Nudge Challenge Week 87 = Training
NUDGED: "Teach Coco a new trick"
BACKSTORY: We adore our 11-year-old dog, Coco. She brings so much energy and laughter to our home. She is a lab/doxie mix that we adopted almost 10 years ago, and we consider her a part of our family.
We completed a dog training class with her years ago when she was younger. She still remembers many of those commands (sit, stay, leave it, lay down, roll over, etc.) but we haven't taught her any new tricks since then. This could be challenging! Can we teach an old dog a new trick?
QUOTE: "If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them." - Author Phil Pastoret
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: We tried. We worked really hard to complete this nudge but still came up short (excuse the pun! Sorry Coco!).
Since Coco is food motivated, we first tried to teach her "fist bump" while rewarding her with treats. I wanted her to tap her paw on top of my closed fist, but she was really confused on what I was asking her to do. She thought there was a treat in my closed fist and kept looking for it.
Then we tried "paw" and "five" hoping for her to put her paw into an open hand. We placed her paw in my hand as we said the word, then gave her a treat. She didn't get it. She was more interested in the treats than the words coming out of our mouths.
At one point, she got so frustrated she just ran through all the other tricks that she knows and ended up on her back in submission (desperation). She really wanted to please us but couldn't make the connection between the word and action.
I worked with her for several days, also trying the word "shake", but she still never caught on. When I repeated a word over and over, she learned to lay down and look confused...until I took pity on her and gave her a treat.
LESSONS LEARNED: This nudge definitely did not turn out like I expected, but that's okay. Coco enjoyed the attention and treats, and she made me smile as she tried to please me.
I realized I can't ask her to do something that doesn't seem natural to her. Dogs don't shake hands, give high fives, or fist bump in the wild (I don't think so anyway!) so it was unfair of me to assume she would easily figure it out.
She also taught me that she prefers her treats with no strings attached or actions required.
NEXT UP: "Tackle a nagging task" is my new nudge for the week. I have many tasks that are constantly on my to-do list, which nag at me but I still don't want to get them done. First, I will make a list of all the unfinished tasks that bother me, then I will pick the one that will provide the most satisfaction and complete it. It's time.
Happy Father's Day! And, have a good week. Thanks for reading!
BACKSTORY: We adore our 11-year-old dog, Coco. She brings so much energy and laughter to our home. She is a lab/doxie mix that we adopted almost 10 years ago, and we consider her a part of our family.
We completed a dog training class with her years ago when she was younger. She still remembers many of those commands (sit, stay, leave it, lay down, roll over, etc.) but we haven't taught her any new tricks since then. This could be challenging! Can we teach an old dog a new trick?
QUOTE: "If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them." - Author Phil Pastoret
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: We tried. We worked really hard to complete this nudge but still came up short (excuse the pun! Sorry Coco!).
Since Coco is food motivated, we first tried to teach her "fist bump" while rewarding her with treats. I wanted her to tap her paw on top of my closed fist, but she was really confused on what I was asking her to do. She thought there was a treat in my closed fist and kept looking for it.
Then we tried "paw" and "five" hoping for her to put her paw into an open hand. We placed her paw in my hand as we said the word, then gave her a treat. She didn't get it. She was more interested in the treats than the words coming out of our mouths.
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| Coco "works" for a treat |
I worked with her for several days, also trying the word "shake", but she still never caught on. When I repeated a word over and over, she learned to lay down and look confused...until I took pity on her and gave her a treat.
LESSONS LEARNED: This nudge definitely did not turn out like I expected, but that's okay. Coco enjoyed the attention and treats, and she made me smile as she tried to please me.
I realized I can't ask her to do something that doesn't seem natural to her. Dogs don't shake hands, give high fives, or fist bump in the wild (I don't think so anyway!) so it was unfair of me to assume she would easily figure it out.
She also taught me that she prefers her treats with no strings attached or actions required.
NEXT UP: "Tackle a nagging task" is my new nudge for the week. I have many tasks that are constantly on my to-do list, which nag at me but I still don't want to get them done. First, I will make a list of all the unfinished tasks that bother me, then I will pick the one that will provide the most satisfaction and complete it. It's time.
Happy Father's Day! And, have a good week. Thanks for reading!
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