Clicks & Tricks Home Page
Tricks & Clicks
How to navigate the class content
I have posted tricks I start with and have them in the suggested order.
I suggest you start with watching the lectures to get the background information about how to use a clicker for training as it will answer many of the questions that might come up when you start training.
The very first lecture is on Conditioning your clicker along with a demonstration of how to do that. You can start working on that each day with your pup as you continue to watch the following lectures which you should be able to do over the following days.
Once you finish the lectures and have a few days of work Conditioning your clicker than you can start working on the training exercises.
You can work on both the Box game and the Paw target at the same time if you wish to, just practice them as different training sessions.
Don’t take on the more advanced versions or tricks until you have finished the first two as they help you by building on those behaviors.
This class is meant to introduce you to how and why to use a clicker and give you a good start. Once you get the feel of it you might find it helps you improve the quality of your training to add it into the foundation training you are working on.
Beginning Shaping Tricks
The Box Game
Is one of my favorite starting clicker shaping games to play!!! It’s a very good way to get your feet wet and try it out without the pressure of messing anything up.
Below is a video of me working on the box game with Nick, a puppy. Below is a video with an adult. Puppies are usually much easier to start shaping with because they tend to be more learning flexible and have not yet learned how to suppress their curiosity like many adult dogs have. So watch both to get an idea how you might need to adjust your expectations or plans for an adult or a puppy.
Hot Object Game
The idea of this game is simply to teach your dog that one object holds more value than the others. This game is designed to teach your dogs to differentiate objects and isolate certain ones that we place value on. This game helps a puppy to learn how to filter out distractions and stay focused on the task at hand once we begin more formal training.
The idea is simple.
Take a few random household items your dog has no relationship with that are safe for a puppy to bite, hold, step on or anything a puppy might do with an object. (plastic spoon, metal tins, sponge, drink cozy, etc)
Have your clicker and treats ready and place down one of the items you most want the dog to interact with. Click as soon the puppy makes any moves towards the item.
Keep shaping until your puppy is touching that item in some way (paw touch, nose it, pick it up, etc)
End 1st session
Next session repeat above, but after a couple clicks for interacting with the item, now place down a second item. Do not click until they engage with the original item again, ignore all interactions with the new object.
Repeat until the puppy ignores the new item.
Next session, repeat as above and if they stay with the hot object add a third object and again only click for the original hot object.
Next session, repeat as above but now remove the hot object and put in a brand new item and now make that your hot object.
Paw Target Touch
Teaching your dog to paw touch a target
Hold a target between your thumb and forefinger, with a treat behind the target between your forefinger and middle finger, like you would hold a cigarette.
Present the target low, either on the ground or just above the ground.
Ignore when your dog does anything other than pawing at it, so ignore sniffing. If you have already taught a nose touch this can take your pup a little bit to figure out but they will get it.
At first if your dog is confused watch those front feet and click and reward even if they just move the foot towards the target even without hitting it.
Be sure you are looking at the target and not in your dog’s eyes!
As soon as your dog paws the target click and turn the target over to let them eat the treat from your fingers or even just drop the treat to the ground.
Once they get the idea start presenting the target to them in different areas so they have to reach around to hit it.
Don’t wiggle the target or move it to try to get the dog to touch it. Keep the target still and wait!
You can add the command as soon as you are sure that as soon as you present the target they will paw it.
Taking the paw target touch to the next level
Once your dog is readily touching the target in your hand it’s time to get the target onto the ground.
Be prepared they might stall out, don’t point at it, move it, or do something to help, just keep looking at that target and wait! If you do anything to help you will forever be stuck having to help when you teach your dogs, let’s get them thinking and offering.
When they do paw the target now on the ground, when you click, out the treat onto the target, don’t feed from your hand as we want them looking at the target, not our hands!
Once they are readily pawing the target with you right there let’s work on sending them to the target from further away. Always still follow them up after the click and put the treat onto the target.
Using a paw touch to teach a new trick
Taking your paw touch to a trick!
Ok, let’s put our paw touch to use teaching a fun trick, how to close a door for you.
Your dog needs to have their paw touch on command as in the previous two videos before you teach this trick!
Start by holding the target off the ground, but still low and close to the door you will be training with.
Gradually with successes raise the target to where you are having them paw it at the level with the door.
Once they are comfortable and touching the target confidently at that vertical presentation go ahead and tape the target to your door.
Hold your hand behind the door so it’s visible like it was and so if they hit the door it doesn’t slam and surprise them.
Once they are comfortably hitting the target again you can gradually drop your hand away, at this point take something like a small towel and place it so they door can’t slam yet.
Once they are confidently hitting the target, start to open the door a little bit so when they hit the target the door moves.
Gradually open the door more and more as they get more confident.
Once they are super confident, take it back to just barely open and pull the towel away and then rework your gradual steps to having it close more and more.
Put your toys away
Using shaping and back chaining
This is a fun trick to use a clicker and shaping working your steps in reverse to teach your dogs a fun trick of putting things away.
Place one of your dog’s favorite toys (unless that toy makes them super hoarding and possessive, in which case use a lower level toy) into a small bin or box. You want something low and easy for them to get something in and out of.
Have your clicker and treats in your hands ready to roll.
Click as soon as your dog does anything to the toy: paws it, sniffs it, picks it up, etc.
Gradually wait for more and more interacting with the toy as you work on getting them to pick it up before you click.
Once they are picking it up, click very soon and early so their heads are still over the bin when they have the toy. The click should make them drop the toy as they expect the treat. Give all your rewards with your hand directly over the bin.
Once they are picking up the toy and dropping it into the bin with each click you can start adding your pick up cues and drop cues.
Once they are confidently picking up the toy and dropping it in the bin pick up the toy and place it just on the other side of the bin so they bin is now between you and the toy.
Because of your reward placement until this point your dog should naturally move towards you with the toy, click as soon as their head is over the bin.
Once you are moving the toy further and further from the bin it’s ok to click before they get all the way back even if they drop it, clicking to encourage that return is always a great step, so don’t feel like you have to hold out for perfect early in the process.
Once they have a real good idea of the game with that one toy, start to use different objects and toys.
Once they will pick up many objects you can start to ask for more than one delivery in a row.
Crawl
Taking pawing behavior forward to a crawl
Going around stuff
I love teaching my dogs to go out around something
This trick is ALL about that reward placement!!! If you sort out where to put your rewards you can make this a much quicker process!
SHAKE HANDS, HI FIVES AND SIT UP (SIT PRETTY, BEG)
Shaking hands, high fives, waving and sit ups are all very similarly taught. Here are so cute videos of several puppies and dogs learning how to wave and shake hands.
With these tricks it’s all about where you hold your hand and how that naturally affects a dog’s feet.
So if I want a shake hands:
I hold a treat in my closed fist
I place my hand near my dog’s chest, not too low or they will lay down, not too high or they will jump
I watch their front feet closely and the moment one of the paws moves at all I open my hand with the treat so they can eat it
With each repetition I am watching those front feet and waiting slightly longer to get a higher paw before opening.
Then I am waiting for the paw to make contact with my hand before opening it.
Then I do a little switcheroo and I put my treat hand higher and place my free hand out and when the dog paw hits my hand on the way back down after pawing towards the higher treat they couldn’t reach, as soon as the paw hits my hand I open the treat hand and give it to them.
For a wave or high five it’s the same as above but I am raising that target hand higher and higher and gradually rewarding my dog for reaching higher.
For a sit up, it is the same but then I am working on duration and a distance height that they need to raise both paws to keep reaching for.
ROLL OVER
This one is really best done lured and is all about hand position and getting them to twist their heads to follow your lure.
The first step is getting your dog to lay over on their side in a down position. You can in the video how I lure this pup into a down, once she is down I take my food along her side towards her rear until she rolls over onto her hip and is no longer in that position with both hips tucked under her. That is step one so work on that until your pup easily rolls onto a hip for you.
The next step is luring their heads to twist over their backs, you can see in the video how I am moving the lure just behind her neck so she is able to track and follow the food. Try at first to keep their noses in contact with the food.
For a bigger pup or adult sometimes at this head twisted stage you can help them by putting your free hand under their front paws to make it easier for them to push off of your hand to turn with the treat.
Be patient, some dogs are going to take longer to get comfortable flopping onto their backs.
Once your pup is readily following the lure all the way over work on moving your lure hand further away from their noses.
Don’t add the verbal cue until the pup is following your lure hand at least a 3-5 inches away from their noses.
Continue to fade your lure, moving your hand closer to you and away from their noses.
Here is an example with a young puppy named Panda and also a very old crappy video of Emily learning. She was ridiculously fast at this.
TEACHING YOUR DOG TO BOW
Here is the video demonstration of how I shape it using just a clicker with no lures or props. The second video shows how I use my arm to prevent the down as I lure a bow. For both your big goal is to prevent them from thinking the down is a part of this trick so be quick to reward and release before they fold into the down. For touch sensitive dogs you will probably find the shaping to be more comfortable for your dog, for dogs who tolerate touch well the lure can be a great way to jump start this trick to give them the idea of what you want.
PEDESTAL TRAINING
This is one of the most important foundation behaviors you can teach a dog! It helps a dog learn how to confidently use their back legs independently of their front feet. It teaches them how to line up at your side. It can teach them to chase your side.
It is a foundation step for:
Heel work
Orbit trick
Freestyle tricks
Body awareness and conditioning exercises
Many folks teach this using lures, I strongly suggest you be patient and use shaping with a clicker instead! The results are so much more rewarding and give your dog a much deeper understanding of behavior shaping and using different parts of their body purposefully.
When choosing a pedestal at first pick something very solid and sturdy that will not shift or move under your dog’s feet, later on you can use things less stable but we want the first work to feel super solid beneath their feet. Pick something a bit elevated, the more elevated the more weight it puts on their back feet and the more it physically works their rear end (a dog with bad hips or weak legs you would choose a very low pedestal) The more elevated the tighter spins you get. I use an upside down ceramic crock pot liner for mine, also big heavy water bowls work, 5 gallon buckets that are weighted work. Round is best, but you can use big books.
When shaping pedestal work my first step is basically like the box game:
click and reward any interactions with your pedestal
use where you reward to help your next steps, reward from your hand over the center of the pedestal
shape until your pup knows the deal is to get their front paws on (again you can lure, but if you shape you will have a much more independent confident pedestal if you shape it)
once they are 100% putting the front feet on, watch the back feet, if they move AT ALL, even the slightest weight shift, click and reward using the hand position I demonstrate in the video.
the goal is to turn the dog’s head away from you as you reward so they are moving towards you with their rear legs.
resist the temptation to step into them to make them move! We want movement towards us, not away!
the way you shape this spin is entirely about reward placement and hand position!!! So plant your feet and don’t move your body into them.
Once your dog is purposely moving towards you with back feet steps build up the number of steps before rewards.
Once you have a half dozen steps between steps, be very aware of your hand and shoulder position, drop the shoulder of the side you want them to come to, place both hands near that side’s hip.
Work BOTH sides from the very beginning. Expect it to be challenging going the new direction and remember, click the smallest movement even if it’s in the wrong direction, and use your reward placement and hand position to turn their heads so they are moving their rears towards the new side. REWARD PLACEMENT IS EVERYTHING.
Once your dog can rotate both directions from the middle facing you to your side, make the new criteria their shoulders making gentle contact with your leg, teach them to target your leg as the click point.
Once your dog knows they need to touch your leg for the click, start moving away from them as they are nearing your side so they need to chase you a couple steps to get the contact and click.
Work up until you can circle the pedestal with them chasing you, in either direction.
You can add a verbal to differentiate which side (I use here & side).
Fade down the size of your pedestal gradually.
Leg Weaving
This is a fun little trick that really promotes staying close and focused on a handler’s movement. Having dogs be comfortable being very close to you can really help your heel work and also as a way to keep a dog active and focused which can help when you want to move inside the house but want them also staying calm.
You can see with Tara in the clip, some dogs find it very odd initially to get underfoot when we spend a lot of time teaching puppies not to trip us and to be mindful of our space so for some polite dogs you will have to teach them it’s ok to pass through your legs. Watch how I work that through with her when she is hesitant about following the lure.
Personally I also lure this trick vs shaping. Why? because I run agility and trail run with them and I don’t want them ever offering impeding my space ;) This is invitation only behavior. But you absolutely can shape this trick as well.
TEACHING YOUR DOG TO CROSS THEIR PAWS
Here is a video demonstration of shaping your dog to cross their paws
You can teach paw crossing in a few different ways. You can see me free shape it here with Emily, using clicking paw movements and reward placement to move the behavior. We can also teach this using a paw target or using our hands as a paw target to help get our dogs moving their feet in a specific manner. When using a target think about how your target movement will turn into a visual signal that can be a cue, so be aware of trying to use those movements as part of your targeting so later you don’t have to switch this. What do I mean by this? Well let’s say you want your dog to do the trick where they mirror your movements, if I am always using my left hand to target the dog to move left paw over their right, then when I switch to wanting them to mirror me, they will be focused on the wrong hand. So I might want to actually use my right hand crossed over. If I want to do this standing then maybe I want to put the target on my foot and have my dog focused on my feet. So the earlier we decide what we want the end trick to look like the easier it is to engrain those cues into the end trick.
Stage one:
Stage two of shaping a paw cross
TEACHING A BACK UP, HANDSTANDS & LIFT YOUR LEG PEE TRICKS
These tricks are so great for rear leg awareness and dexterity!
Here is a video demonstration of how to shape these back leg driven tricks
TEACHING YOUR PUP TO RIDE A SKATEBOARD
Roll Out the Red Carpet
A fun silly trick that uses some nose work and problem solving skills. Not only a fun trick but a fun mental enrichment game.
SHY TRICK
Prerequisite for this trick is a paw target touch and stay.
For many dogs they are going to learn this trick originally easiest from a down position or a sit, play a little with each to see which your dog seems more naturally paw agile with (for example Nick learned this much easier from a down because he has big long legs and is naturally very flexible, Emily has shorter legs and had more flexibility if she was sitting so she could use more shoulder.
First start by teaching your dog to touch a target with their paw.
Work to where they will target a small piece of paper, with their paw touch.
Work on moving the target around with the dog in either a sit or down and having them reach for the paper target without leaving that position.
When they can reach the target at a position above their nose while maintaining a sit or down then use either a post it note for your target or use a small piece of tape to put the target on their muzzle.
Each dog has a magic whisker tickle spot that will have them swat at the target.
Click when their paw makes contact with the target.
When you reward do so with their head close to where it needs to be when they hold the position, so don’t reward in a position that raises their heads back up, they will need to maintain a nose down position to hold the shy.
For some dogs you can reverse target if they struggle with the paw on the nose, this means you use a nose target and get them to target their nose under their paw.
HOLD
Prerequisites: your dog needs to be able to pick up something you give them, like a toy. If your dog doesn’t pick up toys or objects then see the “put your toys away & Reviewing Fetch” videos for tips on how to shape your dog to pick up things using a clicker. A chin rest is very helpful.
So for each object you start working on hold with you want to begin with having your dog in a stationary position, this can be a sit, stand or down in front of you. Choose depending on your dog and how they are most comfortable. If your dog has strong retreat possession issues like Nick, the first step is getting the mouth on the toy in a stationary position, it doesn't matter how good his hold is if his instant desire is to leave with it. So first I work on clicking and rewarding him for putting his mouth on the object while he is sitting. If he stands up I don’t correct, I just click and reward before he leaves and then next time I am faster to click while he is still sitting. But goal #1 is simply stay sitting and touch object with your mouth. If you look at some of our early clicks in both videos you will see just the slightest of open mouth as he pushes his nose at the toy. It’s very noticeable in the videos with the other objects, with each one you can see how I have to start back over at just clicking him for hitting the object and then move my clicks to him using an open mouth to finally a grab.
Some dogs have very natural holds (Emily) and some do not (Nick) a dog like Emily you can shape to hold in a couple sessions, Nick took me several months and many different angles to get him to really grab and hold without wanting to leave. With a dog like Emily who naturally will grab things and not run away, your task is teaching the still position and duration of the hold. Vs a dog like Nick where you are fighting against an impulse and having to build in a desire to stay with you and not feel uncomfortable having your hands near their stuff. This difference is inherent and not something one has done wrong, some dogs are more naturally possessive and this trait makes them uncomfortable having things in their mouthes in very close proximity to others. This is actually a VERY good way to help dogs overcome resource guarding if you proceed correctly and take very small careful steps. (Let me know if this is the case with your dog so I can help coach you through)
Since one of your hands will be busy with the toy it’s easier to use a marker word instead of a clicker.
Have treats in one hand and your toy in the other with your dog facing you in a sit, down or stand (be sure your hands can be level with the dog’s nose with the position you choose so if using a down you will be sitting on the ground, using a sit with a small dog you might need to be on the ground as well or a small stool)
Place the object in front of your dog’s nose, don’t shove it into their face, place it a few inches away so they can choose to reach for it or not.
As soon as the dog’s nose moves towards the toy, mark and reward, even before they reach it the first time is ok.
Systematically wait for more contact with the toy until the dog is grabbing the toy.
This can take a long time for a dog if you are holding the toy instead of throwing it or playing with it. It took me several days to move from Nick pushing it with his nose to an open mouth when he was a puppy.
I strongly encourage you to teach your dog a chin rest for use of teaching hold. If your dog is comfortable with you having your hand under their chin you can really speed up a hold!
Once your dog is grabbing the toy enough that they are moving the toy start to either put the toy on your legs or if you are on the floor sitting place it on the ground and see if the dog is grabbing the toy enough to move it.
Once my dog is taking a full hold of the toy then I start to place my hand under their chin after I let go. It’s a very subtle move, you softly bring your hand under, you are not pushing their chin so their mouth closes, you just keep their heads from dropping so the toy doesn’t fall out of their mouth. At first you only do so for a split second.
Gradually build the duration of your chin rest with the object in their mouth.
Then start to drop your chin rest hand away once you see they have built some duration.
Use your verbal hold cue once you have enough duration to be able to move the chin rest hand away.
Add a Give or drop cue at the same time you add your hold cue so they understand the duration is until they hear the drop cue.
Once your dog has mastered holding a favorite toy until you give a release then you can move on to using various other objects.
With each new object you need to go back to square one until you have taught enough objects for the dog to generalize the hold behavior.
Once your dog has generalized the hold with multiple objects work on changing your dog’s position so they can do it no matter what position they are in.
Then see if you can have your dog change positions while holding, can they stand, take the object and then sit while still holding it. Can they hold it and take a couple steps towards you? Can they hold and sit up? Can they hold and lay down? Once you get to this point you can teach some fun more complex tricks like rolling themselves in a blanket, or carrying baskets.
ORBIT
Prerequisites: Pedestal complete spins TOWARDS you. Rear end awareness tricks like backup, rear foot targeting help a lot!
Find the TP trick
This simple trick combines:
Back chaining
Retrieve a stationary object
Searching
Multiple finds
To Teach it:
Begin by working on your dog retrieving a roll of toilet paper from the ground, I use a smaller roll with a rubber band around it at first.
Work on gradually backing up further and further away as you send the dog to the roll, until you can be out of sight.
Add obstacles like pillows or easily moved blankets, etc to work past, let the dog watch where you put it.
Work on putting it in various locations.
Add a second roll, this will increase the search they have to do for the other roll as most dog’s will forget with the excitement of the first find.
Back chain your way to the entrance of the search area.
Add you trick verbal cue.
Blanket Roll
PREREQUISITES: ROLL OVER & HOLD
This is a trick combining both aspects. I will show you the whole 5 part series of how I shaped this with Emily. Each video represents a different session and as you can see the foundation takes a few sessions to get laid down. I could have held the blanket and asked her to hold it but I wanted to shape it. But you should know at this point in her training I had shaped her to pick up things so if your dog doesn't pick up random items that are not toys you might need to work on that first.
This was done like 7 or 8 years ago, now I am so much more skilled I could have quicken the process with better reward placement. I would have started to reward her with my hand with my palm facing down so she was twisting her head lower towards the ground as she got the treat, this would have supported the movements I wanted next.
Cup Stacking
PREREQUISITES: HOLD & PUT TOYS AWAY
This is where the fun stuff starts! When you begin to combine tricks to create more complex ones!!!
Warning complex tricks take a LOT of patience and practice. Don’t start taking these on until you have done a lot of shaping so your dog is proficient at offering behaviors and you are proficient at proper shaping technique. These take time so always keep shaping sessions short and don’t think you will get there in a day, some of these more complex tricks take weeks to sort out.