Wily Riley is born to skateboard! At times he pays more attention to the camera than to where he is going. If you have the ambition to teach your dog how to skateboard, Brandi went through a demonstration with her owner Kenzie, who explained in her video that her method works for SOME dogs. Just like humans have different learning styles, so do dogs.
How to teach your dog to skateboard
Another thing is–not all dogs want to learn how to skateboard. And still another factor is the body built. Some dogs have the natural body for skateboarding. Bulldogs have strong back muscles. And their legs are long enough to stay on the skateboard while one leg is pushing. Just remember skateboarding is not “natural” to dogs, even though it may look like it is for some dogs. Here are the five steps that Kenzie used to train Brandi.
First, reward your dog for anything he does that’s associated with the skateboard. Approaching it, sniffing it, pawing it. Anything. Reward reward reward.
Then when your dog ventures out to putting 3 legs on the skateboard, reinforce this behavior again with rewards. By the way, do this on a soft surface — grassy area in your yard or in a park. Then reward for all 4 legs on the skateboard.
Next, reward for pushing the skateboard forward. Doesn’t have to be a long distance, any pushing will do. Reward. And if your dog makes a “mistake”, reward him. This tells him, “This is nothing serious. Just have fun. There are no mistakes.” That helps him feel no anxiety approaching the board after falling off. And let your dog’s instinct on how to balance himself on the skateboard lead him. Everyone does it differently. After your dog feels comfortable with these steps, you can move to a hard surface. Have him get comfortable with the same on the hard surface. And finally, you move further and further away from the skateboard. Have fun teaching your dog to skateboard.
