Tricked

In our Basic Obedience (Intermediate) course at Pet Centrics, we were given a chance to learn one trick each week. These were taken on different days in different locations so Odie's understanding of the tricks may vary. Needless to say, I had so much fun shooting these videos because who doesn't love a dog that does tricks?

Roll Over from Pauline Gaerlan on Vimeo.

We learned the roll over on our first session. I've been wanting to teach this to Odie but didn't know how, so hooray for our class for deciding to give it a go! I mentioned in previous entries that Odie LOVES rolling over. He even kept doing it when he got injured, which I had to control because it worsened the condition of his leg. He's all better now, and he hasn't stopped rolling since. Too cute!

Shake a Paw from Pauline Gaerlan on Vimeo.

Shake a paw was trick-of-the-week for week 2. Odie has been doing the "shake hands" cue a few months prior. I used to do it by presenting an open palm for him to put his paw on. However, when we learned targeting, Odie had a tendency to bump his nose on my open palm! Good thing Doc Marose had a different approach to teaching it!

Beg from Pauline Gaerlan on Vimeo.

This is how I want Odie to say grace before meals. I hope he could keep his balance for a longer time, enough to last until the end of his prayer. Yes, I taught him to pray before consuming his meals, thanking God for the food, praying for all other dogs and cats to also have food, and praying that the strays would find happy homes with loving families to take them in. When I say our prayer, he looks down on his food bowl and he'd usually have drool dripping one by one.

Begging is our trick for session 3 and I shot most of the videos a few days right after teaching it so they're not so polished. The ones in the kitchen and bedroom, however, I shot just yesterday because we were out of frame when I first shot in those two locations. So the kitchen and bedroom begging videos are spot on successful! His begging is just adorable, I can't stop watching this over and over and over!

Jump from Pauline Gaerlan on Vimeo.

The last trick we learned is jump up/over. Notice how it's basically just reaching the target. When we were still learning this, Odie would just run and stand on his hind legs to hit my palm. Teacher suggested putting a hurdle on the ground to act as a little obstacle. I found a PVC pipe and thought it was perfect! Upon trying it though, Odie got fixated on the pipe, picked it up, and started prancing around with it. We were offered an alternative obstacle which worked wonders. I swear, Odie's teacher knows magic. She really does.

Odie does all these tricks when I present a good treat in front of him, but he has a special preference for the roll over. He even does it in the middle of exercises in school! I know, doggie tricks are not really what we went to school for, but having a rolling, shaking, begging, jumping little beagle has made me a very happy human. It's also a great way to make people think that like Doc, I have superpowers.