The Best Dog Training Trick You Can Teach Your Dog Right Now!

Sit. Couché. Sit. Down. Assi. Couché. Yes. Break. So as you can see, teaching a dog multiple languages is amazing. It blows people's minds. But what you might be shocked to know is that it's incredibly easy to do and definitely something that you'll be able to achieve in just one day. And in this video, I'm going to show you exactly how you can do that. Now, to understand how you can do this yourself at home, we first have to talk about a little bit of theory. And the theory is called classical conditioning. Now, don't worry. Don't click away. It's actually really easy. And if you've ever heard of Pavlov and his dogs, you'll know all about classical conditioning. He rings a bell, gives the dog some food, rings a bell, gives the dog some food. He does that over and over again. And eventually when he rings the bell and there's no food, the dog's still drooling because they have paired ringing the bell with food. Good girl. Sit. Good girl. So one of the first things that we can do is use this principle of classical conditioning to teach a hand signal to the behavior. Now, the only thing that you have to know is just like Pavlov's dog, the bell comes first. So if we want to add a hand signal and then eventually a new language, that has to come first. It has to come before what the dog already knows. Now, we're going to use sit because most people's dogs already know sit. So let's go from a down to a sit and I'll show you exactly what that looks like. Sit. Good. And then we reward. Riley, couche. Let's go through that process again. Good. And with smart dogs like Labradors, it really can be that simple, that quick to classically condition one thing to something they already know. Couche. Sit. Good. And we repeat this. Your dog might need a little bit longer. Down. Sit. Hand signal comes first, then the thing that they already know. And then, if this has worked as quickly as it can do, down. We have now created another command, a hand signal for the desired behavior. Now comes the fun part. This is where we're going to add another language to the command of sit. Now, it can be another language for the same word, but it doesn't really matter. You can use any word whatsoever. Today, let's classically condition a new word. So, she'll have three words for sit, and let's go something completely silly, and we're going to go with pickles. Let's put pickles and classically condition it to sit, so that then we can say, pickles, and she sits. Let's have a little bit of fun. So, let's do the new word, then the hand signal, and by doing this, we're classically conditioning the two things together. Pickles. Yes. And now it's simply about putting the reps in, and it'll be really fun for you to join us live to see exactly how long this one will take. Down. Down. Good. Pickles. You're hilarious, Riley. Literally first time. Amazing. So, now let's put that into practice, then, shall we? Couché. Good. Pickles. Pickles. Good girl. Down. Good. Sit. Good. Couché. Good. Assi. Good. Couché. Good. Pickles. Good girl. Good girl. Oh, yes. What a clever girl. And just like that, guys, we've been able to teach a new language, a new word, to something that she already knows, using the principles of classical conditioning, and it really is that easy. And it's exactly something that I want to see you guys doing as well, because it will blow people's minds when you can say that your dog is multilingual. So, I'm going to give you a challenge. I want to see you guys teaching a new word to the behavior of sit, and I want you to tag me in a story over on Instagram, and I will share them all. Get as creative as you want. If you want to go for the French word, go for assi. If you want to have a bit of fun and go for pickles, use pickles. If you want to go really creative and use a funny word, a different word, a word that you want to use, go for it. But make sure that you tag me at I am Will Atherton over on a story. I'll re-share them, and let's have some fun. Let's remember that working with our dogs should be fun. Communicating with our dogs should be fun. Building relationship with our dogs should be fun. So, guys, get after it. I can't wait to see your stories. There will be all the links you need down in the description box below. Thank you for watching. Subscribe if you're new here, because I can't wait to see you on the next episode here at Will Atherton Canine Training.