Cara's Party Tricks!

I am having fun teaching Cara some tricks to entertain her and me! She is an intelligent dog and learns new tricks really fast, unless I am having trouble teaching her, then chaos follows!
The adage that the dog is as good as the dog handler is very true; at least in my case!!

'TAKE IT' Game

To begin with, I held Cara's jaw in the palm of my hand and placed a treat on her nose. This was actually the hardest part of the whole learning process for Cara as she kept following my hand with the treat; I refused to allow her to have the treat and kept gently trying to place the treat on her nose. Eventually, she understood and allowed the treat to rest on her nose; I kept my hand under her jaw and with my other hand I held my finger up in front of her to indicate that she was to stay. Amazingly, it worked and I allowed her the treat. I then introduced the cue "Take it" which allowed her to knock the treat off her nose.

Cara learnt the basics of this trick within a few attempts and we have now have polished the trick, so that she can hold the pose for 30 seconds until I give the "Take it" command. As the picture indicates, she is very focused(on me and my finger); I give in after 30 seconds as she looks so cute and I can't refuse her!!

Do you have any dog tricks that you would like to share? Cara and I would love to hear from you.

Happy New Year from the Kingsdale Happy Hounds

Have a super licking woofing 2015!