Typist: Bethany
I am going to be completely honest: besides a "bow" Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley don't know any tricks. It's true. No "roll over." No "play dead." No "high five." Not even "gimme paw." Nothing. I have trained a lot of basics that lead to tricks and we have made games out of trick training but I have never proofed an actual trick. Never. It's not that I don't want the dogs to know tricks. It's not that I don't know how to train literally hundreds of tricks. It's not that the dogs and I don't enjoy training. It's just that we have had other major focuses in our training. With three working dogs, I often let them decide what they want their job to be. And since our cross country road trip last year, all of them have grown to love their job of posing for pictures.
I am going to be completely honest: besides a "bow" Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley don't know any tricks. It's true. No "roll over." No "play dead." No "high five." Not even "gimme paw." Nothing. I have trained a lot of basics that lead to tricks and we have made games out of trick training but I have never proofed an actual trick. Never. It's not that I don't want the dogs to know tricks. It's not that I don't know how to train literally hundreds of tricks. It's not that the dogs and I don't enjoy training. It's just that we have had other major focuses in our training. With three working dogs, I often let them decide what they want their job to be. And since our cross country road trip last year, all of them have grown to love their job of posing for pictures.
 We have been asked "can I take your dogs picture" in nineteen states. |  Every time the dogs pose for me, strangers snap some shots too. |
So when I originally considered the question "what is our favorite trick" my answer was going to be "stay." But the picture posing trick has evolved beyond a simple "stay" command. It is a combination of "paws up," "huppity" (jumping onto an object,) "sit," "down" or "stand," a "watch" and a "stay." The dogs often pick places to pose as well as the order and positions I photograph them in. Yesterdays candid black and white Sunday photos are a perfect example of the pride the dogs take in their photo posing trick. (Yes, those shots are candid. I did not put them on that rock. They climbed up there as I strolled along the beach towards them. I simply asked them to "stay" from a distance and hurried closer to capture the moment.) If we are out and about and I see a photo opportunity I say "picture" and the dogs begin to find their pose positions. It is truly a wonderful, um, trick.
When a passing hiker said the dogs against the mountain was "stunning" and asked if he could take the dogs picture, I tested their distance "stay" by coming down to where he had shot them for my own photo.
I know our favorite trick isn't going to win us any titles or smart dog competitions but it does make people happy. Passers by enjoy the dogs poses and photos that make the cut are enjoyed by our blog visitors. I am very proud of being able to photograph the dogs absolutely anywhere. Most importantly, Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley truly like their modeling job. And super models get to see the world, garner tons of attention and are showered with treats. Maybe the dogs know a really great trick after all...
| Do you, your dog or any of your pets have a favorite trick? Tell us about it in the comments or link up a "tricky" post on the Linky list below (the list is open for seven days!) We co-host the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop on the first Monday of each month with Dachshund Nola and Tenacious Little Terrier. Please join us on Monday, July 7th, when our theme will be sharing recent training triumphs, successes and goals. As always, any posts about positive based training are welcome. Happy training! |  |
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