3 easy to teach dog tricks
Training your dog to perform various tricks, whether simple or complex, can be an exciting and rewarding process. However, it does require patience, a serene environment suitable for focus, and some small treats as rewards.
To ensure your dog’s attention doesn’t waver, try to keep training sessions between 10 to 15 minutes.
If a
trick is executed correctly, remember to heap praise on your dog and reward it with a treat. Be careful not to overly excite your pet during this process, as it could disrupt its concentration.
One basic trick you might consider is teaching your dog to offer its paw. Start by instructing your dog to sit. Simultaneously say the word ‘paw’ and gently hold your dog’s paw in your hand.
Reward your pet with a treat for following the command, and then repeat this action. After repeating this exercise several times, try to gradually delay your reaction to the paw command, waiting a second before taking your dog’s paw. Ideally, your dog should start raising its paw as you utter the command.
If it fails to do so, revert back to saying the command and grabbing the paw simultaneously. Practice this for a few more rounds before slowly tapering off your immediate response. Generally, most dogs successfully learn this trick after 2 or 3 training sessions.
Once your dog has mastered the ‘paw’ command, you can proceed to the ‘high five’ trick, which is essentially a progression from the paw trick.
For this trick, keep a treat between your fingers and raise your hand a bit higher than you did for the paw trick. Your dog will likely think you’re commanding a paw trick and reach for the treat with its paw. As your dog reaches up, clearly say “high five” and reward it with the treat.
Having already learned the paw trick, most dogs can swiftly grasp the high five trick after a few sessions, eventually responding to a hand signal rather than a verbal command.
Another exciting trick is teaching your dog to jump through a hoop. Before proceeding, however, exercise caution regarding the height of the hoop to ensure your dog’s safety. To begin, position your dog on one side of a hula hoop.
Attract your dog’s attention to your hand, which should be on the other side of the hoop holding a treat. Give your dog a command to release it from its sitting position. Initially, your dog may attempt to circumvent or duck under the hoop. If this happens, restart the process.
Your dog, desiring the treat, will soon realize that it must jump through the hoop to earn its reward. The moment it successfully jumps through the hoop, say “hoopla” and reward it with the treat.
With consistent practice, your dog will soon jump through the hoop on hearing the command “hoopla”. Initially, if you have a medium-sized or small dog, you may want to start with the hoop positioned closer to the ground and slowly raise it as your dog becomes more comfortable with the trick. This gradual elevation ensures your dog’s safety while it learns this new and fun trick.
