior. We think we are so smart; we can teach our dogs to do so many things like sitting pretty, begging, closing the door. But have you ever thought about how many things your dog trains you to do? My dog is such a good trainer, I sometimes think he should be an instructor in my professional dog trainer course!
A short list of things your dog has taught you might consist of:
- Opening the back door on cue (my dog, Jimmy Joe, walks back and forth between me and the door)
- Feeding dinner on cue (JJ walks back and forth from the kitchen to me and looks at me with ears perked and head tilted)
- Playing with the plush toy on cue (all he has to do is pick it up and bring it to me)
- Petting on cue (a little nose nudge usually does it)
But the coolest of all is howling! Every evening when I stop working, have eaten my dinner and sit down to read or watch TV, Jimmy Joe cues me to howl with him.
He’s got me trained, I howl every evening, but I keep trying to get it on video and for some reason I’m not prepared. I hate to admit that I’m like every typical owner; I know he’s going to do it – he does it every night under the same circumstances. But do I have my Flip at the ready? No! He starts cuing me, and I think “Dang – where’s my camera?”
If we want to get technical, I think it’s a rate of reinforcement
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problem. Because we only do this once a day, my ROR is pretty low – once every 24 hours. But, I’m getting better. I’m starting to actually keep the camera on the end table; now I just have to remember to turn it on and aim it before Jimmy Joe starts cuing me.
The good news is that I actually have a short clip for you to watch – it’s not the best example, and if I ever catch a better clip, I’ll post it. I know that I have a strong bias and think my dog is the cutest, cleverest dog in the world, but I hope you enjoy this clip as much as I do.
If you’d like to learn more about how to become a dog trainer, please visit https://becomeaprofessionaldogtrainer.com.
