Category: Background

I started training Rion to jump through a dollar store hoop because I wanted something fun to train while I was also training behaviors that weren’t so much fun, like trimming nails.  It was easy to train him to walk through the hoop near the ground but we got a little stuck when I raised it high enough so he could no longer comfortably step through.  However, a light bulb finally went off when he jumped and I was able to give him a big reward.  (I am pretty sure I got a dirty look that meant “you should have told me I could jump!” at the time.)  Rion is a champion hoop jumper now: willingly jumping as high as I am willing to hold it. I hold it higher on carpeted floors than on slick floors.

This is a fun trick to train since most healthy dogs seem to like to jump, at least for reasonable heights.  If the dog has a structural problem, you might want to check with your vet for recommendations about safe heights. If your dog won’t fit through a hoop, you could try using a bar in a doorway at first.

My friend and I took Bits and Rion to the park yesterday.  Although Bits (the heeler cross puppy) was highly suspicious of Rion (the schnauzer) the first time she met him, they figured out how to play with each other the second time they met.  Now they are apparently best buds. And Bits at 14 weeks is almost as big as Rion who is two years old.