Hello and welcome back to my blog!
Do you got what it takes to be the next Doggie Picasso!
In todays blog I am going to discuss the necessary tricks you will need to learn to start painting your own masterpiece for your human. This is a very complex chain of behaviors be prepared for this to take sometime to learn.
In todays blog I am going to discuss the necessary tricks you will need to learn to start painting your own masterpiece for your human. This is a very complex chain of behaviors be prepared for this to take sometime to learn.
What you will need:
Paintbrushes (I use the Melissa & Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes which can be found on Amazon)
Containers (I use the Melissa & Doug Spill Proof Paint Cups also on Amazon)
Easel (I am using Little Tikes height adjustable easel... Humans keep your dogs height in mind when making this purchase)
Paper (I use construction paper, drawing paper, canvas paper etc... Mom draws so there is always some type of artsy paper for me to paint on)
Drop clothe (old sheet, beach towel... I'm using a fender cover BOL!)
Paint (Washable children's paint)
Paintbrushes (I use the Melissa & Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes which can be found on Amazon)
Containers (I use the Melissa & Doug Spill Proof Paint Cups also on Amazon)
Easel (I am using Little Tikes height adjustable easel... Humans keep your dogs height in mind when making this purchase)
Paper (I use construction paper, drawing paper, canvas paper etc... Mom draws so there is always some type of artsy paper for me to paint on)
Drop clothe (old sheet, beach towel... I'm using a fender cover BOL!)
Paint (Washable children's paint)
The first steps is to learn to "Take" & "Hold"
Start out with your paintbrush in a container without paint and take the handle with your mouth, your human should mark this with a clicker or marker word and follow up with a yummy treat. Once you have a solid "Take" your human should have you "Take" and then have you "hold" the brush by delaying the click or marker word by a few seconds after you "take" it and then they should mark it with a click or marker word and then give you several yummy treats. Humans once your dog is doing a "hold" you just keep adding seconds to it and start naming it "hold" and then mark it with your click or special word and then treat. Please note this can be a very long process, training sessions should be brief but often (3-5 minute sessions several times through out the day) Always end your training session on a good note so you will both want to come back and learn more later!
Start out with your paintbrush in a container without paint and take the handle with your mouth, your human should mark this with a clicker or marker word and follow up with a yummy treat. Once you have a solid "Take" your human should have you "Take" and then have you "hold" the brush by delaying the click or marker word by a few seconds after you "take" it and then they should mark it with a click or marker word and then give you several yummy treats. Humans once your dog is doing a "hold" you just keep adding seconds to it and start naming it "hold" and then mark it with your click or special word and then treat. Please note this can be a very long process, training sessions should be brief but often (3-5 minute sessions several times through out the day) Always end your training session on a good note so you will both want to come back and learn more later!
Once you have "Take" and "Hold" you are ready to touch the brush to the paper. Please note at this stage I do not recommend adding paint and you wont need the easel just yet. We call this part of the trick "Brush". Let's get started... "Take" and "Hold" your brush and have your human take a piece of paper and touch your brush with it, humans make sure you click or mark with your special word and give a yummy treat, practice this several times a day for 3-5 minutes for about a week and as you touch the brush with the paper say "Brush". Week 2 you now must touch the paper with the brush, so humans hold the paper about an inch or two away from the brush while it's in your dogs mouth and say "Brush" be sure to reward any movement with the brush towards the paper at first, once you have movement you can change your criteria to strictly touching the paper with the brush, work on this several times a day for 3-5 minutes. Week 3 continue to add distance between the brush and the paper. Week 4 you are ready to add the easel, place the paper on the easel at your dogs mouth height, the easel is new to the process so reward any movement with the brush toward the paper on the easel and then slowly reward for only interactions with the brush to the paper on the easel.
Now that you are comfortable with the holding the brush and touching the paper on the easel we can work on paint strokes. I like to sit while I paint so most of my brush strokes go up and down and vice versa, sometimes I will have a side stroke if mom pulls out a treat and I get up to go get it. When I paint the brush is sticking out the side of my mouth so I don't look at the paper I look at mom and watch which way she points and that is how I move my head to make my strokes. To learn to follow your humans finger they just need to hold a treat in their fingertips and have you watch the treat and reward you with it for following, once you are reliably following they no longer need to hold the treat and you should be able to follow their fingers and they should reward you with a treat after you paint a stoke.
Couple of things to keep in mind, what do you want to do with the brush in your mouth after your paint stroke, you can put it back in the container or you can drop it on the drop cloth... I drop mine in a snack tray or a drop clothe because mom likes to have my next brush and color ready to go. It's entirely up to you and your human. If you want it to place your brush back in the container tell your human not to reward you after your paint stroke and to wait until you place it back in the container. Because I drop my brush and grab the next one mom usually rewards me with a jack pot after several strokes, but that's only because I been painting for a couple of years.
You are now ready to add paint... Don't forget to pawtograph your work!
I sure hope you enjoyed this weeks blog... Be sure to subscribe to the right of your screen to get it delivered to your inbox.
Happy Painting!
Happy Painting!
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