Training Tip Tuesday: Challenge #1 — Around the Cone!

Over the last few weeks, we've been talking about different ways to teach our dogs new behaviours, including luring, shaping and clicker training.

Now it's time to put some of that knowledge into practice!

We're launching our Shine Training Challenges, where we'll be sharing fun, achievable exercises you can teach your dog at home.

You don't need to be an experienced dog trainer, and your dog doesn't need to know lots of tricks already. These challenges are about having fun together, learning something new and giving your dog something to think about.

Challenge #1: Around the Cone

Our first challenge is to teach your dog to go around a cone (or another suitable object) and come back towards you.

It might sound like a simple trick, but it's actually a really useful skill to teach!

Once your dog understands the concept, you can start asking them to go around trees, posts and other objects when you're out walking. It's a fun way to add a little extra training and mental stimulation to your everyday adventures.

And for those who want to take it further, you can eventually teach your dog to run around objects from a distance.

What you'll need

• A cone, bucket, large flowerpot or another safe, stable object.

• Some small, tasty treats.

• A clicker if you have one, or you can use a verbal marker such as "yes".

• A dog who's keen to have a go!

Start somewhere with minimal distractions so your dog can concentrate.

Watch the Training in Action!

Here's a video from our Shine Canine Foundation Agility Training community showing how to teach your dog to go around an object.

This is one of the foundation skills we teach for agility, but you certainly don't need to be planning on competing in agility to have fun with it!

Our online Foundation Agility Training community covers exercises that help develop your dog's confidence, focus, body awareness and understanding of different training skills — all things that are useful beyond the agility course.

If you're interested in learning more about foundation agility training, you can check out our online training community here.

Step 1: Lure your dog around the cone

We're going to use luring, which we covered in an earlier Training Tip Tuesday blog post. 

 Note: in the video above I am not using luring the same as I would if I were doing it like the below.  I have taught Azmin that "go" means to go forward, when she goes forward she then is lured around with the toy.  But you can use food to lure them around.

Start with your dog beside you and the cone a short distance in front.

Hold a treat close to your dog's nose and slowly guide them towards the cone, around the back and out the other side.

As they complete the movement, click (or say "yes") and reward with the treat.

Repeat a few times, keeping things easy and enjoyable.

Tip: Keep your hand low enough that your dog can comfortably follow it, and don't rush. We want them to understand the movement, not just scramble after the food.

Step 2: Fade the food lure

Once your dog is happily following the treat around the cone, it's time to start removing the food from your guiding hand.

Try making the same hand movement with an empty hand, then click and reward from your other hand when your dog goes around.

Gradually make your hand signal smaller.

The goal is for your dog to understand the behaviour without needing to follow food around the cone every time.

Be sure to work with the dog on both sides of you.  If they are on your left, they should go around the obstacle from the left and vice versa.

Step 3: Add a verbal cue

Once your dog is consistently going around the cone when you give your hand signal, you can introduce a verbal cue.

You might choose "around", "wrap", "go round" or something completely different.

Say your chosen cue just before giving your hand signal.

With practice, your dog will begin to associate the word with the behaviour, and you can gradually reduce the hand signal.

Step 4: Build some distance

Now for the fun part!

Once your dog understands how to go around the cone, try standing a little further away.

Start with just a small increase in distance and gradually build from there.

Don't rush this step. If your dog becomes confused, move closer again and make it easier.

Eventually, you may be able to send your dog around the cone without having to walk towards it yourself.

Use the arm and the leg on the dogs side when you send them around the cone (ie if dog is on your right use your right arm and leg to extend your body forward to send them around the right hand side of the obstacle).

Take it into the real world!

Once your dog understands the exercise, you can start practising sending them around different objects.

Try a tree when you're out walking, a post in the garden or another safe object at the park.

This is where a simple training exercise becomes a really fun activity you can incorporate into everyday life.

Just remember that dogs don't automatically understand that going around a cone means they should also go around a tree. You may need to make things easier and help them when introducing a new object.

A few things to remember

Keep training sessions short. A few successful repetitions are better than continuing until your dog loses interest.

Reward the little wins. If your dog is struggling with the full movement, you can reward smaller steps towards going around the cone.

Don't add your verbal cue too early. Wait until your dog understands the movement.

Make it easier when needed. If your dog is confused, go back a step rather than repeating the cue.

And most importantly, have fun! Training should be something both you and your dog enjoy.

Join the Shine Training Challenge!

We'd love you to get involved!

🐾 Beginner challenge: Teach your dog to go around a cone or similar object using a lure.

🌟 Advanced challenge: Teach your dog to go around an object from a distance, without following them and then to go around multiple objects, one after the other.

Head over to our Facebook or Instagram page and introduce your training partner by sharing a photo of your dog.

Then, as you start practising, we'd love to see your progress videos too!

You can share them in the comments or tag us on Instagram using #ShineDogTrainingChallenge.

Don't worry if your dog hasn't mastered the exercise. We want to see the learning process, including the funny moments and little breakthroughs along the way.

And if you'd like to give clicker training a go, our clickers are now available at Shine Pets.

Happy training!

Tarah
Shine Canine & Shine Pets 🐾