Thomas asks…

Is it possible to train my cat to fetch, sit, stay, talk, etc.?

After having a cat for 17 years he finally died, he would follow us and come when we called him. Now i am getting a new 3 month old cat and i am wondering if it is possible or how it is possible to train him to do dog tricks.

Anna Walker answers:

My cat fetches, i’ve been playing with her since she was 5 months old, and now she’ll bring the toy right back to me and put it on my lap. You just have to start young.

Donald asks…

How do you teach/train a dog to smile/play dead?

I’ve successfully taught my dog to sit, lay, stay, roll over, speak, and “leave it” (like if I drop something on the floor).

But I’m at a complete loss as to how to teach a dog to smile. Another one I’d like to teach her is to play dead.

Any tips/links would be appreciated!

Anna Walker answers:

Firstly – I am glad to see somebody who take their dog’s training so seriously :]

Smile:

Just find his pleasure points as they will smile when you find the exact spot that just loves to be scratched.
Make him drool.
Engage the dog in an activity he loves like fetch, playing with other dogs etc.

Then use the command smile/grin while he is doing so and reward him. This trick take time – about 4 months for an average dog but its an amazing trick!

Play Dead.

First give him the down command and see which is the side that he leans more to then using the command ‘play dead’ gently push him to the floor until he is lying and then tell him to ‘wait’ and reward him after saying ‘play dead’

For both of them just continue to practice this over and over.
Use a happy singsong voice and lots of positive reinforcement. Eventually, your dog will understand :]

Good luck!

David asks…

How can I train the puppy with out the older dog getting confused?

We have a 1 year old border collie female; we just got another puppy that is now 12 weeks old. The thing is if the puppy does something wrong the older dog thinks she is in trouble. Or when we are trying to train the puppy like sit or stay the older dog feels left out and gets upset and wants extra attention making it hard to focus on the puppy. I feel bad if I put her in her crate to train him because she looks at me like she feels left out.
I know we needed to give her extra attention, but the thing is the puppy is having hard time learning. Its really like monkey see monkey do. And if the older dog is not there he does not know what to do. What can I do that both dogs would benefit. There both very sweet and good tempered. There like my kids.
when I put the puppy in the crate he throws the biggest fit and will whin bark and cry to be with her if they are seperated. He is more attached to her then me.

Anna Walker answers:

This is often the case when you have 2 dogs living together.You mention that your puppy will throw the biggest fit if he’s seperated from your older dog and that he’s more attached to her then you.This often happens when the puppy becomes more reliant on the older dog for companionship,play, and communication.When we purchased our 2nd dog, we trained, walked, played and fed him seperatly from our older bi tch.Yes your older dog may look as if she feels left out but it’s in the best interest of both dogs if done this way.Walking your puppy seperatly etc gives you time to strengthen your relationship with your puppy and devote much needed training time and socilisation.Many people assume when they get a new pup that it will learn off the older dog and be socilised by the older dog, this is not the case, as older dogs also teach puppys bad behaviours.Socilisation needs to be done seperatly away from your older dog, so the puppy builds his own confidence up without relying on your older dog.Again training needs to be done seperatly, if possible join a puppy training class were just you and your puppy go and spend quality bonding time together.At home you could train in a different room to your older dog.It’s important you build a strong bond up with both dogs so they dont become to ingrossed in each other, as training becomes very difficult when both dogs wont listen to you as they dont value you as high ranking as they do each other.Good luck.

Ruth asks…

what are some useful and fun things to train a dog to do?

So many dogs are capable of more than sit, stay, bark, fetch etc. I have known of dogs who go to the shop on their own with a note on their collar to get the newspaper or a small bag of groceries, and of course there are guide dogs, hearing dogs, rescue dogs… What are some fun and useful things to train a pet dog to do, and how do you train the dog to do them!

Anna Walker answers:

I taught my first dog (Nekai) not to take anything from anyone except me, or on permission by me. I think it was a great thing for her to know.
She also learned basic commands (sit, stay, no and come) in Dutch.
She also carried bags coming home from the store.

William asks…

How can I train my red nose pitbull?

Ok so I would like to train my 5 month old Pitbull, I don’t know if age matters when training a dog. He’s really playful but I would like to teach him to stay off the couch and off the beds and also the basic dog tricks, sit, stay, talk etc. He’s already potty trained. Also why do people teach dogs to attack? Is it so in case of an emergency like when you get robbed or something and should I teach him that too? I don’t think I can afford obedience school and if there are any alternatives what are they?

Anna Walker answers:

The only people who train pits to be attack dogs are fools. They are destroying a great dog. The pit wont do very much in the way of guarding except maybe using his appearance to keep the wary away.

When ever he gets up onto the couch, set him down–dont push because he will think you are playing. Pick him up and set him on the floor. Give him a treat for staying on the floor. Pits are very smart dogs and will pick up on stuff quickly if training is kept up. Sit is pretty easy. Push his butt to the floor while using the command to sit. Once you push his butt down, give him a treat. Do that a couple times, then try it with out pushing his butt down. If he responds, praise him like he is the best doggie EVER!! Stay is one that might take some time. Start at small intervals after getting him into a sit or a down. Start with like 3 seconds in a stay. Treat him. Then a couple successful days later, aim for 6. Then just go up from there. I can, with my dog, leave him in a down/stay for 2-3 minutes while I am out of sight. It is possible!

You can train him yourself, just as long as you know what you are doing. Join http://www.pitbullforum.com and they can help you out with training options and ideas.

Also, just so you know, “red nose” is just that. Means he has a red nose. Nothing special unless he comes from the champion Old School Red Nose line, which is unlikely, there arent too many of them out. There is no difference between the red noses and the blue and the black or pink or purple. It’s just the color of the nose he was given.

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