Dog name Shiloh popularity: Is it trending now?
Okay, so yesterday I decided to try something new with my dog, Shiloh. You know, spice things up a bit, see if I could teach him a new trick or something. It all started with me thinking, "Shiloh needs more mental stimulation."
First, I did some digging online. Searched for "easy dog tricks to teach" and watched a bunch of YouTube videos. Some of them were way too complicated. I mean, Shiloh's a smart dog, but he's not exactly a circus performer, haha!
Then, I grabbed his favorite treats – those little bacon-flavored ones he goes crazy for. Got my clicker too. Read somewhere that clicker training is supposed to be super effective.
We started with something simple: "Touch." The idea was to get him to touch my hand with his nose. I held my hand out, said "Touch," and as soon as his nose even got close, I clicked and gave him a treat. He was a little confused at first, like, "What's going on?"
Here's how the training went:
- Step 1: Hand out, say "Touch."
- Step 2: Click when his nose gets close.
- Step 3: Treat!
We did this over and over. At first, he'd just sniff my hand. But after about 10 minutes, he started actually booping my hand with his nose! Big win!
Next, I tried to get him to do it from a little further away. Held my hand out a few inches further. Took a bit longer, but he eventually got it. I swear, he was so proud of himself!
The Challenges
Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Distractions were a big problem. A squirrel ran across the yard, and suddenly "Touch" was the last thing on his mind! Had to wrangle him back in.
Also, he got a little too eager sometimes. Started just shoving his nose into my hand without waiting for the command. Had to slow things down, be more clear with the instructions.
But overall, it was a pretty successful training session. We only worked for about 20 minutes, didn't want to overdo it. Shiloh was definitely tired afterwards, though. He crashed out on the couch almost immediately.
I'm gonna keep practicing "Touch" with him over the next few days. Maybe next week, we'll move on to something a little more challenging. Who knows, maybe he'll be doing backflips by Christmas! (Okay, probably not, but a girl can dream, right?)
Anyway, that's my Shiloh training update. It was fun, and I think he enjoyed it too. Plus, it's always good to spend some quality time with my furry buddy.
