Dazzle Learns to Blow Bubbles

I was inspired by Josie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tpKMhMzEmQ (who was inspired by Misha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POy-V08JACE ) to teach Dazzle to blow bubbles. Here is our training from start to finish (all done tonight - 11/12/08).

Each dip to black is when we took a break. By "break" I mean I took her away from the dish, walked her around a little, and then came back. Just one to two minutes. I have found that doing that makes our sessions a lot more productive!

At the start of the training I did a lot of quick rewarding. That's because if I didn't catch just the nose dip quickly, she would start sticking her paws in the bowl. Using her paws is a behavior she tends to get stuck on a lot - thus the rapid clicking in the beginning!

At one point I saw that she got "stuck" and wouldn't put her head any lower in the dish (beginning of the third session I think) - in case it's hard to see, what I did was toss a cookie in the dish so she dunked her head in to eat it. I clicked when she ate the cookie and after that she understood to dunk her nose.

Also, when she first blew some bubbles I jackpotted her and then only rewarded when she blew, not just when she dunked her head.

Enjoy! :)

*Note - I took Emily's advice and did not teach this on carpet...HOWEVER, the problems are almost as bad on hard floors. The water just gets everywhere when there is nothing to soak it up, and I mean everywhere! Ug, what a mess! So - maybe try teaching this outside in the grass?

*oh yeah, and please ignore the random music in the background - it's just what was playing on the stereo!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• dog
• border
• collie
• clicker
• training
• trick
• bubbles
• dazzle
• water
• teach
• canine

[SilverBellPros]

Omg i love your border collie!!

I am trying my best for my grandma to buy me one since i saw a litter recently and i fell in love with the breed. I hope if i do get one, i will be as great as you in ttraining. ;)

Congratulations! And merry christmas!!

Also little question... did you start teaching her since she was a puppy?

[KatsDogs]

@SilverBellPros Thanks! And yes, I started training her when I got her at 8 weeks of age.

[Ella4Blu]

we are stuck on the stage where there is a little water in the bowl and he will only lick it. I then increase water in bowl after the interaction is solid but he will still on lick it or keep his nose just above it. When Dazzle gets the idea, you drop the treat in the bowl for re-inforcement and when she goes in to get it it kinda clicks with her. When I drop the treat in for Dermott he tries to get it by licking it or ignoring it. :P Help? xxx

[KatsDogs]

@Ella4Blu Hmmm, here are a couple things you could try:

Firstly, with no water does he press his nose to the bottom and hold it there? If so, try adding literally a drop of water at a time and work on maintaining that nose-touch. With Dazzle, I was able to pour more water in and work from there, but Dermott might need smaller, more progressive steps to keep from licking. With small increases in water, he may have an easier time understanding that you want his nose in the bottom of the bowl.

[KatsDogs]

@Ella4Blu

Second, what if you put a lot more water in (fill the bowl) & then drop the treat in (so the treat is out of his tongue's reach)? Perhaps for a very high-value treat (e.g. hot dogs) he would dip his nose slightly & you could reward for that & then progress from there.

You said he starts to ignore it, so this might not work for him. If he stops working with you & trying to get the treat, go back & make it simpler for him & keep his motivation up, then maybe progress differently.

[HenrietteElskerNutte]

border collie are the best dogz <3 xx

[iLuukV18]

can yu record with it ?

[Nubz55555]

So cute! My Border Collie (Maya) does the same thing! I will use your video to train Maya to blow bubbles! <3 Border Collies SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much!

[regnierx12]

Its amazing how high the capacity is for learning in border collies. And the best part is how much they enjoy it!

[valkyrie9002]

@wetriddim

yea fuck you

[LupieStardust]

Dazzle is such a good dog! She's absolutely wonderful. She's better trained than me!

[chutchybo]

wow 

[TheViralVideoRater]

My puppy (australian sheherd) did this ever since we got her, not with commands, she just blew bubbles... :)

[JESSxJAMES]

I love how you've got a video of Dazzle learning the trick. It's amazing to see how quick she processes and thinks about what you want her to do!

[abclukeyb123]

is there anything your dog cant do!?!?!

[silvike]

Wow, you can see her think and progress by the seconds, amazing! And you're doing great with the clicker, which is a must for it all to work, I love the idea of throwing the treat into the water and rewarding her for dunking her snout! What a team! =)