Teach Your Cat Some Tricks : Jumping Pole
Before teaching your cat to jump over a pole, you’ll need the right prop. In this case, the prop is a simple pole. You can be innovative when finding the perfect pole for your cat. A wooden dowel of 1 to 2 inches in diameter will work. Hollow cardboard tubes used for wrapping paper are also great for this trick. The first object I converted into a jumping pole was a cardboard tube that I wrapped with leopard-spotted paper for effect. It was perfect. Because you want to wow your audience, have a beginning to each trick. Starting the pole-jumping trick with your cat in a sitting position looks polished and formal. Start simple. First, ask your cat to sit, then place the pole on the floor for your cat to walk over. As she walks over it, capture the behavior by clicking and immediately treating. If your cat doesn’t walk over the pole, tap the target on the other side of the pole. By now your cat is well target-trained and will walk over the pole toward the target. Just as s...
