Tricks to Teach for Post Op Entertainment!

[ZeusTitan]

I was wondering if anyone could suggest some training games to play with a dog who is recovering from TPLO surgery. We came up with this idea after Zeus started exhibiting "leash-carrying" behaviors when we take him outside - meaning he turns his head and holds part of the leash in his mouth and leads US back into the house except vice versa. He gets SO excited & acts very proud every time he does it - it is too cute and as much as we know we shouldn't allow it, it has shown us how eager he is to learn.

So can anyone recommend other tricks/skills we can teach him during his recovery? I'd love to see him feeling that proud of something else and I have a feeling it will provide the perfect amount of distraction for him. Thanks guys!

 

[Erika]

Gunther does the leash thingy too.we call it "Gunther working now".he seriously thinks its his daily job.....lol..its like his gift to us each day.then he walks around like a proud rooster in the house with the dang thing showing everyone

 

[NessaM]

Pooka carries all SORTS of things for me. Today he carried my backpack from the car to the house, so I could carry the bags of groceries. He took it by one strap and pranced to the house with it, as proud as could be that he was helping. He carries the mail for me, and anything else I can think of. In the mornings if he gets wet food with his kibble he carries the can of wet food to his bowl.

If you're looking for good brain-food activities, you could teach him the names of all of his toys and teach him to distinguish between them. We play hide and go seek a lot with various toys hidden around the house, too.

 

[ZeusTitan]

Haha too cute! Newfies are such good little workers & so eager to please. Trying out a new Kong recipe as we speak - "Banana Rama"? - I think I was more excited about it than they were!

 

[Tug]

Tug does 'Trust'. I put a treat down, say 'Trust' and he can't touch it till I say 'Paid For'. Easy to do when he's sittin' there

 

[pabusinesswoman]

We do the toy game too... She knows ball... "lobby" for her stuffed lobster, bumper, rope... etc. Sometimes I will use 2 of the same toy. We are starting to work on directional retrieves. She must pick the ball that I direct her to and leave the other.

I will throw/place 4 different toys out at a time while she is in a sit/ wait. She must wait until I return and give her directional/ order for each toy. She has to get them in the order I call them. If she doesn't she has to drop that one and go for the one I stated. This can be done at a walk during recovery. I let her do it at whatever speed she wants.. a run or a walk... as long as she keeps moving. My focus is she is returing what I am asking for and not whatever she wants. She has gotten pretty good at it here at the house. I am hoping to take it elsewhere in the spring to add destractions.

The kids like the find me game too. I put Sadie in a sit... wait.. they go hide... then call her.. she has to go find them. When she finds them.. the girls have a goodie to give.

We do one like tug.. leave it..

Focus exercise...
I like the one where I have 4 treats on my lap (do this sitting) or 1 on each knee and one on each side of you on the couch. I give her a leave it command. The point it to have her look at your eyes and not the goodies. When she does... she gets the treat for watching you and not the food. We normally do it for a few min. at a time or until she decided to constantly watch me. Then we move to the 4 treats of question. She may eat the one I point to.. then must leave the others. (this is the hard part.. she wants to scarf alllll the treats) I wait for her to look at me in the eyes again. She gets the treat for watching mom... again.. want the full attention on mom... then she gets to pick the 2nd treat from the lap... etc. It is really good for getting them to focus on your face for commands.

Which cup is the treat under...
The old 3 cups.. one has a treat... mix them up.. the dog has to find which has the treat. Sometimes will hit it with a paw.. others with their nose.

 

[R Taft]

Another to add to all of these is "take" an item in the mouth "hold" and "give", though I use "thank you"..........It is good for future retrieving or water work. You can also add "put it down" to that......We use these all the time. My dogs always get given something to carry. At times it is tedious when you are in a hurry and still teaching it, but it is quite handy when they know how.

Tessa is very clever at knowing different items. she has a huge vocabulary. Annabelle is a little more simple. And Katy is on the way up and catching up with Tessa.

We also do treat exercises..."leave it" and "yours now" or "OK"
Good luck...........Ronnie