How to Teach Your Dog to Skateboard – Dogster

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Why skate? Learning any new trick is fun for you and your dog and increases your bond. Plus, skateboarding teaches balance and confidence, and what dog couldn’t use more?

Skateboarding is also a great example of training to break up behaviors and then chain them all together. Think of dividing like all the ingredients in a recipe. Sequencing then boils down to combining the ingredients together in a sequential fashion to create a finished result of ability that not only can be repeated, but is something your dog chooses to repeat freely because it is fun for him to do it.

Step 1: Get comfortable

Step 1: Let your dog explore the skateboard freely. It helps to put treats around it to make it more attractive. Note that the wheels on this 10 x 30 inch skateboard have trainers to keep the wheels from moving. © Melissa Kauffman

First, let your dog explore freely and see how it feels to be around a skateboard as an object in its environment. The fastest way for a dog to form associations with anything or learn anything is slowly. Start with a skateboard in an area with your dog. The skateboard doesn’t need to move and you don’t need to spin the wheels. Simply allow your dog to gather information about this new piece of equipment and approach it freely on his own – sniff it, walk around it and inspect it.

Step 2: Don’t let the skateboard move

A key part of success is making sure the skateboard doesn’t move at first. Tighten the wheels so they don’t move freely and also tighten the trucks so the skateboard doesn’t move side to side. You can also purchase skateboard trainers to put on each wheel to prevent movement ($25.95. Skater Trainer 2.0; amazon.com).

We introduce movement only when the dog becomes good at getting on the skateboard and staying comfortably on the skateboard. It can take days or it can take hours. It is up to each dog to decide if they are comfortable in the process of learning this new skill.

In all my decades of helping humans and dogs learn to skateboard, none of them have ever started learning to do this move. Every last individual learned to stand on the board when it was not moving first and familiarize themselves with this extremely important first step before moving on to the next step.

Step 3: Boarding

Step 3: Encourage your dog to get up on the stationary skateboard with treats. Do this on a carpet or in the grass so that the skateboard doesn’t move and your dog doesn’t slide on the ground. © Melissa Kauffman

Then encourage your dog to get on the skateboard. If your dog has been trained on a rig before, this will make this learning process even easier for him, as it would be a generalization of behavior previously reinforced in a similar situation. The idea is to get your dog used to the muscle memory needed to get on something.

Prepare your dog for success. If you have carpet, start in that environment so the board is even less likely to move.

If you don’t have a carpet and you have grass, you can also do it outside. Don’t start on the sidewalk, as that comes later after your dog is sure to get on the skateboard and stay on it.

Body mechanics start with you in front of the board and your dog behind the board. Hold something your dog likes in your hand to pull him onto the board from behind while you stand in front. Slowly guide your puppy towards the skateboard until he steps on it. Once she gets on the board, tag her and reinforce her so she’s on it.

To go to any object with my dogs, I use the verbal cue “Charge”. This is a verbal signal to ask them to step in and go over what is in front of them. This is also how I ask my dogs to load into my vehicle, or a stump, bench, or anything else in our environment that would be fun to stand on. If you use a clicker, you can also click for its signal.

Stay at this stage for as long as it takes for your dog to feel comfortable standing on the skateboard for a long time comfortably, with a confidence born of his own. For some dogs, this may be a short period of time, as they engage in this activity more naturally than another dog would. If we force them to be on the skateboard when we introduce movement too quickly, the individual dog may never be so comfortable on the skateboard, which is why we tighten the wheels and tighten the trucks.

Step 4: Preparing for movement

Once your dog is comfortable standing on the skateboard, move on. At this point, loosen the wheels a bit so they move slowly. It’s always a good idea to keep the trucks tight during part of this learning stage. This is also when you need to move from the stable carpeted environment to a floor covering or a garden patio.

Step 5: Forward Movement

Take the Time: Stay in the skateboarding habit stage for as long as it takes for your dog to feel comfortable on the skateboard for an extended period of time. © Melissa Kauffman

You want to do your best to handle the motion of the skateboard. A good way is to attach a leash or rope to the front truck. Slowly pull the dog (standing on the skateboard) and the skateboard toward you while bracing it to stay on the forward moving skateboard.

This is an important step: Have fun here and reinforce your dog a lot so that he stays on the board while he moves.

This involves moving the board forward a bit with the dog standing on the skateboard so you can develop this behavior.

Step 6: Lateral Movement

At this point, spend some time letting your dog get used to balancing on this now less stable platform. With your hand or foot on the board while your dog is on it, slowly rock the board from side to side, introducing this new aspect of movement to your dog and helping him develop his balance skills.

Humans spin a skateboard by shifting their balance either on their heels or on their toes. Dogs move a skateboard from side to side by adjusting their weight to the right or leaning to the left. Again, spend as much time here as your dog needs to be comfortable with this step.

Step 7: Self-propelled

Then guide and encourage your dog to move the board on his own with his hind legs. With his front legs on the board and his hind legs on the ground, move the board forward and help create an “aha” moment for your dog to realize that he can now move the board on his own.

Lure her in with something that motivates her, like a piece of her favorite food or a favorite toy. You want to be far enough to motivate her to use the skateboard by propelling it towards you but not far enough where she decides to run towards you to get the reinforcer without the skateboard. Adjust and be flexible with the distance to your dog at this stage, slowly increasing it as he develops his ability to move the board freely on his own.

Expand environment

©iagodina | Getty Images

Now that your dog is developing skills that allow him to stay on the board better, move him into an environment where he can skateboard safely on his own. Your dog will need to be off leash as it is extremely difficult to have a dog on a skateboard while holding a leash attached to a harness. If you affect the dog in any way with pressure on the leash, it will throw him off balance and the leash could get caught in the wheels.

Your dog also needs to have a safe space in which to further develop his skills. If you have a patio in a fenced back yard or your driveway is fenced, managed environments are safe. You can also try a local tennis court or any fenced outdoor paved area.

Take the time it takes

Nothing is more important than spending as much time as necessary in each stage of learning to skateboard – move as fast as the slowest learner. When you mold a new behavior, there is no harm, there are only behaviors that we reinforce, and then there are other behaviors.

This type of thinking allows for great flexibility for the individual learner. If all of this is done gradually according to your dog, in the future the simple act of picking up the skateboard will be all the information your dog needs to know exactly what is going to happen – the pleasure of doing the skateboard.

Is skateboarding good for your dog?

©lisegagne | Getty Images

Before teaching your dog to skateboard, ask yourself if he is physically capable of doing this activity. I’m not one to discourage the individual – I’ve seen dogs that let no limits hold them back. However, some breeds are too big or too small to skateboard. A 10 x 30 inch skateboard is a good size deck for most dogs.

If it’s too small or too big for your dog, accommodate their physical abilities with a bigger board or just teach them to have fun standing on a skateboard, which is actually just a other platform. Platforms are a raised solid surface on which an animal climbs to stand and perform other behaviors. People have been using rigs to train animals for centuries. Lots of things can be used as platforms, and a skateboard is just a platform that ends up moving.

See Dogster’s article “The Rise of Platforms” for more information on platform training.

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