Dog Trick- Teach Your Dog to Backup

Difficulty: Easy 

Teach Dog to Backup

This is a very useful trick to teach your dog, and one that will condition him for more advanced tricks later on. A good practical use of getting your dog to back up is for tossing him a toy or treat to catch. You can also have your dog back out of the kitchen while you're eating, for example. Teaching your dog to back up will pave the way for more impressive tricks later on, such as incorporating it into a dance routine. Tricks like that are extremely hard to teach, and take lots of time, but the foundations for them start here. Think up creative ways to use back up with other tricks for a much more impressive show.

Step 1: With your dog standing facing you, walk forward toward him. When he takes a step backwards, click and treat.

Step 2: Continue stepping forward. When he takes multiple steps backwards, click and treat.

Step 3: Practice this until he understands that if he backs up, he deserves a treat. Start walking toward him less. You can use a signal instead (Try waving the back of your hand toward him, or taking a single step forwards).

Step 4: Once he has learned this, say "Back" as he backs up and as you give the hand signal. Do this several times until well learned. Remember to click and treat when he cooperates.

Step 5: Give him the command and see if he'll back up! Click and treat well each time he obeys. Reinforce with extra training sessions.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Teaching Caspian this trick was pretty straightforward. We would walk towards him, and click/treat when he would back up. Sometimes he would try and move out of our way instead of backing up, so we decided to relocate to our upstairs hallway—so the walls would constrict his movements. When we moved toward him in the hallway, he had no choice but to back up. He soon got the idea, and we then attributed the command back up along with the hand signal. We usually use the "back" command for him to backup and sit before tossing him a treat or toy.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog won't start backing up unless I advance toward him. That's where the signal comes in. Try using the signal as you walk toward your dog each time. Then, gradually stop walking forwards, but keep the hand signal. Be patient and give your dog time to think about it. Also, remember to take enough breaks and don't wear your dog out. Short sessions are the most successful!

Tip: "A narrow hallway or a place where movement is restricted can help in teaching this trick."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Fetch

Difficulty: Easy 

Teach Dog to Fetch 

If your dog has mastered the "tug" game and the "bring it" command, then teaching him to fetch will be easy. Fetch comes naturally to some dogs, and to others it is a moderately easy trick to teach. Once your dog learns Fetch, he will enjoy doing it not only for treats, but simply because it's just a fun game. Follow the steps carefully with your dog, and soon you will have another fun game to play with him.

Step 1: Start by playing tug. Say the "take it" command when you want your dog to pick up the rope toy, and then the "give" when you want him to release the rope.

Step 2: Have your dog "give" the rope, but then toss it a few feet away. Say, "take it." Click treat when he picks up the rope.

Step 3: Generally, your dog should be excited about playing the tug game, and will usually come back to play some more. If he doesn't, repeat step two, this time getting him to bring it to you with the "come" command. Say "Give" and click and treat.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Since Caspian is part retriever, fetching came naturally to him. We would throw a tennis ball, and Caspian would be extremely excited—he knew that this was going to be a fun game. He would run down our hallway as fast as he could, and puppy-pounce on the ball. But then, he would get distracted, and not know what to do. He would chase after the ball fine, but he just wouldn't bring it back. We worked with him using the "come" command, and by clicking/treating, it didn't take him long to bring the ball back every time. Now playing fetch is his absolute favorite thing to do!

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog has learned to fetch, but he always brings it back slowly. Three things: The first thing is to use great rewards. Yummy snacks, great praising, a nice walk...All these 'treats' are good to reinforce the dog's behavior. The second thing is your enthusiasm. If you're not at all excited about the game, how do you expect your dog to be? Go all out; be silly. If your dog sees you enjoying it, chances are he will enjoy it, too. The third thing is time. The more you reinforce this trick, the more your dog will learn to appreciate it! Keep positive and practice it several times per day. After a while, he will learn to love fetch and look forward to playing it.

Tip: "Practice fetching different objects and at greater distances. Be generous with praise and click and treat when he performs well."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Open and Close a Door

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Open a Door 

Teach Dog to close a Door 

You have a smart dog! He's learning all sorts of new tricks. One trick that takes two separate steps to learn is opening and closing a door. Keep in mind that dogs can only open certain kinds of doors; it's practically impossible for a dog to twist a doorknob. The way dogs open doors is by pulling a cloth or rope attached to a latch. When he pulls the latch, the door swings open. You can use this trick to teach your dog to let himself out, but only teach this if you have a fenced-in yard. You can use this trick for a variety of other uses, such as opening and closing the refrigerator door (pair this with "fetch a drink,), or opening and closing a mailbox (you can teach your dog to get the newspaper or deliver a letter).

Teaching Your Dog to Open a Door

Step 1: Tie a bandana or cloth around your door. Tell him to tug it. Wait until he tugs the door open, then click and treat.

Step 2: Keep doing this, eventually saying, "open" whenever he tugs the door open. Click and treat every time.

Step 3: After your training session, he should be able to open the door at your command.

Teaching Your Dog to Close the Door:

Step 1: Put your touch stick on the door.

Step 2: Each time he touches it and moves the door a little, click and treat.

Step 3: Start waiting until he has pushed the door closed. Click and treat.

Step 4: Do this until he will close the door each time. Click and treat generously when he does this!

Step 5: Start saying "close" when he closes the door. After repeating the action several times, he should close the door at your command.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This command is taught to assistance dogs to help disabled persons in opening and closing doors. You can see how helpful this would be to someone wheelchair bound. For us, we don't have a specific reason such as this for Caspian to open and close doors; and since we don't have a fenced-in yard, we definitely didn't want him to be able to open the front door to let himself out. Nevertheless, we use this trick to open and close the refrigerator door, in conjunction with the "fetch a drink" command , which might be the perfect trick for when company comes over.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog is tugging and pushing, but can't open or close the door. Do you have a small dog? Obviously, smaller dogs can't open or close heavy doors. If you want to teach your small dog this trick, give him a more lightweight door such as a toy cabinet to open and close.

Tip: "Make sure you understand that while teaching your dog to open doors, he may use his newly learned trick to escape from home on a rather boring day."

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!"