mich_cain | 04-04-2014 03:45 PM | Sadie recently finished puppy class and learned to do basic tricks. Our trainer said to phase out the tricks gradually once they were doing the trick consistently. We trained first with the hand signal, then when they did it with the hand signal we threw in the verbal cue. When you phase out the treats you reward sporadically so they are always on guard wondering when they will get the treat. It becomes a game. One way to phase them out is to make them do multiple tricks at a time before rewarding with a treat and lots of praise. You also throw in the "jackpot" here and there which is a mother load of treats, so they never know what to expect. I am still working with Sadie. Haven't been able to phase out the treats yet as she still looks for them. She will sit and lay down without a treat on occasion. Stay she will do anytime I ask treat or no treat for a short period of time, which I am thankful for. Building it up little by little. She is extremely smart, but very strong willed. You can see the look in her eyes of acknowledgement of what you want, and then her decision to do the opposite. :) I love her and her quirky ways. Can be tiring, but I enjoy our training time. I taught her some new tricks recently and she picked them up within a day. Want to keep building up our trick database. Good luck and have fun! |