There are many different ways to train. We have done a lot of luring with Chester. For instance, to get him to sit, we held a treat in our hand, held our hand over his head, and waiting for his butt to hit the floor before clicking and treating.

When I taught the boys to “gimme five” (lay their paw in my hand), I shaped Gizmo, clicking for just paw movement at first, then higher & higher movements, then touching my hand, then actually putting his paw into my hand. That didn’t work with Simba, so finally I ended up just putting his paw in my hand, which did work.

The problem with showing them how to do it, and with luring, is that it doesn’t require them to use their brains much. Clicker training can be a lot more fun — and move faster — when your animal thinks. They try new things, because they’re trying to get you to click and treat.

Chester, while very smart, is not creative. He does not like to try new things. I haven’t done enough shaping with him, so he’s always waiting for me to tell him what to do. And that can make teaching him new tricks difficult. I know he’s shutting down when he lays down or won’t look at me.

So we’re going to have to work a bit on trying to get him more creative while he’s recuperating. 101 things to do with a box, for instance. That’s where you put down a box, and start clicking and treating for any interaction with the box. I want to see if I can get him to start offering new behaviors more easily.

For instance, one of my goals while recuperating is to try and name some of his toys. Eventually I could say “go get your duck”, and he’ll go get the duck. But if I put a toy near him during a training session, he just sits and looks at me, not the toy.

Or I wanted to try to teach him to touch the hand with the treat: put a treat in one hand, put my hands behind my back, then show him both hands. Ideally, he’d touch the hand holding the treat. Right now he just sits and stares at me. He doesn’t know what to do, so he’s waiting for me to tell him what to do.

While luring works well, you could end up with a dog like Chester: one who just waits for you to tell him what to do. While that’s useful, you’ll be able to teach a lot more, quicker, if your dog is willing to use his brain. It’s a good idea to at least try shaping some behaviors, and to play games that help them to use their brains. We all need mental stimulation!

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