After yesterday’s blog, I was asked about teaching a dog how to blow bubbles so I started the trick with Rio and took video.
With Rio, he offers a similar behavior when drinking from deep buckets/bowls when he’s hot so I figured I could easily shape it. Sure enough, in about 12 minutes of training (about 18minutes total), he was offering the behavior. I started with a very loose criteria (look at the bowl) and ended with requiring a half-second of bubbles.
The video is a little long, but it takes you step by step as I increased the criteria! Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH91cYhrFUg]
I taught this to Shayne a few years ago and used a completely different method. She doesn’t like water on her face (shocking giving her joy with jumping into the water nowadays) so I figured I’d be fighting a losing battle trying to shape it. With her I used a lure to get her to put her nose in the water. I dropped a piece of kibble in the water and as she put her nose in the water to get the food I clicked. It was a different route but we got the same results.
If anyone takes up training this trick and you want to film it, put a link to your video in the comments!
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Oh. My. GOSH this is the cutest training video ever invented ever 🙂 (It helps that Rio is soooo adorable!)
I now have an insane desire to teach every dog at the dog park this trick with the giant water dishes that are lying all over the place. Of course, that might defeat the purpose of coming to the dog park for exercise, but I’ll argue it’s *mental* exercise. Yeah, that’ll work …
Thanks for posting!!
HAHA! Rio says thank you. I have to film him drinking from a bucket on a hot day… he pretty much just shoves his face IN the water and sloshes it about. Again, he’s ridiculous!
This trick is so surprisingly easy to train. I’ve told people that I’m willing to bet just about anyone can train it in less than 30 minutes of work. I tell people that it’s essentially just shaping the dog to submerge its nose, and the bubbles come naturally (after a noseful of water or two).
I’m at work right now (youtube is blocked) but I’ll post my bubble blowing videos when I get back. Nice work Tena!
It is definitely easy to train and is always quite impressive. Rio was easier to train because he already offered a similar behavior, Shayne took a little longer because she was not as keen getting her face wet.
I love when tricks look more impressive than they really are! 🙂
Here’s a very brief video of Cohen bubblin’ away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taOB19BSjf8
And there’s a bit of bubble blowing action in this video somewhere in the middle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc6UiwUrDGw
Haha! I love this trick! I just taught Elli a useless trick, too — bringing me her dish and putting it in her feeding trough. 🙂 Then I accidentally left it in her kennel (for her dinner, while the humans eat) and she chewed off the handle lol.
Rio is so precious!! I didn’t realize his coloring was so gorgeous — his little feet have brown spots instead of bluey-black like the rest of him, soo pretty. 🙂