Senior Citizens Enjoying Dog Tricks by Jasmine!

Good things happen when you FINALLY get around to replacing your laptop battery!!   I found some old footage of Jasmine that I'm making into new trick videos!   Here's one we just uploaded...

We've done tricks shows for practically every age group now.  And they're all pretty fun.  Jasmine gets so excited when I get out ALL of her props, and start cutting up treats.  She knows we're going to do a show! 

This was a fun show to do.  We were asked to perform at a Senior Living Center, in honor of a woman's 96th b-day!!!   We did the trick show, then afterwards I took Jasmine around so that everyone could pet her.  They told me about the dogs they used to have.  It was very sweet.  Jasmine is a therapy dog, and loves people.  

Here's a recap of the show we did.  I think everyone enjoyed it.  (Including us.)

#BlogPaws in Pictures

"My dog went on vacation, and all I got is this lousy t-shirt..."  Haha!  :)

Well- I'm back from BlogPaws!  What a whirlwind trip!!!

We flew into Washington DC!  (Didn't have a chance to go to the White House and say hi to Bo though...)  ;)

Jasmine was such a good little traveler! We had a lay-over in Minneapolis, so it was a really long flight to get to the east coast.  But Jaz was great!  She just slept the whole way.  She travels in a carrier underneath my seat.

 When we arrived on the east coast, we met up with our best friends Lauren and her dogs Paige and Dexter.  (These are trick dogs too!  They have been our friends for a long time!)  They picked us up from the airport, and we headed to Tyson's Corner, Virginia!

Lauren (and her dogs) came with us for the opening night of BlogPaws on Thursday night.  It was so fun seeing all the different kinds of dogs there!

Look at these crazy dog people!  ;)  This is Sarah, Lauren, me (CJ), and Sara.  It was sure fun reuniting with old friends!  They had a photobooth at the meet & greet, so we took full advantage of that!  ;)

We stopped by the Natural Balance table to say hi to our friends there.  They were having a contest- You could win a gift card if you tweeted a pic of your dog w/ this fat dog.   I thought this pic was amusing.  Stripes make you look thinner.  ;)

 They have a new low calorie formula for fat dogs- that we got samples of to try! 

(Jaz has a few friends who could use a low calorie formula, and they love it when I come home from these conferences with stuff to try!)

We got to meet up with our friend Eldad Hagar- from Hope for the Paws Animal Rescue.  Jaz just adores him!  (We became friends at BlogPaws last year- when we taught a class about YouTube together.)

Jaz is such a model!  She actually won this dress in a drawing from Spoiled Pup Boutique!  I know I'm a little biased, but I think she looks so cute in this pic!!

We took pics with our friends Preston (a yearly tradition).  And our new friend Leroy!  (Who we knew from online.)  Leroy is a famous trick dog too!

This pic cracks me up.  I was eating breakfast, and Jaz put her paw up on me, and gave me the saddest look.  Like she never gets fed.  Ever!!   ;)

Going to these conferences is exhausting- as all the dogs will tell you.  This is what they do while we're in class learning!

Jasmine was catching a quick cat nap before our formal evening.  Jasmine was nominated for a "Best Video" award.  They have a big formal affair. You dress up, and walk down the red carpet.  They have a fancy banquet dinner, and then an awards ceremony.  Jaz didn't win, but it was just cool to be a part of the whole process!!

Jasmine and I got to go on a doggy riverboat cruise up the Potomoc river!  It was really fun!!  Jasmine thought it was better than sticking her head out a car window!

I love how Jasmine will just pose anywhere for me!!  Some of the other tourists were so impressed that Jasmine just stood there and let me take her picture.  (and they did too!)  What can I say?  She's used to modeling.  She knows she gets treats for this- so she'll stay there forever!!

Overall, we had a REALLY good time at the BlogPaws conference.  It goes way too fast!  They keep you hopping from sun-up to sun-down.  But it's a really good experience, with great classes, and great networking opportunities!  This was our 2nd year going, and hope to go back in 2014 as well!

(Last year, we taught a class on "The Power of YouTube"... which was fun, but a lot of work.  It's much more fun to attend as just a regular participant!!)   ;)

I saw this sign while flying home from Washington DC.  TSA K-9 Teams in Use.  Well, my personal K-9 team (Team Jasmine) was in use too!  Everyone in line was staring or smiling at me.  (Or more technically- at Jasmine!)  I'm used to it!   Jaz gets smiles wherever she goes.  That's just how she rolls.  ;)



#BarkWorld, ready or not, here we come!

I can't believe it's only one more day until we leave for BarkWorld!!!  (This is a little teaser video I made of our trip last year!)

I was so thrilled when I found out Natural Balance and Petco were sponsoring Jasmine's trip out to Atlanta for BarkWorld 2012!!   

We attended last year, and had a blast!!   Last year, we gave a presentation on "How To Make Your Dog A YouTube Rockstar" along with our best friends Lauren and Paige.  Sadly, our partners-in-crime can't be there this year because of work obligations.   But NEXT year 2013- we'll have our reunion!!  :)

 This year, we get to just enjoy the conference!!  (I'm sure I'll remember so much more when I'm not worried about giving a presentation!)  LOL  

This year, I'm going to try to keep updating my blog/Facebook/Twitter a little better than last year.  (I kind of know what to expect this year!)  

If you want to stay in touch, here's our info!

My Favorite Pup Jasmine  :)

    Blog: http://www.myfavoritepup.blogspot.com/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyFavoritePupJasmine

    Twitter:  http://twitter.com/MyFavPupJasmine

    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/myfavoritepupjasmine

I can't wait!!

Dog Training Tips- Clicker Train using healthy dog treats

Now that Jasmine is getting more well-known nationally, I get a lot of email messages asking about how I train Jasmine to do all these tricks.



I will tell you it's a process, and it takes time.  I train Jasmine by positive reinforcement- using a method calling "Clicker Training".

You can google it to get all the details.  But the basics of it is... rewarding your dog for a job well done.

First, you have to find what the motivation is for your dog.  Is it Toys?  Treats?  Praise?    Some dogs are super motivated by a special tennis ball, some want their reward to be a game of tug-of-war.   Jasmine happens to be REALLY food motivated.  She could care less about a tennis ball or a rope toy. She wants treats, and she wants the good stuff!

(That's my other secret.  Use something special for training.  Something different that is a high-value treat.)  Rewarding with pieces of kibble from her dog dish just doesn't cut it.

It's important to use soft treats.  (preferably healthy dog treats) that you can toss to your dog.  (If your dog is treat motivated, make sure you use really small pieces.)    I use another method called "Jackpot"- which means I vary the # of treats I give Jaz as a reward.  And if she does the trick exactly like I wanted, I give her a jackpot of treats, and quit for the night.  My secret is... you always leave them wanting more.  And you always end on a good note.  (So they learn to enjoy trick training.)  If we're learning a new trick that's difficult, I'll end the training session with an easier one, so Jasmine ends the session with success.  

“With dogs, it’s all about finding their favorite currency. It may be a special treat or a special toy. Find what your dog’s favorite currency is and use that when training them new tricks.” - Zak George

Once you know what motivates your dog, there are 3 ways to train a trick:
There are 3 methods of trick-training.

1) Luring- using a treat to get your dog to follow where you lead.  (This is how I taught Jaz to "Say Your Prayers")  I lured her to put her paws up on the couch.  Then I clicked to reinforce that was the correct behavior I was looking for.  Once she got that down pretty well, I used food to lure her into ducking her head.  And then clicked to reinforce that behavior.   Over time, they learn to do it without the food lure.
2) Shaping- allows you to break complicated behaviors into smaller, easier ones.  This is how I taught Jaz to "Hide in the Suitcase".  First I put a treat in the suitcase with the lid open (so she would jump in and get it out.  (That was a lure)  Then I asked her to lie down in the suitcase.  Once she had that down pretty well, I put the treat in and closed the lid of the suitcase.  So she had to use her nose to flip it open to get to the treat.  Then she knew to jump in, and lie down.  (When I asked her to.)   (This is also called back-chaining.)  You start with the last behavior, and then teach the one before it... until they can do it all together.
3) Capturing- this is the hardest one, but you can get some great behaviors that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to teach.  People ask me, "How did you teach Jasmine how to sneeze?"   I didn't.  I "captured" her doing that behavior naturally.  This one takes time.  You have to click and treat every time your dog randomly does the behavior you're looking for.  (Like sneeze.)  At first, they just look at you, wondering why they got the treat.  But over time, they begin to connect the dots.  (I think it literally took us 6 months to get the "sneeze" trick on command.)  Jasmine just had to figure out what I was rewarding her for!

Once you know how to train a trick, then you work on the 3 D's of Trick Training.
1) Distance  (Building up the amount of space between you and the dog)
2) Distraction (asking for the behavior amid distractions of other dogs, sounds, smells, places, etc.)
3) Duration (building up how long the dog holds the trick)  -and remember it's ALWAYS important to have a release word.  (So your dog knows when it's over.)  

Like I mentioned, it's so very important to always keep it positive.  Tricks are just for fun.  And you learn together.  I focus on Jasmine's strengths and what she has to offer.  Sometimes I'll start training with a trick in mind, but Jasmine won't do it.  But she'll do something else instead.  Good enough for me!  I follow her lead, and add that trick to our resume!    

People ask me what's the hardest trick I've ever had to teach Jasmine.  And believe it or not, the answer is Fetch.  Jasmine generally doesn't like things in her mouth.  (Which is great- because she doesn't chew up my shoes.)  But it makes training difficult when so many tricks involve holding things in her mouth or pulling on things.  So for the first 5 years of Jasmine's life, she just mainly did tricks that involved her paws.  But every now and then, I'd ask her to hold something in her mouth, and gradually she learned that was okay!  (But it still can't be fuzzy or heavy- or she spits it out.)  So I just work with what Jasmine likes to do!

And she LOVES trick training.  She'll bug me at night, if she hasn't had any mental stimulation during the day.  She'll lead me over to the treat counter, and start sneezing.  (her new way to "beg")  Because sneezing always got her a treat!

My last secret is to keep training sessions short.  (Maybe 10-15 minutes a day, if that.)  And that's it.

People ask me if it's just Jasmine that's really smart, or if any dog can learn tricks.  The answer is - any dog, any breed, any age can learn tricks.  You just have to be willing to invest the time and patience with the dog.  And keep in mind, Jasmine and I have been practicing tricks for 6 years now.  So if you want a dog like Jasmine, you just have to be willing to invest the time, the love, and bring a few good treats.  ;)

Those are my best dog training tips.  So now when people email me, I'm just going to forward them this blogpost!!   

Jaz's #UTAH TV appearance

Jaz was on TV today up in Utah!  They showed her new trick video at the very end of the show "Good Things Utah".  (which aired on ABC- channel 4).  This one shows Jasmine new trick- doing the laundry!

Here's the video of when she was on the show!

http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/gtu/featured_on/story/Canine-Personal-Assistant/ww1hKDd120ez5dg3ZHuN1A.cspx

I wish they would have shown more of the audience's reaction.  I love watching people's faces when they see Jasmine do her tricks for the first time!

Doing the Laundry 

Fetching the Remote Control 

Ringing the Bell