FF245 Stunt Dog Tricks

Week One

1. Perches
2. Dog Catch
3. Spin/twist

Week Two

1. Add elevation to dog catch
2. Leg weaves
3. Rear foot targeting
4. Handler’s choice body stall

Week Three

1. Arm overs
2. Rebound
3. Elevated Rear Foot Targeting

Week Four

1. Arm hoop
2. Wall handstand
3. Catch from platform

Week Five

1. Back rebound
2. Stand
3. Chaining together tricks

Week Six

1. Back into handler stand
2. Hoop rebound

Week One Tricks: Dog Catch

The dog catch serves as a great trick to teach for body awareness and trust building between dog and handler. The dog catch that we’ll teach will also serve as the foundation for a dog catch off of an object or a box jump that we’ll work on later in class.

The foundation for a dog catch is the same as the foundation for teaching a rebound which we’ll cover in a future lecture. To prevent your dog from randomly offering a dog catch and flying at your face when you least expect it (generally while you are trying to have a pleasant conversation with the new neighbors that just moved in), be very conscious about what body cue you want to use, even better to add a verbal cue on top of that.

Grab a chair, some treats and your dog in an area with decent traction. Handlers with young dogs, please be aware of how they’re dismounting, do not allow them to jump from your lap as repeated jumps can lead to growth plate injuries.

With you sitting in the chair, arrange your dog on your left or right side (keep it consistent). Put treats in your far hand and encourage them to jump into our lap. You may have to reward for two paws at first, or even just teach your dog to climb into your lap while you’re sitting on the ground. Once your dog is all four paws in your lap, mark and reward in position, then toss a cookie to encourage them to jump off. Repeat. The criteria that we are looking for is that they jump rather than crawl into your lap.

If your dog struggles with wanting to jump onto you, you can start with a wider bench or ottoman. Sit on the far edge away from your dog so they can jump onto the perch first and then move across your lap. As they can confidence, move closer to the other edge so they are jumping onto your lap rather than the perch as seen in the video below.

Once your dog is confident leaping into your lap while you are sitting in a chair, begin to place your arms around them as you are reward, as if you are catching them. If your dog seems uncomfortable about this step, ease into it. The criteria of this step is to “catch” your dog as if you were standing up. Don’t forget to reward each repetition, we want dog catches to be AMAZING to our dogs. You can add a verbal cue when you are happy with how your dog is performing this step.

The next step is to add height and slowly remove the landing platform that is your lap. Pile pillows or other objects under you to gradually increase into a standing position. Don’t forget to be mindful of your body and verbal cue. I generally stand with my catching side leg slightly bent to give a surface for my dog’s to aim for. I also open my arms to encourage my dog to jump up while saying “hop up”.