‘Rising up’ trick both functional and fun

DEAR OLD TRAINER: You haven’t featured any dog tricks lately. We have a 9-month-old Lab/border collie mix named Doc who is really smart. He learned the basics in just a few days and seems to want to learn something every minute of the day. How about a new trick we can work on?

A: Thanks for the reminder, Marla. I do like to feature tricks on a regular basis because dogs love them and they promote overall discipline. Here’s an easy way to teach Doc a basic move that will lead to a dozen variations, including how to close a door.

Choose a bench, porch railing, or any elevated surface where Doc can place his front paws while rearing up on his back legs. Pat the surface with your hand and say “paws up, Doc.”

When he rears up and puts his paws on the surface, praise him and pet him. Do it several times, then give him a rest, but come back and repeat it throughout the day. Over the next few days, have Doc do it on any available surface he can reach.

Once he has it down, leave a car door open a few inches, pat it with your hand at the point where it is safe for him to place his paws, and change the command to “paws up, close the door.” As soon as he touches it the door will close. Love on him and tell him what a smart boy he is.

Work on it every day, but make sure he touches the door in the right spot. You don’t want him to get his paw caught. Your friends will love it when you drive up to the dog park and leave your door open, then after you go a few steps say, “Doc, you forgot to close the door.” He’ll race back and close it.

As Doc becomes more proficient all you will have to do is point at where you want him to place his paws.

Every dog should learn the basic move of the trick. That way he can rear up on a tree while you put the leash on or adjust his collar or when you want to love on him. You eliminate all bending over by teaching him to come up to your level.

I taught it to Joker, my youngest border collie, originally so he could appear to be playing piano for a TV commercial. Once his paws are on the surface, I move my hand to the right and say, “play piano.” He moves down the surface to follow my hand, shifting his paws as he goes. Then I move my hand left and he does the same thing the other direction.

He loved it so much we still do it every day. He puts everything he has into it, moving left and right, pounding the keyboard, bobbing his head and wagging his tail, playing rock ’n’ roll like a canine Jerry Lee Lewis.

It looks hard, but playing the piano or closing a door or rearing up on a tree to love on you are all the same trick to your dog. And, like all tricks, it’s easy to teach once you figure out how to let the dog know what you want.

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 11:07 AM with the headline "‘Rising up’ trick both functional and fun."