Teaching your dog a few tricks is important. It keeps its brain sharp and makes sure it is mentally active. Let’s not forget that it makes for a great show. Everyone loves a well-trained and obedient dog. You are bound to impress your friends if your dog has a few tricks up its sleeve.
Additionally, being your dog’s trainer is a wonderful way to bond with your pet. As you spend time teaching it tricks, your loyal friend will get the attention it deserves. This, in turn, translates to a happy dog.
However, teaching your dog tricks takes a lot of time. Some of you might not even have that much time to give. Does this mean you shouldn’t teach your dog anything? No. It just means you invest your time wisely. Rather than trying to teach difficult tricks, you can teach tricks which are effective yet easy. Some tricks require training collar to maximize effectiveness of the training.
Shaking Hands
People love well-mannered pets. By teaching your dog basic etiquettes to follow when meeting someone, you are bound to impress the masses. One of the easiest and cutest tricks has to be shaking hands.
The chances are that your dog will learn this trick quite easily. Why? Well, most dogs raise their paw naturally whenever they are asking for a treat. For such dogs, shaking hands is a piece of cake.
Before you begin teaching your pet how to shake hands, you must ensure that it is trained to sit when you ask it to. If you haven’t mastered it already, all you need to do is have a treat in your hand and ask your pet to “sit.” Do this until your dog starts complying with the “sit” command.
After you have taught your dog how to sit, you can now begin teaching it how to shake hands. All you need to do is put a treat in your palms and move your hand towards your dog’s paw. Your dog will raise its paw for the treat. When it does so, say “shake” and give it the treat. Make sure to cuddle it and praise it when it successfully lifts its paw.
Repeat this multiple times every day. Each day, move your hand a little higher. This is because, for a proper shake, you want your doggo to lift its paw up to its chest.
Slowly, you will notice that your dog will start responding to the command even without the presence of a treat. This is when you know you have succeeded in teaching your loyal friend the trick.
Dance
You might think that teaching a dog how to dance must be difficult. It is actually not! Yes, you do need a commitment to pull it off, but trust us when we say that your hard work would pay off and that too not long after you start.
If you have a small breed dog, teaching it how to dance will be a piece of cake for you. Actually, teaching it most tricks is quite easy. However, getting a bigger breed to stand on two feet can take some time.
Begin by getting your doggo in a sitting position. As you can see, sitting is imperative to most of these tricks. Therefore, you must ensure that your pet is well-versed in this command.
After your dog is sitting, take a treat and place it in your palm. Close your hands to form a first and hold your closed fit near the snout of your dog. Your dog will sniff the treat and know that there is something in your hand for it.
Now, lift your hand to a greater height and place it behind your dog’s head. This act will urge your pet to look back. To do so, it will stand on its hind leg. As soon as it does so, make sure to praise it and give it the treat. Repeat this activity until your dog is able to quickly stand on its hind legs as well as balance itself.
Once your dog is standing on two legs, it is ready to dance! Rather than giving the treat to it once it stands up, you are now required to move your hand in small circles above your dog’s head. It will start moving its head and twirling in the direction of your hand. When your dog begins to twirl, use the command “dance” and give it the treat. Slowly, you can let go of the treat and merely get your loyal friend to show you some moves only by saying “dance.”
Roll Over
This is one of the most common tricks of all. It is also quite easy to teach. However, before you do so, you must ensure that your dog knows how to respond to the “down” command.
Teaching the “down” command is quite easy as well. All you need to do is place a treat in your closed fist and move your fist close to your dog’s nose. Then, move your hand below its head. It will follow you and move its body down to be on the same level as a treat. When it does so, say “down” and give it the treat. This is not a trick but a basic command that you have to teach your pet.
After you have nailed the “down” command, it is time to teach it how to roll over. To do so, get your pet to lay down. Then, place a treat in your hand and move it behind the dog’s neck. Make sure to do so slowly. This will ensure that your doggo turns its head but doesn’t stand up.
As your dog tries to sniff the treat, roll it over. After you do so, say “roll over” and give it the treat. Praise and cuddle it. Repeat this until your dog starts rolling over on its own.
Conclusion
These might seem like impressive tricks, but they are very easy to teach. Make sure to give them a try.
