What is the most complex behavior your dog knows?

Probably the trick I taught him of getting me a tissue from the box when I sneeze.  

I taught it using a clicker and as realistic a fake sneeze as I could muster, breaking it down into several manageable steps then chaining those together.  It works, I've had a tissue put into my hand every time I've sneezed (when Ben was around) for 6 weeks.  Very handy trick LOL.   

hmm that depends on what you mean by complex. I think Neiko has 2 complex behaviors and I really don't know how he learned them. The first is mostly instinctual but I don't know how he learned the behavior to the words.

At the dog park, when Dakota would wander off in to the woods I would say "Where'd Dakota go, let's go find her" which eventually became "Where's Dakota? Go find her" and he will run off in to the woods, sniffing - find her and either get her moving out of the woods (by trying to herd) or come out of the woods, stand there at the edge and look at me then look back the way he came. If I wait him out, he'll run back in to the woods and go harass her until she comes out.

The other behavior is along the same line. I will say "Neiko go find the frisbee" He will run around frantically, sniffing for the frisbee - then find it, put his paw on it (touch) and look at me. We are working that in to him actually picking it up and bringing it to me or "get the frisbee"

Dakota's most complex trick is to unwrap herself if she gets tangled up in something while on leash. 

Well...how about the complex behaviors that I didn't train but have their own rewards?

There is a ball park we go to to run.  Xerxes normally doesn't fetch, but he likes to run and he likes to chase white things.  So whenever we go to that ball field I'll tell him to "go find the ball" and he'll search the whole field for a baseball and bring it back to me.

I can tell him to find my phone, and he'll do it.

Possibly the most complex behavior though is breaking out the frame of the cat door to get out onto the balcony.  I usually involves moving furniture and other things that I have obstructing the cat door, then performing some sleight of hand thing to remove the frame (with no bite or scratch marks) from the sliding door and then slithering out of a hole that a JRT might find to be a tight squeeze.  I think that's pretty complex. 

In the house, Shadow can retrieve the kong from whereever to the computer chair. (You get what you reinforce, whether you realize it or not.)

Any time, I can say kong and he will search high and low for it.

When he needs to go out and I am in the living room, he will look at the door, the harness and leash, and then look at me.

River was taught to go to his crate every time my son entered a room.  This started when my son was 3 and River was a 8 months old, jumping and storming the child to the ground in play every time my son would "run" into the room.  Every time my son would come into the room I would jump up and say “kennel up” and run to the crate, River would follow, go into the crate and I would treat him. Once my son was in the room I would release him.  After only a week or so, he begun to do it on his own even if he were laying down!  I started to feel bad for him because a 3 year old can exit and enter a room several times in only a few minutes so I moved the behavior to his bed.  After only a short time he learned that when the child entered the room he had to go lay down. 

It worked so well I used it when people would come to the door or company would come visit.  He was jumper at 8 months old and 98 pounds it was difficult having such a young obnoixous large dog jumping on people.  Now when the door bell rings, he barks and alerts and when I go to open the door he goes to his bed and patiently waits for me to release him. 

luvmyswissy

River was taught to go to his crate every time my son entered a room.  This started when my son was 3 and River was a 8 months old, jumping and storming the child to the ground in play every time my son would "run" into the room.  Every time my son would come into the room I would jump up and say “kennel up” and run to the crate, River would follow, go into the crate and I would treat him.  After only a week of so, he begun to do it on his own even if he were laying down!  I started to feel bad for him because a 3 year old can exit and enter a room several times in only a few minutes so I moved the behavior to his bed.  After only a short time he learned that when the child entered the room he had to go lay down. 

 

It worked so well I used it when people would come to the door or company would come visit.  He was jumper at 8 months old and 98 pounds it was difficult.  Now when the door bell rings, he barks and alerts and when I go to open the door he goes to his bed and patiently waits for me to release him. 

 

Nice job!  I know parents who would kill to have their dogs know what River knows.

 Yeah, that's awesome! I should have used that on Dakota so that she wouldn't dart out doorways when unsuspecting visitors come over. Hmmmm.....

Kobi's most complex behaviour:

Step 1: Wait until everyone has gone to bed.

Step 2: Grab all the coats and sweaters hanging up in the mudroom and place them on the floor.

Step 3: Systematically go through each pocket of each item and retrieve dog treats

Note: This can involve opening zippers, undoing buttons or chewing through fabric if all else fails   

 Emma alerts me to sounds, and "answers" my cell phone. It's just a silly retrieve I backchained with a clicker, but it's cute as can be. When the phone rings, she searches for it, and if it's in an accessible place (not on a table, basically), she gets it and brings it to me, placing it neatly in my hand (hopefully before flinging it across the floor). I absolutely love it.

She also does a mean left pivot, which involves backing up. That was much, much harder to teach, but it's far less impressive to look at, LOL.
 

Kenya doesn't really know any good tricks or anything cute (well, she touches and Easy button, but she touches anything I point to and say "touch";).  The most work we've done is using hand signals and body language to perform long and fast paced sequences of behaviors (rally and agility).  We can do the following using only hand signals: sit, wait, come, heel, close heel, down, drop, switch, right finish, left finish, tight left turn, front, up, off, touch, here, ok/release, paw, go, get back.  The next things I need to teach her are stand, walking backward, and stopping/staying in a stand (rather than a sit).

Penny alerts us when the other two dogs are trying to break out of the yard. She stands at the back door, looking at the dogs and she barks this odd little bark that she never barks at any other time. She looks back to the house, barks, back to the dogs, barks, comes closer to the house, stares at the dogs and barks. If they get beyond vague thoughts of breaking out, she stands down next to them and barks the same weird bark. If they get out, she goes off her nut and as soon as someone comes out, she runs to where they got out and shows us exactly where it was. She'll do that even if we've been out and they left hours ago. I dont know how she learnt that. She's just a tattle-tale.

Penny once trained a sit-stay with another dog.   I wish I knew how she did it, because that dog never did it nearly so well when we asked!

Penny comes to find me wherever I am in the house if someone says "Where's Melissa?". My mother taught her that with classical conditioning and a little praise. Of course, finding me is its own reward.  

spiritdogs

luvmyswissy

River was taught to go to his crate every time my son entered a room.  This started when my son was 3 and River was a 8 months old, jumping and storming the child to the ground in play every time my son would "run" into the room.  Every time my son would come into the room I would jump up and say “kennel up” and run to the crate, River would follow, go into the crate and I would treat him.  After only a week of so, he begun to do it on his own even if he were laying down!  I started to feel bad for him because a 3 year old can exit and enter a room several times in only a few minutes so I moved the behavior to his bed.  After only a short time he learned that when the child entered the room he had to go lay down. 

 

It worked so well I used it when people would come to the door or company would come visit.  He was jumper at 8 months old and 98 pounds it was difficult.  Now when the door bell rings, he barks and alerts and when I go to open the door he goes to his bed and patiently waits for me to release him. 

 

 

 

Nice job!  I know parents who would kill to have their dogs know what River knows.

 

I have to say I am pretty proud of that one and my Riv.  But the truth be told "kennel up" in and of its self is a wonderful command.  Becasue I used wonderful treats and goodies with every "kennel up" River will stop eveything to "kennel up" if asked.  So anytime I need him to stop things if I say Kennel Up he beats feet as fast as he can to the crate!  Just last night he got into the garbage AGAIN, our fault company left the pantry door open.  I heard him in it and snapped, ehh ehh - kennel up!  He stopped and went to his bed.  Sometimes bed and crate are choosen by him but of course it dosen't matter to me.

I clickered Bevo's formal retrieve by backchaining it.  His retrieve is rock solid & I'm very proud of it.  He also retreives drinks from a cooler.  He opens the cooler, gets the drink out, closes the cooler, & brings the drink to you.  I backchained this as well. 

 I am in the process of solidifying Shooter's formal retrieve.  His retrieve has been a little tougher to train, as he is not naturally a "retriever."  I've had to find alternative ways of motivating him, but we're very close to perfect.