Does Your Dog Offer Behaviours?

[Ozfozz]

Elaboration:
When you are doing a training session, if you don't reward quick enough or have a break in commands will your dog offer other behaviours without being asked?

If so are there any go-tos that they usually do?


Oz is super bad for the "okay that didn't work, let me do this. No? Okay this. Still no?" Usually spinning.

Ruby will alternate between sit and down.

Whereas Cobain and Rigby will both death stare me until I say something else. Cobain will eventually start nosing me or hitting me and whining, but no offer of conditioned "trick" behaviour

 

[StillandSilent]

Gimmick does not offer behaviors because he's terrified of offering the wrong one. We're working on it.

Gambit will offer one or two, but he's generally not interested enough in training to bother.

Glitch flings himself around like a convulsing octopus, but I think that's just puppy excitement.

Felony, on the other hand, with offer a paw, then sit up on her bottom, then mew and try and swat me.

 

[Laurelin]

If you don't get out a cue fast enough Hank will do a rebound. That is his go to. If I'm on the ground sometimes he still rebounds but lately he's been into offering back feet targets. I was trying to shape going around a cone and he wanted to back up on it.

Mia just bounces and barks at you.

Summer offers paw over her nose when she's confused. It's adorable.

 

[Muttkip]

Outlaw's go to is "Pretty", if that doesn't work you see his 80 pound butt fling his back end up on something and offer a handstand. It hurts......

 

[teacuptiger]

Yup. "Oh, just sitting didn't work? OKAY LET'S SIT PRETTY AND BARK AND WAVE AND BARK"

Usually I say, "Chill, homes! Just sit for me please and DON'T wave or sit pretty or bark! Only sit!" and then she will understand that I merely want a basic sit without the circus, lol.

Yeah, I'm trying to re-train Roxie to just sit before popping into a pretty without the command. I'm also trying to get her to sit pretty without barking, lol, and somewhere along the lines I've messed her up.

 

[Samsonyte!]

Sam and Wilson both offer behaviors when they're confused or they are convinced they know what I'm going to ask them to do next.

Sam's go to is wave or be people where he stands up and walks on his hind legs. Wilson's is sit pretty. He's also convinced that if I ask him to sit I will FOR SURE ask him to down next so he goes into a down right away. Should work on fixing that.

 

[BostonBanker]

Meg has just started offering behaviors in the last few years; her inclination would be to freeze up as opposed to risking being wrong, but she's gotten more comfortable. She tends to alternate between offering sit/back up in a sit, or waving her front feet.

Gusto is the champion of offering behaviors, except in certain situations where he is stressing. If we are trick-training at home, his defaults right now are barking (oh, that is fun) and laying down and covering his nose with his paw; if there is an object in the area, hind foot targeting onto it. If we are out and about and training, it generally switches to 'set up' (backing into a sit at my side) and continuing to swing around my body backwards.

 

[Cali Mae]

Cali alternates between "spin" and "twirl" so basically she just will spin around in both directions. Although lately she'll automatically go into "beg" (or sit pretty) whenever she's asked for a sit and I take a second too long to reward her.

 

[amberdyan]

Hugo will offer behaviors when he thinks we're about to start a training session. Usually it's whatever I've been the most excited about teaching him last. For awhile it was sit pretty, then it was enthusiastically slamming the pantry door while I was inside getting the clicker and treats. Unfortunately right now it's jumping into my arms so I occasionally have a 40lb dog fling himself on my chest with a lot of glee and a little warning.

 

[sassafras]

Pip's is a paw slap or nose touch on any nearby object.

Maisy is so shy about offering behaviors. She usually just sits and stares at me, wagging her tail.

Squash usually offers hopping front legs up on a perch, or lies down.

Toast doesn't really have a default. If he's frustrated or bored he buzzes, jumps, or clacks. Sometimes all 3 at once.

 

[Maxy24]

Yes, he does all sorts of things. It's a bit of a problem because I'm trying to proof his sit and down (we've really never worked on the three Ds at all and I'd like a good down stay). But if I ask for a sit or down and don't treat him fast enough I get all sorts of other things lol.


He tends to try sit, down (whichever he isn't supposed to be doing), lying down and slapping the floor (it was the first step in trying to teach him to cross his paws), dropping his head low, spin, bow, wave, and occasionally he'll target or retrieve random things. He offered roll over for the first time the other day which was hilarious, he hates rolling over because he's terrible at it. He basically lies on his side and then flails really hard until he ends up on his other side.

 

[straw]

Yes! I like it though.

Venice's go to's are usually the most recent ones we've learned. Right now she's trying backing up, rear foot targeting. Downs are also a favourite, and sit pretties.

 

[Slick]

Yes, he does, but he is not very strategic about it. "I don't know what you want. Do you want a spin? How about a down? Maybe a spin now? How about now?"

He went through a long phase where his default offer was a rebound. THAT was annoying, especially when I happened to be sitting down and he rebounded off of my chest or face instead

 

[pinkspore]

Brisbane will usually freeze for a while, and then yap at me. I think I give him a lot of feedback even when I think I'm not doing anything. When normal people try to give him treats he is a behavior offering machine.

Store employee holding treat: "Siiiiiiiiit."
Brisbane: Supersonic sit, millisecond pause in search of approval, down, chin on floor, silent bark, sit, paw wave, stand, spin, sit, bark...

Ru stares blankly. Sometimes he whines.

 

[CharlieDog]

Harrison gets frustrated and will default into a sit and then spin.

Indy will offer behaviors like paws up, meerkat, hug, feet on things, wave, paw on leg, back up, ect.

We need to play 101 games with a box with Harrison. With Indy, I can slice and microshape just about anything she offers into something else. Whether I keep up with it and develop it into a trick is another story.

 

[Julee]

All of my dogs adore offering behaviors. Train one dog, the others are behind me all offering whatever pops in their head, hahaha.

 

[Ozfozz]

Loving these! Especially the rebounds :rofl1:

Also I think I need pictures of Summer with her paw over her nose

 

[Stingr69]

Yes they do. It seems they are overstimulated when they do it. We discussed this in training class. I usually respond with "good down" or what ever they offered but no actual reward treat. Thus reinforces the command but does not reward the act that was not requested. If it keeps happening repeatedly, I follow up with a quick "heel" around the room for a minute in an effort to break the cycle and redirect. Seems to work.

 

[Elrohwen]

If there's an object Watson will smack it with his paw. I'm still struggling with going out around a cone because as soon as I think he gets it, he will run out and smack it instead.

If there's no object, he will usually sit and then down.

 

[amberdyan]

If there's an object Watson will smack it with his paw. I'm still struggling with going out around a cone because as soon as I think he gets it, he will run out and smack it instead.

If there's no object, he will usually sit and then down.

Haha, Hugo does this sometimes too. Especially in the time when we were really working hard on paw targeting. Anything I pointed/gestured to/looked at for longer than half a second, he would enthusiastically slap. I had way too much fun getting him to slap my SO in various situations, so that didn't help at all. It did make it easy to teach him to close doors/cabinets and turn off lights though.