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Tricks are a lot of fun and they keep your dog alert and energetic. They give your dog a chance to play and have fun. |
Click
below on your favorite trick!
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Start by
having your dog sit. Say, "Shake hands," and take his paw
with your hand. Hold his paw and say, "Good dog!" Let go of
his paw. Do this a few times every day. |
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After a while, say, "Shake hands," but don't take his paw. See if he raises his paw by himself. If not, keep showing him what to do by saying, "Shake hands," and taking his paw with your hand. |
| Turn
Around Start
by having your dog stand up facing you. Let your dog see a treat
in your hand. Stand still and say, "Turn around." Lead
the dog's nose around with the treat so he walks in a circle.
When he comes back to where he's facing you again, say, "Good
dog!" and give him the treat. |
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After some practice, hold the treat in front of you so your dog can see it and say, "Turn around," but don't lead his nose. See if he is ready to turn around by himself and get the treat. Pretty soon, he will twirl around faster than you can say 'Lassie!" |
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Start
by having your dog lay down. Hold a treat just in front of his
nose and say, "Crawl." If he starts to stand up, say,
"No, down...crawl." Pull the treat away, keeping it
low, near the ground and say, "Craaawl." When your dog
moves even an inch or two without standing up, praise him and
say, "Good dog! Craaawl." |
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Your dog must know 'Down' ' before he can learn this trick. |
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Choose
a game that your dog loves to play, like catch with a ball, or
hide and seek with a toy. Then get him excited by saying, "Let's
play! Want to play?" and show him the ball or toy. Jump and
act silly so he barks and then say, "Good dog, speak!"
Then play the game as his reward for learning "Speak". |
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You can't make a dog bark, but you can get him happy and excited so he wants to bark. After a while, your dog will bark when you say, "Speak." |
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Have
your dog lay down on his tummy. As you gently roll him over on
his side, say, "Take a nap." While he is laying on his
side, keeping his head on the floor, say, "Take a nap,"
and give him a small treat. Encourage him to stay there for a
couple of seconds. Then say, "Wake up!" and let him
stand up. |
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Don't give your a dog a reward for standing up. Only give a treat while he is laying down with his head on the floor. |
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Have
your dog sit, facing you. Hold his favorite treat just above his
head and tell him, "Say please." Your dog will probably
lift his front feet off the ground to reach the treat. As soon
as the feet are lifted, even a little bit, give him the treat. |
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This is a hard trick for most dogs. Wait a little longer each time before giving the treat, but be careful not to let your dog fall over on his back. You are helping your dog develop his balance. Be kind and only do this a couple of times. |
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Here's
an easy one: Every time your dog licks your face, say, "Give
me a kiss. Good boy! Give me a kiss." If he isn't a licker,
put a little peanut butter on your cheek and say, "Give me
a kiss." When he licks it off say, "Give me a kiss,"
again. |
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Tricks like this work because you put words with something your dog already does. Pretty soon your dog hears "Give me a kiss," and thinks about licking your face. Then you give him a hug, rub his ears and say, "Good boy!" |
| Roll
Over Start
by having your dog lay down on his belly. Kneel down beside him
and gently roll him over on his side. While you talk sweetly to
him and say, "Roll over," lift his legs so his tummy
shows. Carefully keep using your hands to roll him over the rest
of the way, saying his name and, "Roll over." Then say,
"Good boy!" |
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Only roll your dog on soft surfaces like carpet or grass so he doesn't hurt his back. Some dogs don't like to roll over. It can be a little scary for them to put their belly up. Try it a few times and but if it's not fun for your dog, choose another trick. |
| Fetch
If
your dog doesn't fetch naturally, have an adult cut a slit in
a tennis ball (a smaller, rubber ball if that is too big). Put
some treats inside the tennis ball. Show your dog that there
are treats in there, and give her one. Then, throw the ball.
In the beginning, run with her and get the ball; then give her
the treat. Soon you will be able to throw the ball and she will
go get it (because she wants the treat!).
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After your dog has figured out what he has to do to get a treat, start throwing the ball two times in a row without giving him the treat. What you are trying to do is give him the treats less and less often so someday he won't need the treats in the ball to fetch it. |
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Start
by sitting on a chair. While holding a treat,
put your hand between your knees and encourage your dog to get
it. As soon as your dog's chin comes in contact with your leg,
say "Say Hello!". Then say "Release" and give
him the treat when he lifts his head. |
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Only give your dog the treat after you have released him. Increase the chin contact time on your leg, so eventually your dog will keep it there while you pet him. Then release him and reward him! This is a very useful trick for therapy work! |
| Go
Back This
is an easy one! Stand facing your dog and as you walk toward
him, say "Go Back". He will want to get out of the
way and will automatically walk backwards! |
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After your dog is walking backward with you, try walking toward him only a step or two. Eventually, you will be able to stand still and say "Go Back". |
Yawn
Every time you see your dog yawn, say the command you want to
use like "Give us a yawn.", or "Are you sleepy?".
If he yawns enough and hears those words enough, he will eventually
yawn whenever he hears those words. |
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Here's one of those tricks that your dog has to perform before he actually learns it. Hopefully, you have a dog that yawns a lot. Be patient. This one can take a long time. Be sure to really praise your pup when he yawns - he'll think he's doing something totally wonderful. And eventually he will be! |
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Your
dog should know how to shake hands before learning this trick.
Face your dog and hold out your hand as if you are going to
shake. When your dog lifts her paw to shake, don't grab it,
just pull back your hand, and say "Wave". Then give
your dog a treat. |
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At first your dog may not lift her paw very high. But once she realizes that you're going to give her a treat if she holds it up there, she'll get it. You may have to tease her a little with your hand so she thinks you are going to shake with her. Waving your hand a little may help to get her paw into a waving motion as well. |
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This
is easiest if your dog already knows how to speak. Tell your
dog to Speak or catch him when he is barking. Get right in front
of him and say "Quiet". The second he stops, even
if it is to take a breath, give him a treat.Do this often and
your dog will be loving the word "Quiet". |
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As you teach your dog Quiet, gradually increase the quiet time from 2 seconds to 5 seconds or more. Then, when he understands the trick, make a game of it. Tell him to "Speak", "Speak", "Speak", and then "Quiet". Then "Speak" again. It's a great trick that will entertain your friends and your pup will look so smart! |
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When
you see your dog take a big stretch, with his head down low,
say, "Take a bow." Every time he wakes up and stretches,
say, "Take a bow." Someday you will say, "Take
a bow." and your dog will take a big stretch, but it will
look like he is bowing. |
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Tricks like this work because you put words with something your dog does. It may take some dogs much longer than others to figure this one out. Some dogs learn it in a week and some take years...yes, years! But one day your dog will do it. |
| Take a Bow (Method 2) With
your dog in a stand position, take a treat and hold it near
the floor, under his nose. As your dog reaches down to get it
(he may try to lie down), slip your hand under his belly to
hold his rear end up. Hold him in that position and say, "Take
a bow." Keep the treat right by his nose, but don't feed
him. Stay there for just a second, release him, and then feed
the treat. (see below) |
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If you feed your dog the treat while he is in the bowing position, in the future he won't bow until he sees the treat in ready position. If his experience is that the treat comes later, he'll be willing to perform for you without it. |
Have your dog stay in this position for just a second,
then release, and give him the treat.
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