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There were no treats -- just praise -- and it was effortless, Ball said. A well-trained Toshi has since appeared on "Law and Order: SVU," the final episode of "30 Rock" and in a New York Yankees commercial for MasterCard. He can also be seen appearing to read on page 154 of Haggerty's book, released in October by Page Street Publishing and co-authored by Barbara Call. What Haggerty promised in her book is true, Ball said. She and Toshi are having lots more fun now that they are doing so much together. In the book, each trick comes with photos, a hand signal, the tools needed (clicker, praise or treats), the average time it takes to learn it, difficulty (beginner, intermediate and advanced), advice from the expert and problem solving. A lot of the tricks take time and repetition, Ball said, from "dig on command" (beginner) to "get your leash" (intermediate) to "climb a ladder" (advanced). Some dogs are not as eager to please as others, and Haggerty said she has to get around that. "But I have met owners who were harder to train than the most difficult dogs." The standard poodle is probably the easiest dog to teach, Haggerty said, and female dogs might be a little more compliant than males.
To answer the question about old dogs and new tricks, Haggerty said she just took in a 9-year-old pooch she will train for the next month while its family adjusts to a new baby at home. The dog has never had training. As with most things, the basics will make everything after that easier, she said. "They have a better chance of success, and it opens the door to so many more tricks. If your dog doesn't have a good solid
'stay,' getting them to 'dead-dog' is going to be a lot more difficult," she said of the trick in which a dog rolls over on its back and plays dead. "A few tricks make it easier for everyday families to have once-in-a-lifetime dogs," she added. ___ Online:
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