Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? We think that’s bologna because dogs are so much smarter than most people think they are. Dogs love a good challenge because it not only involves some interactive fun with their hooman, but also the inevitable treats that comes with training.
Treats are often used to reward your furry friend so they can associate getting a treat with good behavior. If your furry friend is a puppy we understand that they may be a little too excited to spend this awesome amount of time with you so It’s also important to make sure you keep training sessions between 10 -15 minutes to keep your dog engaged and entertained.
We’ve compiled a list of easy tricks to teach your dog to create a fun bonding experience and to teach them some basic mannerisms.
Speak
If your dog loves to bark and howl this trick may come pretty natural to them and can actually indicate if there is a behavioral problem with your pup. According, 10 Common Dog Behavior Problems by The Spruce Pets, dogs bark to seek attention, ease their anxiety and boredom. To help with excessive barking, the ‘speak’ command is a great tool to enforce.
How to:
- Get your dog to bark naturally
- As your dog barks, say the command “Speak”
- Show your dog some love and provide a treat
- Repeat
Paw
Having your dog give you it’s paw is such a great introduction to the command “Shake”. But before we have you and your dog exchanging your hellos and goodbyes with a gentle handshake, we need to make sure you both have the basics covered.
How to:
- Make sure your dog is sitting
- Present the treat in the palm of your hand and let your dog sniff it
- Encourage your dog to try and get the treat from your hand
- As soon as they touch your hand, treat them while saying “paw”
- Repeat
Shake
Now that you’ve mastered the art of “Paw” it’s on to some big league tricks.”Shake” is such an easy trick once your dog has handled the basics. It’s also a fun command to show friends and family because it not only shows what a good boy/girl your dog is, but that they now know to end any important business deal, with a shake.
How to:
- Have your dog sit
- Hold out one treat in front of you with one hand
- While repeating the command “Shake” take the hand without the treat and tap your dogs front paw (most dogs will raise their hand trying to get the treat)
- As your dog raises its paw, catch it with the hand that isn’t holding the treat and say the command “Shake” again so your dog becomes familiar with the phrase.
- Repeat
Kiss
Now to seal the deal with a kiss. Dogs love to lick so this can be a difficult trick to start off with but it has very few steps on how to nail it. If your dog is affectionate already, this may not be the easiest trick to learn.
How to:
- Hold a treat up to your face
- Say “Kiss”
- Move your face close to your dog and wait for them to touch with their nose
- Before your dog touches your face, scoot back and give them a treat
- Repeat
Spin
If you really want to wow the crowd, teach your dog how to spin! Spinning is so much easier than it seems and this is a trick your dog can learn fairly quickly.
How to:
- Hold a treat near your dog’s nose
- Lure them into turning around
- Give them a treat when they follow and say “spin”
- Turn them around while saying “spin”
- Repeat
We hope these tricks were fun and easy for you and your dog to learn and enjoy. Let us know if any of these tricks were too difficult or if there are some suggestions you may have that you found to be helpful!
Enjoy more quality time with your pet:
