Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Jump Over People

Difficulty: Moderate 

Now that your dog can jump over sticks and through hoops, let's give him a bigger challenge. Get down on all fours and have your dog jump over your back. This is not only fun for your dog, but for the whole family. Involving people adds a lot of excitement to a simple jumping trick, and children think it is funny to see people get on their hands and knees so a dog can jump over them. This is a great trick for social events and is a staple for show dogs.

Step 1: f your dog can comfortably jump over a stick elevated about 25 inches from the ground then you can begin to teach him to jump over people who are on their hands and knees in the crawl position.

Step 2: Have your dog jump over the stick. Click & treat. (repeat a few times).

Step 3: Have a helper kneel on their hands and knees.

Step 4: Hold the stick just over him. Have your dog jump over the stick. Click and Jackpot. (If your dog won't jump over the stick with the person under it, try having the person lie down on the ground).

Step 5: After a few repetitions have your dog jump without using the stick. Click and treat.

Step 6: Try adding people spaced about 10 feet apart for a nice show at your next barbecue.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian was hesitant to jump over a person, and we had to work with him to help him overcome his doubt. Both Caspian and I knew that he could complete the jump, but the idea of a person being there instead of a hoop or a stick was foreign to him. We started out by placing the jumping stick on top of the person's back and saying "leap." He wouldn't jump, so we had to start by laying on the floor first just to get him used to the idea of crossing the jump stick with a person there as well. Once he got this concept, he was good to go.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog won't jump over me!

Although it was easy to teach Caspian to jump over a stick, he would balk at jumping humans. Having the person lay down and lowering the stick helped. After Caspian got used to jumping with the volunteer flat on the floor, he was read to jump over the stick with the volunteer beneath it on hands and knees. Soon we didn't need to use the stick at all.

Tip: "People can be even more unpredictable than dogs. So be sure that each of your volunteers understand that they should keep quiet and not move or stand up while the trick is in progress. Another great idea for this trick is to get dogs to jump over each other!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Jump Through Hoops

Teach Your Dog to Jump Through Hoops 

Difficulty: Easy 

If you have ever been to the circus, you'll remember that act where the man comes out with his dogs and those big hula hoops. He holds the hoops high in the air and his dogs leap through and run around and leap through again, as fluently as a ballerina's grand jeté. Maybe you thought, "Wow, I wish I could get my dog to do that," but maybe you didn't know how, or if it was even possible, to train your dog to do that. Training your dog to leap through hoops is easy, and pretty soon, he'll be leaping through the air just like any professional circus dog.

Step 1: Let your dog get used to the hoop. Set it on the ground; click and treat when he approaches it.

Step 2: Have a helper hold the hoop (do not elevate the hoop) on the floor in front of him.

Step 3: Call your dog or lure him through the hoop. Click and treat as he walks through the hoop. Repeat this a few times so he will get used to walking through it.

Step 4: Hold the hoop a bit higher and tell him to "Leap!" Click and treat if he jumps through the hoop.

Step 5: Keep on giving the hoop more height, clicking and treating each time.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian wasn't so sure about the hula hoop when we started out. Each time I got it out, he would slowly back up a step, then another, and finally leave the room. But I soon taught him that it wasn't anything to be afraid of. Now, jumping through hoops is one of his favorite things, and he rarely requires a treat to do it. I sure did start out with treats, though! Each time he approached the hoop, which was lying motionless on the ground, I would click and treat. Then I had my helper hold the hoop upright as I guided Caspian through the hoop. He tried to go around it at first, but eventually he cooperated. Each time he went through the hoop, I clicked and gave him a treat. Soon, I thanked my helper and took the hula hoop, raising it a bit in the air. "Leap!" I told him. Since he already knew Leap, he jumped right through. I clicked and treated. Each time we did it again, I raised the hula hoop just a bit higher. Soon, he was jumping through them at a very decent height! As we practiced this trick more and more, we started using smaller and smaller hoops.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog hits the hoop every time!

It is OK to click and treat if your dog hits the hoop starting out. But soon you will want to eliminate this unwanted behavior by not clicking when any part of him touches the hoop. He will soon learn that he has to clear the hoop before he gets his treat.

Tip: "Try using hoops of various sizes. Start out with a standard size hula hoop, but as your dog perfects the trick, try decreasing the size of the hoops. It's quite a spectacle to watch a full grown dog leap through a tiny hoop!"

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Leap

Difficulty: Easy 
By this time, your dog should be progressing very nicely and has learned quite a few tricks! One impressive set of tricks involves leaping over or through objects. This is a staple for show dogs and makes quite a thrilling spectacle when you show dinner guests or friends. One word of caution: before attempting these jumping tricks, consult your veterinarian to see if jumping and leaping is right for your dog. It's a good idea to not teach jumping tricks to puppies, as it could damage their hips. And don't attempt this trick if your dog has a history of hip dysplasia.

Step 1: Have your dog sit and stay while you lay a stick on the ground. Cross over to the other side of the stick and call your dog. As soon as the dog crosses the stick, click and treat.

Step 2: Do this a few more times before adding height to the stick by placing a couple of thick books underneath it. Click and treat while he is crossing the stick.

Step 3: As your dog becomes accustomed to crossing the stick, add height with more books. Once it gets high enough that your dog has to jump over it, start saying "Leap" before clicking and treating. Keep doing this until your dog will leap when commanded!

OUR EXPERIENCE

Because I had already taught Caspian 'Come,' this trick was easy for him. I started out with my red stick laying on the ground. I said, "Caspian, come!" When he was crossing the stick, I clicked and treated. I crossed the stick and he followed me. Each time he crossed the stick, I would click and treat. Soon, I didn't have to call him - he knew he had to cross the stick in order to get his treat. I added some books to make the stick higher and waited for him to go across it. This time I said, "Leap!" and when he did, I clicked and treated. Finally, I put the stick in the seat of the two chairs and told him to "Leap." He made a clear jump over the stick!

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog keeps going around the stick instead of over it.In some of the teaching sessions I had with Caspian, he wanted to come to me by going around the stick rather than jumping over it. This problem can be solved by ignoring his behavior until he crosses the stick. Another idea is to block off the remainder of your space so that he has no choice but to jump the stick to get to you.

He keeps knocking it over!If your dog is knocking the stick over, that could be a sign that it is too high for him to jump. You want to make sure you don't injure your dog by having him leap too high. Lower it and try again. If it is the first or second time in your dog's leaping experience and he knocks the stick over, don't worry. He will probably perfect his trick. You can click for the first couple times, but if he continues to knock it over, refrain from clicking/treating until he leaps without touching it. Then reward him well!

Tip: "Only go as high as is appropriate for your dog's breed and age. To avoid hip trouble later on, use moderation when teaching this trick and keep training sessions at around five minutes at a time."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Park

Difficulty: Easy 

Another practical command that should be taught is the park (eliminate) command. I've spent many cold nights waiting on my dog. If you don't have a fenced in yard, and take your dog out on a leash, it can be pretty frustrating sometimes getting your dog to realize that he's there for a reason, and it's not checking out the neighborhood dog news.

Step 1: Designate a specific spot in your yard to make clean-up easier.

Step 2: Wait until he finishes eliminating, then click and treat.

Step 3: Do this each time, introducing a command such as "Park" or "Find a good spot."

Step 4: Be consistent, but vary the reward.

OUR EXPERIENCE

When it's cold and rainy outside, you can imagine how helpful an obedience command such as this would be. When teaching Caspian to park on command, we would take a bag of treats and a clicker with us whenever we took him outside. As well as food treats, we would treat him in other ways as well, such as playing with a tennis ball or frisbee. If you start out by bringing your dog in immediately after he is finished, you may teach him to prolong parking so that that he can explore more and have more time outside. Playing with Caspian afterwards trained him to do his business first, then playing and exploring comes afterwards.

TEACHING TROUBLE

After training for days, I say, "Park!" but he doesn't go!

Pay attention to step 4: Be consistent, but vary the reward. Make sure you take something outside with you that your dog really wants, and make sure he knows you have it. If you've established that, then he'll try doing everything he can to get it, which will result in good behavior.

Tip: "You don't have to give your dog a food treat each time you click. Try playing fetch with him for a while, or taking him on a nice, long walk! Dogs love attention just as much as they do food."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Ring the Bell

Difficulty: Easy 

It's ten-thirty in the morning. You have to be at your friend's house at eleven, but you don't want to leave your dog's mess unattended in the dining room floor. You're a long time cleaning, scrubbing, and vacuuming. Eleven o'clock hits the mark and you haven't left yet. You jump in the car and onto the road full speed, and you still arrive twenty minutes late.

You apologize to your friend, explain to them in sparse detail why you came late. Later during a conversation unexciting, you hear their tiny dog's footsteps, then the tinkling and jingling of a bell. You ask them what it is. Oh its my dog, they say, she's ringing the bell to tell me she has to go outside.

This is an extremely useful trick, perfect for house training puppies. The attractiveness of using a bell to let you know when your dog needs to go out is that you can hear it all over the house. Puppies don't have enough experience to come get you to take them out. In fact, the most common sign is spinning around. More often than not, you aren't around to see! Using a bell, you'll be able to hear every single time your dog needs some time outside.

Step 1: Use a training stick to target the bell.

Step 2: When he touches the bell, click and treat.

Step 3: When he touches the bell on his own, click and jackpot.

Step 4: Whenever you take him outside, have him touch the bell first. The reward is to open the door.

Step 5: our canine will, in a few days, learn that the door opens when he rings the bell.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian was only a puppy when we taught him this trick. This made housetraining him very easy. We never used the newspaper or puppy-pad method. We taught him touch right away so that we could teach him to ring a bell to let us know that he needed to go outside. We threaded an old jingle bell left over from Christmas onto some twine, and wrapped it around our front door knob. We kept an eye on him before he quite learned touch and bell, but it didn't take but a couple of days for him to get the hang of it. Using the bell in this way makes a drastic difference in house training a puppy.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog rings the bell when all he wants to do is play

You can eliminate this sly dog behavior by paying attention to certain times your dog usually goes out. If you have just taken your dog out and it isn't reasonable that he needs to go out again, or if your dog is in a particularly playful mood, don't open the door. You want the bell to be the signal for a quick "do your business" trip, not playtime.

Tip: "Keep the jingle bell on the door and well accessible to your dog. Also, make sure it is well tied to the string so it won't come off for your dog to swallow."

Dog Trick: Teach Your Dog to Learn Names

Difficulty: Moderate 

Dogs are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and can learn the names of all sorts of things. A border collie named Chaser currently holds the record for the largest dog vocabulary, having learned the names of over 1000 different toys and items. Dog's aren't limited to objects, they can learn the names of people and other pets as well. Wouldn't it be nice if your dog knew your kids' names? You can teach your dog the names of all his toys, the remote, or a place like his kennel or the living room.

Step 1: Have your dog touch your hand and click treat.

Step 2: Hold the object in your hand and say touch. Click treat when he touches the object not when he touches your hand.

Step 3: Call the object by its name (tug, squeaky, bunny, etc.) just as he touches it. Click and treat.

Step 4: Repeat 5 times.

Step 5: Hold the object and say its name and click and treat when he touches it.

Step 6: For teaching the names of people (Bob, Joe, Dad, Mom, etc.) and places (Bed, corner, kennel, etc.) use the training stick to introduce the person or place

OUR EXPERIENCE

I started out by waiting until Caspian looked at his toy, "Bobo." I clicked and treated. I did this several times until he was looking at it often. This got his attention and directed it toward Bobo. Then, I only started clicking and treating when he went toward the toy and touched it. Each time he touched it with his mouth (or paw, whichever you prefer), I would click and treat. Soon, he did it so often that I started saying "Bobo" whenever he touched it. Now, when I say, "Caspian, get Bobo" he'll go looking around the house to find his toy.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He's not getting it!

Don't tire your dog out. Five minutes at a time for a puppy and 7-10 minutes for an adult dog is a long training session. After that amount of time, their focus blurs. Even if your dog understands what you're trying to get him to do, he'll have a harder time remembering it later if he's tired.

Tip: "Teach your dog to round up your kids! Instead of going to get them yourself, you could combine this trick with "Speak" and tell your dog to "Go get Emma!" Once he finds her, he will bark once to let her know she's wanted."

Dog Trick : Teaching Your Dog Bring It

Difficulty: Easy 

Dog Bring It 

Bring it is a staple for dog training which we'll use to build other tricks upon. For example, after you teach your dog bring it, it will be easy to teach him to fetch, bring his dish or leash, or teach funnier tricks like Bring me a Drink or Get me a tissue!

Step 1: Tell your dog to get a toy by using the "Take It" command.

Step 2: Encourage your dog to come towards you with the toy. Click and treat if he brings it towards you a few steps. Do this a few times.

Step 3: Keep encouraging him to come nearer to you with the toy. Click and treat when he comes to you with the toy.

Step 4: Repeat these steps until your dog brings the toy to you each time without much prompting. Use the command "Bring it!" as you teach.

Step 5: Put the toy on the ground and walk across the room. Say, "Take it" and "Bring it!" If your dog obeys, click and give him a jackpot!

OUR EXPERIENCE

I put Caspian's toy on the floor, saying, "Take it!" He grabs it and looks at me. I pat my leg to encourage him to come to me. Immediately, he takes several steps toward me. I click and treat. We do this several times; each time Caspian gets closer to me. One time he comes to me without the toy - I ignore him. Now he is bringing me the toy every time. I click and treat, saying "Bring it" when he comes with the toy. Soon Caspian was able to understand my command and bring me the toy whenever I asked him to.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He'll come to me just fine, but without the toy!

Don't click and treat when he comes to you without the toy - that's not what you're trying to teach. Be kind, but tough! Begin by clicking if he moves towards your direction with the toy in his mouth. Soon your dog will understand he has to bring it to you!

Tip: "Practice with different objects in different rooms, and have other people help you out by giving your dog the command themselves!"

Dog Trick : Teaching Your Dog to Leave It

Difficulty: Easy 

The man pats the dog next to him, "She's heeling fine," he says out loud, "Good girl, Daisy, good girl." He peers hard into the night; the wind stings his ears in a chilling burst; the flashlight clicking on, though weakly revealing the terrain before him in its dim gaze: nothing two double-A batteries couldn't fix, if only he he had some extras.

He rounds the house's corner and makes for the woods behind the house. He yawns. It's late in the night. He would be in asleep by now if only his dog would have eaten at proper hours and not at bedtime. He passes close by the neighbor's house, pulls Daisy away from a garbage pile with a gentle tug on the leash.

"Why do they have to dump their dinner leftovers there?" he asks to himself. He looks down. She had snatched a long chicken bone, and she was about to bite down on it. "Leave it!" he commands. She drops it immediately; whines rebelliously. He sighs; relieved.

Whether it is a chicken bone that can splinter and choke your dog, a sock which you don't want to have to replace, or any other item you don't want your dog to pick up, this is another command that can potentially save your dog's life.

Step 1: With your dog on a leash, let her smell the dog biscuit - then drop it two or three feet in front of her.

Step 2: Call her by name and say "leave it" as she starts for the treat. Restrain her with the leash.

Step 3: When your dog looks at you, click and treat with the chicken cube. Praise her as she gives up the dog biscuit for the chicken cube treat.

Step 4: Repeat steps one to three five times the first session.

Step 5: In your next session, repeat steps 1-4, but use part of a hot dog as the bait and liver as the reward.

Step 6: In subsequent sessions, teach "leave it" as above, training off-leash in a fenced yard.

Step 7: Regularly call your dog away from things that she likes – other dogs, treats etc., and then let her go back after you have praised her.

OUR EXPERIENCE

After teaching Caspian this incredibly useful command, we would regularly use the leave it command when outside with him, whether it was a squirrel he noticed, or a bit of leftovers the neighbors threw over the fence. One day, I had him out off leash, playing fetch with a tennis ball. My neighbor was out, spraying around and old stump with some poison. Caspian was interested in what he was doing, and went to investigate. "Leave it," I said. Caspian immediately turned and came back to me. My neighbor looked up and said, "That's the smartest dog!"

TEACHING TROUBLE

He won't leave the treat, even for a better one!

Make sure your dog knows you have an even better treat. And, again, be patient. It is worth it to spend extra time on this trick, because it might save your dog's life one day!

Tip: "Be consistent with your dog! Let her know that whenever she leaves something, she will receive something better in return."

Dog Trick - Teaching Your Dog listen command Take It

Difficulty: Easy 

Congratulations! Your dog should be behaving very well now, having mastered the basics . Now, let's work on training your dog to properly interact with the world around him. One of the great things about dogs is their ability to help others, and being able to pick up dropped items or other objects is a very practical thing for dogs to do. In fact, assistance dogs are trained to do this very thing. Whether or not that is your goal, teaching your dog take it, is a very beneficial trick which we will build off of later on.

Step 1: Get one of your dog's favorite toys and set it on the ground. Wait for him to pick it up in his mouth. Click and treat.

Step 2: Repeat this several times. When he starts picking up the toy without hesitation, start using the command take it when you click and treat.

Step 3: After a few times of that, see if he will pick it up at your command!

Step 4: See how many objects he'll pick up! Point to the sock and say, take it. Click and treat. Point to the remote and say take it, etc. 

OUR EXPERIENCE

It wasn't hard to teach Caspian take it. I set down a toy he really loves, and waited to see what he would do. He looked around to figure out what was going on, and saw the toy there. He bent down to chew on it and I clicked and treated. I did this again, each time waiting a bit longer to teach him that I wanted him to keep it in his mouth until I clicked. After a while I started using the command take it when he got it right.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He gets frustrated and won't pick it up!

Believe it or not, he may be getting frustrated because you are! Do your best to be patient and don't say anything. If your dog growls, ignore him. He'll eventually get it. If you need to, click for any behavior that is not quite but close to what you want (i.e., if he goes near the object or touches it). After that, you can eventually shape it into the behavior you want.

Tip: "Teaching your dog Take it now will pave the way for many great tricks later on!"

Dog Trick : Teaching Your Dog Heel

Difficulty: Easy 

For a well-trained dog, teaching heel - to walk beside you with a loose leash, without pulling - is a must. Consider these two examples:

A man opens his front door and exits with his dog on leash. It is a busy neighborhood. Other dogs bark around him, cars whoosh down the road through puddles of rain. The soggy ground is imprinted with his footprints and exactly next to them are his dog's. As if glued to his side the dog trots. Never venturing ahead. Never falling behind to sniff at a mysterious stump or for whiff of a bush that rumors another dog's scent. The leash dangles in a calm arch.

Across the street a woman yells. The man stops to watch, the dog with him. She is flung forward clinging to a black leash. A small dog runs ahead pulling her where it wishes to sniff. The man grins, then laughs aloud.

Step 1: Begin by having your dog on a leash looped to your belt on your left side. That way you don't have to use your hands to hold the leash.

Step 2: Should your dog pull on the leash—never go in the direction that your dog is pulling.

Step 3: When your dog is close to you with his shoulder by your left leg then click and treat. (If you are walking you will have to stop to treat. That's ok, using the clicker in this way greatly speeds up the time it takes for your dog to learn this important skill.) 

Step 4: When your dog starts walking regularly by your left side, then begin using the commands "let's go" and "with me" so that the dog will associate those commands with that position by your side. These commands are more natural than saying "heel."

Step 5: Click and treat every ten steps that your dog completes by your left side.

Step 6: Work in 10 to 15 minute sessions about four times each day until the skill is mastered.

Step 7: When your dog is faithfully responding to the "let's go" and "with me" commands by walking by your side, then begin off leash training.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian was only a puppy when we first started working on this. To go outside was a new adventure for him every time, and he would want to check out everything. Even though he was just a puppy, he pulled quite hard on the leash, and would end up choking himself. If I ran with him, he would see the leash as a toy, and jump up to catch at it. He would hold the leash in his mouth, like he was "taking his human on a walk," instead of the other way around. Although we started with these difficulties, it didn't take too long for him to understand that I was in charge. Consistency cured his pulling problem.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He just won't listen!

Dogs are sometimes obstinate. If they want to pull you on the leash in order to get somewhere faster, they will. The main rule for you in training your dog to heel is for you to be firm and obstinate yourself. Never go in the direction that your dog is pulling. If anything, go the opposite direction that your dog wants to go and train him to always walk by your side. Just a few steps of walking right next to you are great strides toward your goal. Remember to click and treat well and only do ten or fifteen minutes of training at a time.

Tip: "Start by teaching off leash tricks in a fenced-in yard or enclosed area so that you don't lose your dog."