Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Tug

Difficulty: Easy (Teach Dog to Tug )

Here is a fun trick that both you and your dog will enjoy. Some breeds will naturally play tug with you, or with other dogs. Maybe your dog already knows how to play tug. But learning to tug on command (and alternatively giving on command) is good to know. This trick is used in movie production all the time, and is a staple for stunt dogs. They learn to tug a certain piece of cloth or rope, which can be affixed to actors (fido saves Billy by pulling him out of the way of a speeding train, etc.). The give command is also useful apart from the tug game itself. If your dog collects your things, such as socks or slippers, tell him to give instead of chasing him all over the house. But of course, playing tug is a great way to spend time with your dog and further builds the bond between human and dog.

Teaching Your Dog To Tug:

Step 1: Take a rope toy and offer it to the dog and say "take it." (Reward your dog with praise when he moves toward the rope toy.)

Step 2: When your dog takes it, gently shake and tug the rope toy to get the dog to hold and pull against the tugs.

Step 3: Click and Treat when your dog tugs back on the rope toy. Use "Tug" as your command. Keep repeating this until your dog will tug at it eagerly.

Teaching Your Dog To Give:

Step 1: With your dog pulling firmly on the rope, say "give" at the same time offering a treat. When he drops the rope toy, click and treat.

Step 2: Reinforce this trick by repeating four or five times per session. Pay special attention to the "give" command. This is important for your safety. Make sure that your dog will stop the game with the "give" command.

Step 3: Play tug several times a day. Each time you play the game make sure you use the commands saying "take it" when you your dog takes the rope and "give" when you want him to release the rope.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian was very eager to tug on a new rope toy. Since he is a labradoodle, he gets very excited about playing, whether it's with a ball, frisbee, or toy, so he began tugging on the rope toy naturally. Even though it was natural for him to play tug, we still wanted to teach the commands so that he could tug multiple objects.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog is so uninterested in this trick. How will I get him to start tugging at the toy? It will help if the toy you use to teach this trick is one of your dog's favorite toys, a new toy, or one that you bring out only for this occasion. Your dog will be interested if you are excited, and play it with him like a game. You can also tease him with it a bit before you begin to get him excited.

Tip: "Use a special toy to teach this trick, and use it only while learning this trick and playing tug. This will keep your dog excited about this special toy, and you can use this instead of a food treat."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Hush

Difficulty: Moderate (Trainning Dog to Hush )

The barking and barking. The yapping and squealing by the window. The bark that makes you dizzy. Like needles in your eardrums. Not stopping. Never ceasing. Only continuing on and on, to drive you mad, to drive you crazy, to drive you up a wall. Ringing in your ears. Your heart beats faster. And faster. The bark pulsing your head. The pain stabbing your neck. If only you could say one word, and end it all...

Hush. It's an incredibly useful command that saves your ears and peace of mind. Depending on the breed, your dog may or may not be a barker. If he is territorial at all, you may be dealing with a lot of barking problems. Barking is good - it warns you of potential danger; but it can be very annoying if the dog is barking at every jogger that goes by. With this trick, teach him to be silent when you give the command.

Step 1: Focus your attention on your dog while he is barking. If he looks at you and stops barking, even for a second, click and treat.

Step 2: Repeat this several times, eventually adding the word "Hush" as you click and treat.

Step 3: After several training sessions while your dog is barking, give your dog the command and click and treat when he hushes. Repeat this until he has mastered the trick. Each time you repeat, try and go for longer durations of silence. 

Step 4: You can now add a hand signal to help with this trick. Use it whenever you give the command, and he'll associate it with the trick.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian can be a worrier. He barks at every dog that walks down the street, as well as walkers and joggers, not to mention the mailman and the poor FedEX guy. We almost didn't get a package one time because Caspian was barking so loud. Even though he has a deep bark, he's made entirely of fluff, and would probably lick a burglar to death instead of attacking. However, the barking issue was a problem that we wanted to fix, and the hush command has done its job.

TEACHING TROUBLE

When I stare at my dog to get his attention, he just ignores me and keeps on barking. You may have to get his attention some other way. Clear your throat, say his name, or show him the treat. Eventually, he'll learn not to ignore you.

Tip: "You usually have to 'catch' this trick by waiting until your dog starts barking wildly. But if you have noticed certain things your dog will bark at, such as when a doorbell is rung, or a light shining on a wall, use that to help teach."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Speak

Difficulty: Easy 

Congratulations! You are halfway done learning 52 tricks! To celebrate, here's an easy trick to teach your dog, one which is both useful and beneficial for learning more complex tricks later on. Getting your dog to speak—to bark on command—is an easy thing to do, and can have many great advantages. It's definitely a trick worth teaching, since you can do lots of things with it, such as training your dog to bark at strangers, learning to count ), or growling. One great reason to teach your dog to bark on command, is that by teaching him to bark, you may actually cure a barking problem. You can teach this trick in such a way so that your dog only barks when you give him the command, which can be extremely beneficial for those with problem dogs (and not to mention much less expensive than an anti-barking collar).

Step 1: Get your dog to bark. For example, if you know that your dog barks when the doorbell is rung, then ring the bell, and when he barks say "Speak" and click and treat.

Step 2: After repeating this several times, try giving him the command (Speak). If he obeys and barks, give him a jackpot.

OUR EXPERIENCE

We were really anxious to teach Caspian how to count ), so we delved right into this trick when he was just a puppy. In training him, we used things like knocking on the door, or ringing the doorbell to make him bark, but we also caught the behavior when he barked naturally. Now, we usually have him sit first before giving him the speak command, just so that he is paying attention and ready to speak.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog never barks, how can I teach him to speak? If your dog doesn't bark very often, take extra time to figure out ways to teach your dog. Notice when your dog makes any growling noise, however slight. Click and treat for these small things and once your dog can make these little 'yips' on command, ask more of him by clicking and treating only when he growls louder. Become pickier by clicking and treating only when you are satisfied with the way it sounds.

Tip: "Use this trick to teach your dog to count!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Sit Pretty

Difficulty: Moderate 

Prerequisite: dog Sit

While it's generally not a good idea for your dog to be truly begging for scraps at the table, getting her to sit pretty—act like she's begging—is a fun and comical trick to teach. This is also a good trick to build other tricks on. You can get your dog to act like she's praying, or to reach for the sky if you make a gun-hand-gesture. This is also a good exercise for your dog, and s great for strengthening his back legs. As with any exercise, moderation is key. Start out slow, and gradually build up to where your dog is comfortable.

Step 1: Get down on your dog's level with your dog sitting in front of you.

Step 2: Let your dog smell a treat and then slowly lift it up above him.

Step 3: When she lifts her paws off the ground click and treat.

Step 4: Each time her hindquarters are on the floor and her front paws are up, say "sit pretty" and click/treat.

Step 5: Repeat four or five times each training session.

OUR EXPERIENCE

In the books, trainers say that this is one of the easiest tricks to teach your dog. Many dogs perform this trick naturally as soon as you lift a treat above their heads. Unfortunately, Caspian is not one of those lucky dogs. I had a hard time teaching him to sit pretty, but we persevered together, and finally we conquered it! Now, Caspian has no trouble with this trick and enjoys the performance.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He isn't strong enough to sit pretty! You can help support your dog at first by supporting his front paws so that he can gain strength. Only expect him to hold the position on his own for a second or two at first and gradually build up the endurance so that he can stay in position for several seconds.

Tip: "This is a great strength-training trick to teach your dog, because it builds up strength in your dog's hindquarters!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Roll Over

Difficulty: Moderate 

Teaching your dog this trick is a must. Along with sit and down, this is one of the most well-known dog tricks. In fact, if a visitor comes over and asks you, "Does your dog know any tricks?" then proceeds to find out for herself, chances are high that she'll ask, "Come on boy, roll-over." Have you ever wondered how to get your dog to roll over? It's more difficult than many other tricks, but with patience and a lot of encouragement, your dog will be rolling over on command.

Step 1: Have your dog lay down.

Step 2: Lure him with the training stick or with your treat to have him move over to one hip and on his side. Click and treat.

Step 3: Use the lure to get him to go over on his back. (This may take time for some dogs). Click and treat.

Step 4: Continue using the lure to get him to roll all the way over. Jackpot when he does this. (Some people have used gently sloping ground to make it easier for the dog to roll all the way over).

Step 5: When your dog is rolling over more readily, stop using the lure. Expect more before you click and treat, but praise and jackpot when he performs well.

Step 6: After he is rolling over smoothly, start giving him the verbal command "Roll over." A circular hand signal is also helpful. Always praise and intermittently click and treat when he performs well.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian learned this trick surprisingly quickly (though after some frustration). I started out having him lay down. I guided the touch stick gently from one side of his head to the other, pushing it back. I told him in a gentle voice to touch it. He moved his head around and as he did so he moved onto his back, his paws coming upwards. I clicked and treated. The second time I did this I waited for him to come up some more before I clicked and treated. Soon, he rolled all the way over. "Good boy!" I said, and gave him a jackpot. After doing this several times, Caspian got the hang of rolling over. When he started doing it more smoothly I used my command "Roll Over" as I clicked and treated. Soon, I stopped using the touch stick and Caspian was able to roll over at my command.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He stands up to touch the stick rather than roll over to do it! This part of the training process depends on you. Be very gentle in your movements and commands. Move the touch stick around slowly as you say in a low voice, "T..o...u...c..h..." If you are slow and steady in your voice and actions, your dog's actions will be less reckless, too!

Tip: "Try having your dog roll over on the same side each time to keep things consistent."

Dopg Trick : Teach Your Dog to Jump

Difficulty: Easy 

This trick teaches your dog to jump straight up in the air. It's not teaching him to jump 'over' and object, rather, it teaches him to jump in the air, with all four paws off the ground. This trick paves the way for teaching your dog to jump rope, . Again, as we've said in the beginning of this book: before attempting any jumping tricks, consult your veterinarian to see if these tricks are okay for your dog to do. Again, it's not a good idea to teach puppies jumping tricks; it's possible to hurt their developing hips. And if your dog has any history of hip dysplasia, these jumping tricks can hurt your dog. Teaching your dog to jump is both fun for you and your dog, just make sure a vet give you the okay so that you don't hurt your pet. The point of teaching this trick to your dog is to have fun, and this trick especially encourages your dog to be excited; and you'll find yourself getting pretty excited as well!

Step 1: With your touch stick, hold it high in the air so that he has to jump up to touch it. As soon as his legs come off the ground, click and treat. If he's having trouble, start out with just having your dog touch the touch stick closer to the ground, then gradually getting higher.

Step 2: With your touch stick, hold it high in the air so that he has to jump up to touch it. As soon as his legs come off the ground, click and treat. If he's having trouble, start out with just having your dog touch the touch stick closer to the ground, then gradually getting higher.

Step 3: Keep doing this until he jumps at your command. Gradually stop using the touch stick and use your command instead. Click and treat whenever he does this.

OUR EXPERIENCE

The secret to this trick was first of all to get Caspian excited! Once Caspian was all happy and excited, I grabbed my touch stick and started out by re-acquainting him with it. I gave him a couple of easy ones on the ground, then got higher. I placed the touch stick high enough in the air so that he had to jump (with all four paws off the ground) in order to touch it. As soon as all four paws came off the floor, I clicked and treated. After the first few, I started saying "Jump" as I clicked and treated. I used a hand signal to help him out and took away the touch stick. As I did my hand signal, I also gave the command - "Jump!" He did it right away.

TEACHING TROUBLE

This was the hardest thing for Caspian to learn. The main thing that helped him out was that he knew he needed to touch the stick at first in order to get the treat. When I held the touch stick high enough so that he had to jump to touch it, he learned that he got his treat when he jumped all the way.

Tip: "Short sessions are the key to this trick. Jumping up and down is hard on dogs' hips, especially larger dogs, so keep that in mind when you are training your dog."

Dog Trick : teach Your Dog to Shake

Difficulty: Moderate 

A dog that shakes on command can be quite an impressive trick! The only problem: You have to catch your dog in the act of shaking first. This isn't a behavior that happens often: such as sitting, laying down or even barking. Nor is it one that you can introduce with a touch stick, such as spinning or playing dead. You have to catch your dog in the act of shaking, which can be tricky. First, you have to be observant! When does your dog shake? When he gets up from a nap? When he comes back inside? After he's had a bath? Notice these and pick the one that will be the easiest to teach. Usually the most effective training session is immediately after a bath, when your dog is wet and frisky.

Step 1: Catch this trick with the clicker. Click and treat after you give him a bath or after you go outside in the rain when he shakes the water off.

Step 2: When he lifts his paw click and treat.

Step 3: If he offers the behavior again click and jackpot. 

Step 4: Click and treat and give the command "shake" whenever he shakes.

Step 5: Give the command -- when he shakes, jackpot.

OUR EXPERIENCE

In teaching this trick to Caspian, we had some trouble catching him in the act of shaking. We tried rubbing him down really good—which almost worked. He shook when we messed up his fur, but it was more confusing for him then when we would catch the behavior naturally. What we started doing is clicking when he shook after getting out of the bathtub, or when he came inside on a rainy day. Once we were able to figure out what makes him shake, it was a simple matter of repetition for Caspian to get it.

TEACHING TROUBLE

The behavior doesn't happen often enough for my dog to get it!

There are a few tricks you can try to get your dog to shake. First, make sure he's wet. You could try getting a spray water bottle and spritzing some water all over his back. You can also try rubbing your dog back and forth vigorously. This usually causes dogs to shake. Your main problem is getting your dog to realize what he's doing. When the action happens naturally, the dog doesn't think about it much. You have to point it out to your dog, "Hey, good job shaking there. I want you to do it again."

Tip: "Treat big the first few times so your dog will be motivated to find out why he's being rewarded!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Shake Hands

Difficulty: Easy 

If you have an especially cute puppy (and what puppy isn't cute?), visitors think that it is absolutely adorable to be introduced with a tiny paw-shake just as if to say, "Hi, nice to meet you! Why yes, it is okay for you to rub my belly now!"

Step 1: Have your dog sit in front of you.

Step 2: When he lifts his paw click and treat.

Step 3: Repeat five times.

Step 4: Wait for him to offer lifting his paw (however slight). Click and treat.

Step 5: Say the word "paw" each time he lifts his paw. Click and treat.

Step 6: Say the word "paw" and click and treat when he lifts his paw.

Step 7: Modify the trick by rewarding only higher lifts. You can encourage him to lift his paw by tickling the hollow behind his paw.

OUR EXPERIENCE

When Caspian learned "Paw," I started out by having him sit. I waited for him to lift his paw. As soon as he did lift it, I clicked and treated. I waited again, and clicked and treated when he lifted his paw. It was OK that he was only lifting it up a little bit. I wanted to capture the good behavior, however slight it was. After a few times repeating this, Caspian figured out that he got a treat whenever he lifted his paw. He started doing it more frequently, and I started saying the word "Paw" whenever he lifted it. Soon, when I gave him the command, he lifted it! In other training sessions I was able to shape the behavior so that he lifted his paw higher and eventually placed it in my hand.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He will lift his paw, but only a little bit! How can I get him to lift it higher?

Click and treat at the beginning, no matter how high he lifts his paw, to encourage good behavior. Then, get tougher! Start to only click and treat when your dog lifts his paw higher, and the higher he lifts it, the bigger treat you give him. He may get frustrated, but he'll get it soon enough.

Tip: "You can encourage him to lift his paw by tickling the hollow behind his paw."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Spin

Difficulty: Easy 

It may not be a very useful trick, but having your dog spin in circles is very impressive. You can pair this trick with other moves such as jumping tricks to create a dance routine! If you want to get fancy, you can teach your dog to spin left or spin right by your hand signal. Start out big and point in the direction you want him to go, associating that with your specific command, "Spin Left," or "Spin Right." For each training session, use smaller hand signals for a perfected trick.

Step 1: Using your touch stick, guide your dog around in a circular motion. As he makes a full turn, click and treat.

Step 2: Keep doing this several times, eventually adding a hand signal (circular motion with index finger).

Step 3: Use the touch stick less. When your dog can spin without the touch stick, add your command.

Step 4: Practice until your dog can spin at your command!

OUR EXPERIENCE

It was easy to teach Caspian this trick. I just started by having him play around with the touch stick, getting him used to touching it while I clicked and treated. Then, I said "Touch" as I moved it around in a circular motion around his body. Caspian turned his head around to follow the touch stick and then his whole body followed. As he made a whole turn, I clicked and treated. I did this again and again until he was used to the motion. I then started using a hand signal (moving my finger around in a circular motion) to help him out and used the touch stick less. When he was able to spin without the touch stick, I started giving his command, "Spin!" Each time he would spin at my command I would give him a jackpot treat.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog has A.D.D!

Maybe your dog starts to spin, but then he notices something a few feet away and stops mid-spin to go check it out. If this is true, it sounds like you've been training a bit too long. Either that, or your treat isn't good enough! Make sure your dog is well rested and your treats are good. Also, clear the room of any distractions such as televisions, toys, or children that might get in the way of an excellent training session.

Tip: "You can also teach this trick by using the clicker to catch your dog in the act of chasing his tail!"

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Go To A Place

Difficulty: Easy 

Go to a Place is a fundamental trick used in movie production. In this trick, you will teach your dog to go to a certain place, marked by a small piece of tape or shiny disk. You can also use this trick to teach your dog to lay down on his bed or sit on a rug. It can also be paired with other tricks for a more exciting show. This is an easy trick to teach and can be funny watching your dog prance on top of his mark, eager for a treat! This trick has many uses, one of which is to get your dog to pose with you for family portraits.

Step 1: Have your dog touch the training stick. Click and treat.

Step 2: Place a piece of tape or a disk on the floor. Use the training stick to point to the marker, and click/treat when he is on that spot. Practice this several times until your dog knows to go to the marker to get his treat.

Step 3: Call the marker by its name (mark, spot, disk, etc.) just as he steps into it. Click and treat. Repeat until you can say the name of the marker and he'll go right to it! Now, you can place the marker anywhere in the room where you want your dog to sit or lay down.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This was an interesting trick to teach Caspian. We previously had taught him to sit on our foyer rug by catching the behavior with the clicker; then attributing the name "rug" to the action. But training him to go sit or lay down on a marker is much better, since we can place the marker down anywhere we want him to be. We chose some masking tape for our marker and made an "X" with two small strips. We didn't want Caspian thinking that he was supposed to pick up the marker.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog will understand to go to the place after one session, but later in the day he can't remember it at all and we have to start over again!

This is perfectly normal. Keep practicing the trick and your dog will eventually remember what to do. Try keeping practice sessions to five or ten minutes and give him a generous break afterwards. But don't let the break be too long - come back to reinforce it within the hour. Also, always end on a good note. Sometimes your dog might start to get frustrated even after doing the trick several times. When this happens, he is very close to getting it. It's important to keep going so that you can end positively and with a jackpot.

Tip: "For a funny routine, teach your dog to 'go to a corner' using this trick and combine it with Act Ashamed. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" You can tell your dog, "Go sit in the corner!"