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Teaching your dog to jump through a hoop is one of those tricks that's not
only fun to teach and show off, but it's also a great trick to make sure
that you improve your dog's physical abilities. That is, it's a trick
that, in addition to taking him on regular walks on a daily basis, is an
important part of your dog's overall health and well-being.
So the way we're going to teach this is, we're going to get ourselves a
hula hoop. Ideally, you're looking for a hoop that doesn't have a bead in
it because you don't want it to make noise and potentially scare your dog.
You're going to start by having the hoop on the ground, regardless of your
dog's size, and regardless of your dog's physical ability. Even if your
dog is really athletic and jumps really high, you still want to start on
the ground to make sure you set them up for success.
What you're going to do is you're going to put it against a wall, and
you're going to have yourself on the other side, so your dog doesn't have a
lot of options in regards to where to go. All you're going to do is simply
have your dog go back and forth through the hoop by taking a little piece
of food and tossing it through. When they come back toward you, you're
going to show them the food in your hand, and you're going to toss it this
way. Be prepared that some dogs may be a little reluctant to go through
the hoop. Even though this doesn't look like a scary thing to us, to some
dogs it might be scary.
Also remember that some dogs, even though this is just a little tiny lift
off of the ground, might not be really coordinated or aware of their feet,
and you don't want your dog to potentially catch their foot on the lip part
of the hoop because that could scare them. So make sure you toss that
treat a good little distance away so they don't stop in the middle and
potentially scare themselves. You want a little bit of a hop through, sort
of like that. That wasn't too much of a hop through, but that's fine.
The next step is to take the hoop and raise it just a little tiny bit off
of the ground, so maybe an inch or two. What you're going to do over the
course of three to five minute training sessions, a number of times a day,
throughout a week or so, is you're going to gradually raise that hoop just
a little bit higher and higher. Again, regardless of your dog's physical
ability, don't rush it. This isn't about trying to get your dog to jump
through a hoop that's raised way off the ground, although that could be an
ultimate goal if your dog is physically fit and enjoys that trick, and you
do it on a safe surface.
This is really about having your dog really enjoy and feel comfortable and
trusting when they do this trick. So lots of repetition, raising it just a
little higher and higher, until eventually you're going to take the hoop
away from the wall, and you're going to have your dog jump through it
without having one side blocked.
The next step, after repeating this a number of times, is that you are
going to see if you can get your dog, when completely away from the wall
and without you blocking the hoop either, to see if you can get your dog to
jump through it freely. Jump. Yes. Good girl! I gave her a little jackpot
there, that is, I gave her three or four tiny, tiny little treats, because
I wanted to let her know that she completed the full behavior, and that I
really love that she did it. Nora, you ready? Jump. Good girl! Make sure,
also, that you keep these sessions short because you want to make sure
you're not pushing your dog physically too much or mentally too much.
Jump. Good girl! That's it. Easy-peasy!
That is how you teach your dog to jump through a hoop.