Monday, October 02, 2006

Secrets to "BANG"!!

Since a few of you have wondered how I learned my convincing BANG trick, mum and I have decided to put together the steps in teaching "play-dead". Keep in mind that I learned this trick almost six years ago when I was just one, so the reenactment from mum and me might be a little off here and there.

Look at how excited I was about revealing my secrets to stardom.......


You will need:

  • LOTS of treats
  • area with minimal distraction
  • dog understands "down" and "stay"
  • make it fun, give lots of breaks and play time

Step 1:

  • Have the dog in a "down" position. Bring a treat close to dog's nose, slowly moving the treat over the dog's shoulder forcing him to go onto his side.
  • If you have a dominant dog (like me), you might find the dog is reluctant to get into the side position as it is a more submissive position. Should this happen, just keep luring with the treat, maybe give a few belly scratches, do whatever you can to get the dog into the side position, and give lots of treats as soon as the dog is in position. Don't even worry about the head position yet.
  • As soon as you have the dog on his side, use the treat to lure the nose close to the ground, preferably with face flat to the ground and tell the dog to "STAY" (dog should know the STAY command).
  • As soon as the dog stops moving and stays in the position, treat him, repeat "STAY", treat him.
  • If the dog is able to do 3 "Stays", then give him a release word to let him know he can get up.
  • Repeat this exercise until the dog is able to comfortably go onto his side, and stay in the "dead" position.

Sort of like this:


(keep in mind that my head went down easily because I knew what I was expecting from mum, it didn't start out this way when I was first learning)



Step 2:

  • Repeat everything from step 1, but change "STAY" to whatever command you will eventually want your dog to perform the play-dead trick from. For example: mum uses "BANG" as in sound of a gun. You don't have to use a one word command, you can use a sentence like "What happened to the kitty next door??"
  • Add in a hand signal if you want. Mum shoots me with her hand, to make it look funny
  • Repeat until the dog associates the command with the position that he's in.


Step 3:

  • Once you think the dog is associating the command with the position, try putting him in a down position and give him the play-dead command without luring.
  • Treat as soon as the dog performs.
  • Always give a release command to let the dog know the exercise is finished and he is free to move around. Mum uses "OK" with me, some people use "free" or "go play".


Step 4:

  • Put the dog in a sitting position and give the command.
  • Treat and praise if the dog performs it, if not, go back to the basics.


Sometimes, you just might not feel like dying ......... hehe



Step 5:

  • Try it with the dog in the standing position.


If you are successful, you will get this!!!



Last note: I MUST make it clear to you all that the groaning, the grumbling, and the wobbling you see in the video - well..... that's the drama queen in me!! Mum had nothing to do with it!

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19 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:36 AM

    drama queen!!! i wonder how long it take for you to add that sound effect. nevertheless i'll teach mom the trick!

    btw, (not to be rude) i think there isn't your size (for the T in bangkok)... i believe the biggest size should be for the medium size schnauzer. but never mind, a big girl like you can protect mom unlike the small small me!

    licky wet wet licks

    boo

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  2. Jay4:18 AM

    Wow Sunshade! You are ONE BIG DRAMA QUEEN!!! :)

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  3. Boo Boo4:22 AM

    I love the sound effect in the last video .... you are a real drama queen .... hahahaha

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  4. Anonymous5:31 AM

    i used 2 teach tat too....but until now pacco still not pro yet..
    cannot die by long distance shot...i need to really shot at her head, then onli she'll collapsed...

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  5. Isabella9:00 AM

    SunShade, you are such a terrific actress! Absolutely amazing!
    Big Wags,
    Isabella

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  6. Tigersan9:09 AM

    Me am no where near that level of excellence! Me love how that extra shot was fired to finish the job ;)

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  7. Wired for Mackie10:18 AM

    Now that is talent beautiful Ms. Sunshade!What a girl!

    Your most admiring boy,

    Mackie

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  8. jaffeboy10:37 AM

    Good job Sunshade. My MaMa have to point the "gun" at my neck before I go down. I guess its not good enough. I'm gonna have to practise hard.

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  9. Anonymous11:44 AM

    I can do down and rollover, does that count?

    Bussie Kissies
    Buster

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  10. Unknown12:26 PM

    Hey Sunshade,
    A girl just like me Butchy! I love to make all kinds of weird noises when I play and wrestle, hehehe! I think it adds much more flair to the act right?? Snickers can do lay and rollover, but Mama will have to teach her the dead part, woof woof!
    BTW, yes, your custom wet suit will count for the donation to the Daisy Fund! Thanks!!!
    Wirey Hugs!
    Butchy & Snickers

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  11. Deb12:44 PM

    WOW! Sunshade you are quite the impressive actress! That's not being a drama queen that's making it believable that's all! Momma said it wouldn't be worth it for me to learn BANG, because with my short little legs it's hard to tell when I'm standing and when I'm not, hee, hee! Keep up the great work!

    Your pal,
    Roo

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  12. Liberty Doo Dah5:05 PM

    I love you Sunshade! I hope that when I grow up, I'm just like you! Mum says that it's not possible cause I'm my own Airegirl! But I'm REALLY impressed!
    Licks and Loves!
    Liberty, The Envious

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  13. Chelsea6:33 PM

    Please don't show my Mama this trick.

    I have to work hard enough as it is for a treat these days.

    xoxoxoxox
    Chelsea

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  14. Fu Fu6:40 PM

    Hey Sunshade, you're so clever. I dont think I can ever master this trick.
    And the groaning at the end of the video is so professional of you. It's like value added to the Bang.
    Hee..

    ~ fufu

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  15. T-man Angel8:34 PM

    Sunshade - Your acting classes must have paid off cause you look like you've really been shot!! My mom doesn't think I can learn this trick since I don't do anything she says, but she wants to try anyway since she thinks I need to be "trained", whatever that means!
    T-man

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  16. Freda10:26 PM

    Hey Sunshade and Your Reeeeally Smart Mum,

    Congrats on bein' this month's Awesome Dog Blog at DWB. I can see why.

    The BANG and SQUISHY SQUASHY movin' pictures are wonderful. You mum must be a movin' picture director or somethin'.

    I can play dead but haven't tried it with a bang. And the squash looks scaaawie alive or dead!

    One two one two (One) thing I do know, if I ever visit, I will certainly mind my Ps and Qs. Don't want to make your mum mad!

    Congrats, again.

    Appreciate the '1,2,1,2' tag in your Dog Blog list. Very cooools!

    Woof!

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  17. Sunshade1:38 AM

    Booboo: oh you are funny you know that, you're gonna go teach your Mi this?? Remember to put up a video of your Mi playing dead ok?? I really can't remember when I started to add in the sound effects hehe!

    Jay: a drama queen I am!!

    Bond: hehe...I'm glad you like my sound effects LOL.

    Pacco: mum doesn't do "long distance" shot either, she just stand next to me and shoots me.

    Isabella: thanks you, I'm so glad you like my acting!!

    Tigersan: HAHA...yeah sometimes it takes two shots to kill me completely..hehe!

    Dearest Mackie: I'm so flattered that you think I'm talented. Are you proud of me??

    Jaffe:you must look so cute playing dead!!

    Hey Buster: anything you do counts buddy!!

    Butchy & Snickers: I must agree with you Butchy, all the sounds we make add much more flair to the act. I take it you "talk" a lot too?? I am very opinionated, so I make sure my voice is heard!!

    Roo:Thanks for the compliments! I think you would look hilarious playing dead with your short legs...hehe!

    Liberty:hey you lil' sis, I'm sure you will grow up to be another impressive Aire-girl yourself. That's a given when you are born an Airedale!! No matter what you do, your mama will be proud of you. That's another given when you're mom to an Airedale!!

    Chelsea:maybe this trick will win you LOTS more yummy treats?? Actually, I don't believe your mom makes you do anything for treats, you are her princess!!

    Fufu: I wouldn't be surprised if you learned to play dead, you are, a hamsterier afterall!!

    T-man:GO T-man, GO T-man! I know you can do it!!! You would look so cute doing it too, and I'm sure Chelsea would sneak right over to see you!!

    Zach: I'm flattered to have such a handsome fella as my # 1 fan!!

    Freda: hehe...don't worry, I'll protect you from my mum, but you'll have to protect me from the scaaawie squash ok (in it's alive form, I can handle the dead form)!!

    MUAH!

    Love nibbles,
    Miss Sunshade

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  18. Anonymous3:45 AM

    really? but for pacco, d gun really need 2 touch her head...heheh...

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  19. Anonymous5:34 PM

    Holy cow! I can do BANG as well! Daddy taught me a while ago with the same word and action!!! I have been trying to get Daddy to put some of my training and trick videos up on my blog but he hasn't yet. I will keep at him...

    Love and Licks,
    Texas (and his humans).

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