Ok... Selkie is all too old for this malarky, but I'll try to get a video of her giving paw and waving as she can already do these...

Pharaoh I'll go for the wave, but his head may explode.

Kismet knows paw and other paw, so we'll try for paw on an object or wave... We already have 'touch' for touch with your nose, so I'll try pat as the command I think... Well here we go... wish me luck

Tango says giving a paw is a silly thing to do and do I not know that she used to work for a living and is now in retirement.
I shall try again later.
Cosmo says 'wot eva' cos he's like that!

Right...progress update.
I have had one session with Cosmo, where I reminded him of the 'paw' command (not that I needed to) and progressed rapidly onto asking him for the other paw, which we haven't done before ('touch' command)...no probs. Will have nailed it by the end of the day, (he is young, bright and has been clicker trained from the day he came home and LOVES it!)

Tango has now had two sessions.
Hmmm.
I had already 'loaded' a clicker with her...so we went over that and sit...no probs.

I then tried the food in hand, slightly to the side of her (as in the Mary Ray book)...she licked my hand...then she licked my arm, then she licked my hand,then she wagged her tail...then she gave me this look.

This is her 'aren't I lovely why don't you tickle me look'...she made NO attempt to paw my hand, no matter where I put it.
SOOOOOOO
I quickly realised that method is a non starter and tried the good old lift the paw and click...

She isn't even thinking about lifting her paw for me...it is as rigid as a rigid thing and she gives me this look...








Now.....
my problem is I am thinking more and more that she may have worn an ecollar in the past. I am also very aware that she does not want to think for herself at all...ever. Clicker training of course is the complete opposite of what she is used to. She does not want to think (and of course may have been discouraged from doing so in the past...)

Soooooooo..........any ideas????? Shall I just persevere with lifting her paw and hope she cottons on?
All suggestions gratefully recieved

Shamus cottoned on as we sat waiting for a train...after a while with no success I ended up gently lifting his leg as he worried at my hand for the sausage. Then I just touched his leg, and he lifted it and I opened my other hand so he got the sausage. Then there was no stopping him!

she reminds me of my two I don't know that thinking for herself will have been frightened out of her, just that she hasn't been encouraged.

I thought I'd never get anywhere with Stumpy but I have managed to do some things with her, though it does take much longer. I used the lifting of her paw and she did eventually get it (but I lifted it with one hand and put it in my other hand - only using the word 'paw' once her paw had touched the other hand - this was to try and prevent her from thinking that the 'trick' was to allow me to lift her paw!)

Awww well done to Shamus, bless!
I will not give up!

Mmm it was a friend yesterday who suggested maybe she had been discouraged from thinking... Strangely we were talking about the differences between her and Cosmo in terms of ease of training, with Cosmo responding so well to the clicker, I said she was clearly not used to thinking...hmmm.

Right I shall persevere with lifting her paw and will try and put it in my other hand (you need to be a bit of a juggler for all this huh?!!! )

My Oliver already knows all of those tricks (shake, shake other one, wave, wave other, wave both, touch left, touch right) I taught my sister's pup to shake, shake the other one, and wave, in one session, still working on a reliable sit with my new deaf doxie....

Oh dear.... this means I need to teach both of mine to 'touch' an object.... this may take some time!!

My Mary Ray book says once they can give either paw, you can just put an object (like a football) on the floor in front of them, give one of their paw commands and click and reward if they touch the football...then do it without the command and add a new one! )
I'm hoping it will be as simple as it sounds as that is the next step with Cosmo.......