Tiger gets a gig with shoes

June 4, 4:37 PMShowbiz Pets ExaminerLorraine Goodman

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Tiger takes a shoe

Tiger booked a gig! It’s a shoe ad, which means he needs to pose with shoes. Lots and lots of shoes.

I began to work with Tiger and shoes the moment I learned what the shoot was for. What could they possibly want him to do? In my limited experience, they don’t necessarily know what they want until they see it, so it can be helpful to offer behavior. So I started working with Tiger on various poses with shoes.

We worked with flats – I had Tiger take them in his mouth and HOLD; we worked with stilettos (from the thrift store – he’s not allowed to touch mine!) – holding the heel in his mouth.  I also tried to get him to step into the shoes – not as easy as holding! I used PUNCH – where Tiger touches an object with his paw and TOUCH – where he touches it with his nose. But to get him to continue to hold the PUNCH… that was the trick. I used a method trainer, Peg Munves calls “bridging” – where I continue making a sound which basically instructs the dog to ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’

Peg also suggested that I get a shoe where I can cut out the bottom. Then, I can place the shoe over a target that he will PUNCH and have him hold it longer.

A shoe that I can cut the bottom out of??????

Guess I need to go back to the thrift store.