Ok I've got Hank doing all sorts of fun stuff for a treat (marker training is fun when you have a food hound!). But now I want to step it up a bit to keep him challenged.

I want to combine 2 commands with one.

I can have him bark on command with 'speak'.
I can point to a chair and have him sit in it (with the 'chair') command. It can be pretty funny depending on the size of the chair.

Now I want to say 'circus' (I'm saving 'lion' for when we have a chance to go lion hunting) and have him jump into a chair I'm pointing at and sit and speak.

How do I pull this off?

Thanks.

Put a visual command with the verbal "speak". mark and reward!
Give the visual first then verbal and fade the verbal when he starts responding to the visual. Make sense?
One of my dogs speaks on command when I "clap" my index finger and my thumb together. A pinching motion.
Initially do it separate from the chair. That's the key to "chaining" behaviors
When both are solid then do it EVERY time you tell the dog to sit in the chair and it will become a part of the routine where you can eliminate the visual.
As a circus trick you could also add a sit up and bark when the dog gets in the chair with that chair command then raise both hands as would a lion tamer and initiate the sit up and bark.
Again, all individual behaviors should be broken down to their simplest form before being chained together.
Your chaining two/three behaviors together but I'm not sure this would be a back chaining process.
The "chaining" is teaching a dog two or more behaviors as separate behaviors till they are solid then chaining together before the mark and reward.
Back chaining would be as in the retrieve where you first teach the dog to touch/take/hold the ball before it's ever thrown.

Ok I think I understand, thanks. I'll see if I can add a visual component tonight when I get home.

Ken

An example of back-chaining to teach the retrieve ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfW223Wz-08

While that video is incredibly motivating, I see a major part of it cut out (for time most likely). Teaching Radar to hold the object while going through other motions (front, sit) has been a huge road block for us.