Some Really Cool Tricks To Teach Your Dog! Step by Step Guideline
Knowing cool tricks to teach your dog will not only establish a deeper bond between you and your beloved mutt but also add a lot of extra fun to your playtime.
By the way, I’ve given you a wonderful, fun-loving imaginary dog called Rover (Dog Name) as your surprise Christmas gift this year, and it is your job to train him. Let’s start this great new adventure, shall we?
GROUND RULES
PATIENCE
Rover will be able to pick up on your emotions rather quickly. If his learning pace is freaking you out slightly, just do this … stop. Breathe. Remind yourself that it is only about dog tricks and not life or death. If that does not help you, wait until you feel more relaxed or just start again tomorrow. Problem solved!
DISTRACTIONS
Your safest bet is to organize his dog training sessions in quiet, undisturbed areas with very little or no distractions. It can be a room in your house, your backyard or secured driveway. If you are adamant that his training has to be done in the wild outdoors, please do put a leash on ol’ Rover or he might suddenly ‘remember’ he needs to run a few laps before coming back to you.
ROVER WON’T FOCUS! AARGH!
A great dog training tip is to make your lessons much like your dog is …. short and oh so sweet. Rover has been known to get quite bored or frustrated quickly and could very well enjoy staring at your face for no other reason than he just likes looking at you. Move to another area, try another treat type, try again later or just start again tomorrow.
CUE WORDS & PRAISE
Your goal is for Rover to associate pleasantly with the cue word. Say the cue word each and every time that you are teaching him the trick and always follow up with heaps of praise.
TREATS
A great way to present the treat is to enclose it in your hand so that he cannot nip at it, but still have a jolly good sniff. Put the treats away as soon as he has learned the trick so that he can learn to associate the cue word with nothing more than your praise and adoration as his precious reward. Use healthy treats such as sweet potato, carrots and apple pieces.
REPETITION
Repeat any of these easy dog tricks several times a day until he has learned it. But do not overdo it. After all, your dog’s attention span can only last as long as … “oh my woof-ness, catch that ball!”
RECAP
Let’s recap, shall we? The process is pretty simple. Treat-in-hand – cue word – dog responds correctly – release treat – loads of positive praise – repeat. Add – stop – to any part of that process when you or Rover have had enough and need to call it a day.
REALLY COOL & EASY TRICKS TO TEACH YOUR DOG
SIT!
Have you ever had the wonderful feeling of teaching your precious mutt to sit, and then, when you say “sit” in your next dog tricks training lesson, he suddenly starts to jump wildly? Well, I did and oh my goodness gracious did my precious little pumpkin of a Jack Russel Terrier jump like crazy! There is a sense of sanity attached to knowing how to teach your precious Rover to respond to these really cool dog tricks.Especially something as easy as “Sit!”
» Place your hand close to Rovers’ nose and slowly raise it slightly above his head, moving it towards the back of his head.
» Say the cue word “sit’ as his eager little eyes follow your hand
» A natural consequence of this method should be that his butt will touch the floor
» If he does not sit fully, you can gently push his butt to the floor
» Release his doggy treat and tell him what a good boy he is!
SHAKE HANDS / PAW
Don’t you just want to melt like ice-cream every time Rover extends his paw to you to say “How do you do?” And seriously, how does he do that really cool dog trick? This is how.
» Instruct him to sit and reward him with a treat & praise*As you say the cue word(s) “shake hands” or “paw”, gently pick up Rovers’ paw, reward him with a treat and lots of praise.
And on my behalf, please ask Rover, “How do you do, buddy?” He’ll probably say something like, “Aarf woof grrr!”
HIGH FIVE
You’ve had days where you have just needed someone to pat you on the back and say “Well done!” or “High five!”. But now you don’t need to look to your fellow human beings to affirm you anymore. You can just teach Rover an easy dog trick and he will affirm you on command. He’s such a good boy!
» Instruct him to sit and reward with a treat.
» Hold another treat a few inches away from his nose.
» Say “High five” as you tap one of his paws. Rover will usually paw at your other hand.
» As soon as he does that, release the treat with lots of praise.
» Repeat the exercise each time saying “High five” until he automatically responds to the command.
» Remember to hold out the palm of your hand towards him to give you a “High five”.
There you have it … another one of the really cool tricks to teach your dog.
THE WAVE
Ever wanted to just wave goodbye and not look back? It sounds like a line out of a romantic vintage movie. But I bet you Rover would look back. Dogs. They always look back. And that is why we love them so!
» Instruct him to sit & reward with a treat.
» For this dog training tip, put a piece of tape just above his eye, and say the cue word, “Wave” as he tries to remove it.
» Immediately follow with his treat and much praise.
» If Rover does not like the tape or has long fur, you can ask him for his paw and say the cue word “Wave” as you help him to raise it above his head.
» As soon as it is above his eyes, reward him with a treat and praise.
PEEK-A-BOO
This is one of the most adorably cute and easy tricks to teach your dog. If you did not fall in love with Rover when I gave him to you, you certainly will now.
» Instruct him to sit & reward with a treat.
» Ask for Rover’s paw and as you say the cue word, “Peek-A-Boo”, raise it over his eye.
» Reward, praise, and repeat.
» Another way to do this is to put a small piece of sticky tape on the end of his nose and say “Peek-A-Boo” as he tries to remove it.
PAW-ON-ARM & PRAY
Sometimes all we need is some good ol’ fashioned praying. But who to pray with? Have you considered … Rover … perhaps? Now he can pray for his own meals before dinner because you taught him this really cool dog trick.
Step 1
» Instruct him to sit and reward with a delicious treat & heaps of praise.
» Use the cue words “Paw-on-arm”
» Show him how to raise his paw and let it rest on your forearm (reward with treat & praise)
Step 2
» Instruct Rover to put his paw on your arm – reward him with a treat & praise
» Use the cue word “pray”
» Hold the treat in front of his nose and slowly lower it below your arm until his head is beneath your arms and between his paws.
» Release treat & praise little ol’ Rover!
LIE DOWN
This is one of the more difficult dogs training tips to teach your dog but it is invaluable as it can save your dog’s life in an emergency or make it more comfortable to go out with him in public, as he will now respond to your cue on demand. A great tip is to teach this trick on a mat or carpet as a cold floor might deter your dog from lying down.
» Instruct your dog to sit and reward with a treat.
» Get down to his level by squatting.
» While you keep the treat enclosed in your hand, say the cue word “Down” as you put the treat in front of his nose and slowly lower it down between his paws.
» You can also gently place your hands on his shoulder to guide him.
» Give your dog a few moments to figure out that he needs to lie down.
CRAWL
Be aware as this easy dog trick might cause Rover to be quite sore the next day as crawling could use muscles that he has not used before.
» Instruct him to lie down.
» Hold the treat in your hands and place in front of his nose between his paws so that he can actually lick it, but not get to it.
» If Rover seems to be a little reluctant, sit against a wall, and raise your legs into a bended knee position so that he can only reach the treat through the arch of your legs.
» Say the cue word “Crawl” as you drag your hand slowly on the floor away from his nose.
» As soon as he crawls a few paces, praise him and give him the treat.
» If Rover tries to get up while crawling towards you, you can gently put your hands on his shoulders and softly push him towards the floor or you can immediately remove the treat and start again.
» Repeat and increase the distance a little bit each time.
STAND
This is one of those dog training tips that is best suited for smaller breeds, although larger breeds can also learn this trick.
» Instruct him to sit and reward with a treat & praise.
» As you say the cue word “Stand”, slowly raise the treat up above his head until he starts to stand up – you might need to hold the treat a little bit behind his head*Reward & praise!
PICK UP YOUR TOYS
This cool dog trick might take a while but it is incredibly rewarding once it has been learned. It will be easier if he already knows how to fetch.
» Sit in front of Rover’s toy box and throw one of his favorite toys across the room.
» When he runs to pick it up, hold the treat above his toy box
» As you say the cue words “Pick Up Your Toys”, call him to where you are seated.
» As he holds the toy above the box, command him to let go of the toy and reward with treats and praise.
» Once he knows how to obey this command, you can move the box away from you a little bit at a time until all you need to do is point to the box and tell him to pick up his toys!
SCORE A GOAL!
This is one of those really cool tricks to teach your dog and will add great fun to outdoor times!
» Firstly choose a ball that is large enough so that he cannot pick it up with his mouth.
» Place and hold the ball securely in front of him, either with your hands or foot.
» Praise him when his nose touches the lower half of the ball – our goal here is to first teach him where his nose needs to be.
» Next, place the ball securely in front of the intended goal post, which in this case could be the space between a chair’s legs.
» Praise him as he nudges or touches the ball with his nose on the lower half of the ball.
» The next step is to treat him after you let go of the ball as his nose-nudging will send the ball straight through the goal post. *Score!
Keeping in mind that the idea is to teach your dog to score a goal, place the ball a little bit further away from the “goal post” and say the cue word “Score-A-Goal” (or whichever words you prefer in this instance) each time he nudges the ball through. Repeat this several times but remember to maintain the chance of success by not putting the ball too far away from the goal post.
Dribble Soccer Ball to You
Fancy having Rover actually play soccer with you in the backyard? Say no more. Teach him this cool dog trick and today will be that day!
» Choose a ball that your dog cannot pick up with his mouth or bite into.
» Place the ball in front of him.
» Praise him as soon as he starts to play with it – but do not give him a treat yet.
» If he is not interested in the ball, gently roll it towards him and praise him every time his paw or nose touches the ball.
» Start with a very small distance so that he literally only has to take one or two steps to bring the ball back to you.
» The idea is to get him to dribble the ball back to you and only then reward him with a treat. Increase your distances every time.
AND IN CONCLUSION …
We certainly hope that you have enjoyed learning all the different easy tricks to teach your dog. It really is not that difficult, after all, to implement our dog training tips, isn’t it?
*Thanks for reading*
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