This week my new thing was small and fun: I taught Indigo how to wave. 

This is the clicker - I recently started using clicker training. The idea is that the dog will hear a click at the exact moment they are doing the thing you want them to, and they know that the 'click' means that something good (in the shape of a yummy treat) will be coming soon. It's basic operant conditioning, but also incredibly effective and very positive and fun.

(Seriously - it took me two five-minute sessions, and she was smiling the whole time)

She already knows how to shake hands, so I asked her to shake, but kept my hand out of her reach...

... and clicked when her paw was in mid-air.

(And of course, every click is followed by a treat ... that's how she knows it's a most excellent sound, that she will try to get me to make)

Repeat repeat repeat (click treat, click treat, click treat)

Mistakes aren't a big deal - if she doesn't do what I want her to, I just don't click/treat. Then she tries again, or tries something new. It also means that training time is only fun and positive.

Big smiles and waves

I blog about my new-thing-every-week here, and you can see week one's new thing here.