Do you have a really smart dog? Game.

[Jadenlea]

So tonight I came up with a really fun new game for my jack russell terrier who is way to smart for her own good. She is very toy driven, especially if it squeaks but the problem is, toys last about five minutes before she destroys them. Even those hard plastic Giggler toys.

So here is the game.

I got out my Staples "Easy Button" that I used to teach her clicker training years ago. I did the simple "touch" the button to get the toy. Of course, she doesn't just touch it, she throws her whole body onto it so it is very funny.

Once she got the idea of Hit the button --> get the toy, I moved the button further and further away until it was across the room so she had to run across the room and pounce the botton to get the toy.

It was so neat to watch her brain working to figure it out and see how proud she was of herself when she did.

Here is the real game though.

Once she got the hang of the last step I added another. I closed her out of the room and hid the button. The first time I hid it really easy near the last spot it was in. Then I made her FIND the button and hit the button to get her toy. Eventually I moved it around in different places . It took some time but she finally got the hang of it. By the time she was done she was tired and panting and the toy was still in one piece. Sometimes I think the mental workouts are as draining as the physical.

Give it a try!

[alabamagroomer]

Ok, let's back up a minute...

First of all I started thinking about my 3 "salon" dogs. My giant schnauzer male would lay on the buzzer so that none of the others could get to it. My giant schnauzer female would simply look at the buzzer and ask what the questions was again. Her name is Josey but we call her Dodo for a reason. My standard poodle would look at the buzzer and somehow persuade the giant schnauzer male to lay on it so she would not be demeaned to do manual labor. So when you said, TRY THIS WITH YOUR DOGS, I simply could not stop laughing!!! Perhaps I need a JRT at work. That should keep things fun!!!

I would so love to see a video of this. If for no other reason than to show my dogs that it can be done.

[Debbiedogs]

Lol, Jadenlea

Sounds cute. I maintain that the mental workouts are MORE tiring for dogs than most physical ones, probably because brain work makes them tired faster. For instance, 15 minutes of working the brain makes them glad to just chill for a while, but 15 minutes of walking/playing and they can go on for MUCH longer!

[nuk]

i still wish i had used an easy button to train Rhico "touch" instead of a water bottle..... no bottle or cups are safe in our house if he can reach them now. The frantis smacking of everything in the room when he begs is pretty funny however.

[Jadenlea]

LOL AlabamaGroomer. I like the part about how your standard would convince the other one to do it.

It is not for every dog. Obviously the dog needs to know the touch command and be toy oriented. I am just always trying to think up ways to challenge my dog because if she gets bored, she starts looking for her own things to do and it usually involves yanking the cats bed/blanket/pillow out from under her.

[lexapurple]

How do you clicker train a JRT? I can't get mine to stay still to get a treat!

[Jadenlea]

haha Lexa. How old is he/she?

[MeganDavids]

My Weim. & lab are very active players and chewers also, but there is NO way that they would learn this one - You have one smart dog!

My weim. is almost 2yo and hasn't figured out how to stop when coming up the porch steps. He always smacks his head into the outside of the house. I had to move the breakables off the inside of the wall because he hits it so hard that the 'pretties' would fall off the wall and break. But hubby and I love them to death because they keep us laughing all the time!! :-)

[Jadenlea]

Megan, to funny. I bet that is hilarious to see.

[MeganDavids]

Megan, to funny. I bet that is hilarious to see.

It is really funny! My sis didn't believe me about it until she actually saw it, then she couldn't stop laughing - it still makes me smile when I think about it. Megan