Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog To Weave

Difficulty: Hard

Teach Dog To Weave 

When you watch dog agility competitions, one of the most spectacular sections has to be the weave poles. These championship dogs have trained hard and long to weave back and forth in between the poles at break-neck speed. Trainers say this is one of the hardest sections of agility competitions. Although there is difficulty involved, most dogs end up loving the weave poles. So even if you aren't trying to enter an agility competition, you can teach your dog this fun and exciting trick, using basic household products, and of course your clicker.

Step 1: Set up obstacles, such as orange cones (bought at Wal-mart), buckets, or even red plastic cups in a straight line. Start with three or four, and space them 24-30 inches apart. With your touch stick, guide your dog in and out of the obstacles, starting from the left side. When he goes in and out of one or two, click and treat. Continue to do this until he goes in and out of all of them.

Step 2: After getting your dog used to these motions, start saying "Weave" when he is finishing up his trick. Click and treat.

Step 3: Do this several times until your dog will weave at your command. This is a hard trick to teach, and it may take many training sessions. Fully expect your dog to go after the obstacles and try and play with them. Gently guide his attention back to your treats, and get him focused again on the touch stick.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Using the touch stick, I guided Caspian through each obstacle. At first, I clicked and treated as he went through two or three obstacles. Then, I would click and treat as he wove through each one. At the end, I would say "Weave!" and click and treat. We did this several times until Caspian could weave in a flowing tempo. Soon, I was able to use less touch stick and let him do it on his own.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He does it with the touch stick fine - but he won't do it on his own! If you think you have used the touch stick long enough and would like to have him do it on his own, but he's not responding, try using your finger to guide him. That will help him know what to do, and you can gradually get rid of the hinting.

Tip: "Encourage your dog to weave faster and faster! Make him excited by being excited yourself. Give him bigger treats if he goes at a fluent tempo."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Walk by Your Left or Right Side

Difficulty: Moderate 

Teach Dog to Walk by Left or Right Side

Does your dog know his lefts and rights? This is an easy trick to teach. When you take him out on a leash, does he tangle it around your legs? It may be useful to tell him "Left" or "Right" and keep yourself untangled from the leash. Not only is this a good trick to show off your smart dog, this is a useful command that professionally trained assistance dogs are expected to learn.

Step 1: With your touch stick, have your dog go around your right side and stand by your left side. Click and treat.

Step 2: Keep doing this, eventually saying, "Left" as soon as he stands by your left side.

Step 3: Repeat this action until he no longer needs the touch stick and can go to your left side at your command.

Step 4: Do the same thing, this time teaching him to go from your left side to your right side.

OUR EXPERIENCE

When teaching Caspian left and right, we began by using the touch stick. We would motion him to both sides, and clicking/treating. However, he easily became confused, and didn't quite get what he was being clicked for. Sometimes there are more than one way to teach a trick, so what we ended up having him first sit, then we would turn around, and pat our leg as to which side we wanted him to go to. When we motioned with our hand, he would come to that side. As he did so, we would say the command either 'right' or 'left.' We then started just saying the command, and leaving out the hand motion, and only clicking/treating for a correct performance. We would mix up the commands, just to see if he really knew the difference between right and left. Using the touch stick is a great way to teach this trick, but you may feel the need to tweak the steps a little to suit your own needs.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog is getting his left confused with his right! What do I do?

Try treating 'Left' and 'Right' as two separate tricks if this is happening. Usually, you want to teach both left and right so that your dog can differentiate between the two, but if he is getting easily confused, start with one, then move to the other. Try focusing on just one of them per training session. Hand cues are also important here: If your dog is paying attention and wants to find out what you're asking him to do, he'll look for hand signals, motions, or a direction from you to point him where he needs to go.

Tip: "You can gradually stop using the touch stick by guiding your dog with big hand motions. Then, you can make your hand motions smaller for a polished performance!"

Dog Trick - teach Your Dog to Act Ashamed

Difficulty: Moderate
teach  Dog to Act Ashamed 

Just as a comedian needs a handful of one-liners when his joke doesn't go over too well, it's good to have a trick to fall back on if your dog doesn't quite perform up to the level you were expecting. Lets say you have some dinner guests over, and you want to show off that new trick you taught Bella yesterday. You had taught her, and you're excited to show your friends how smart your dog is. Well, after telling her to retrieve your slippers, she's gone for a long time... after calling her, she comes slinking back with a slipper in her mouth, except it's completely chewed up. She drops the drool soaked mess of what used to be a comfortable slipper. Your dinner guests are trying their best not to laugh, they know you're embarrassed. Well, one trick that you did drill over and over is this one. "Bella! you should be ashamed of yourself!" Bella whines and lays down, puts her paw over her head. Your audience bursts into surprised laughter.


Step 1: Put some scotch tape or a sticky note on your dog's nose so that she paws at it. Click and treat.

Step 2: Repeat this a few times, but add in your command. Think of a short phrase such as "I'm Ashamed of you!" Use this command each time she paws at her nose.

Step 3: Take the tape off and give your command. Give her a jackpot if she paws at her nose!

Step 4: you wish, you can accompany this trick with her laying down. While teaching her, have her lay down before she paws at her nose.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This trick was so much fun to teach Caspian. I started with some scotch tape and put it on his nose. Since Caspian didn't want the tape on his nose, he naturally started pawing at it. Immediately I clicked and treated. Each time he did it, I would click and treat, saying "I'm ashamed of you!" After several times practicing with the tape, I gave him the command and he would paw at his nose. Soon, I was able to take the tape off his nose and give him the command again. He did it!

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog won't rub his nose without the tape! Try cuing the behavior by gently scratching her nose with your finger. That should trigger a memory and she'll obey you. You can use this hint less and less to perfect the trick.

Tip: " A good hand signal would be putting your hands on your hips!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Catch

Difficulty: Easy

 Teach Dog to Catch 

Train your dog to catch treats when you throw them. Collect bits and pieces of your dog's favorite treat, and have him sit in front of you. Throw a treat at your dog. If he doesn't catch it at first, take away the treat so he won't eat it. Eventually, your dog will get desperate for that good treat you have, and will not be able to get it unless he tries to catch it in the air. When he does catch it, praise him and give him a good petting. Now, when your dog catches the treat, say "Catch." When your dog begins catching naturally, you may introduce new objects to catch-a tennis ball is one. Have your dog sit, and - with a few feet of distance between you - lightly toss the ball into the air, and give the command. When he does, click and treat.

Step 1: Start out with a short distance and a good treat. Throw the treat to your dog. If he doesn't catch it, take the treat away and try again. If he does catch it, praise him and give him another treat!

Step 2: Keep doing this until he is catching well. Start saying "Catch" while he is catching them.

Step 3: Give him the command - "Catch!" and throw the treat. Give him lots of praise if he catches it at your command!

Step 4: Use other objects like footballs, tennis balls, or toys to give him more experience with catching. The more he practices, the better he will get!

OUR EXPERIENCE

Since fetch is Caspian's favorite game, we use it every day for exercise. For a little variety, we started sending him out before we threw the ball. Because he had learned catch, he started catching the tennis ball while it was still in the air. He often makes some very spectacular catches. Make sure that you use a very soft ball if you try this with your dog. Also, if you notice that your dog is jumping to catch food treats and toys, check with your vet to see if jumping is good for your dog. You want to make sure your dog is in good health before attempting any jumping tricks.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He's not catching anything! Some dogs are spectacular catchers - others are not. It's an instinct that all dogs have, but some breeds more than others. Just be patient - it may take a bit longer for your dog to learn this trick.

Tip: "Practice makes perfect. Don't despair if your dog doesn't catch well at first. Reward good behavior even if he tries to catch it and misses. Give him praise and encourage him to keep on trying!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Find Items

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Find Items 

This trick can be taught with any toy or item and could turn out to be very useful if you lost something. Besides the practical usefulness of this trick, this is a really fun game to play with your dog! Have your dog go out of the room and sit, then hide the object somewhere in the next room. The object could be anything: one of his toys, an article of clothing, but make sure he knows what he's searching for. For a more advanced performance, hide something with a less noticeable scent, such as the tv remote or a set of keys.

Step 1: Have your dog sit.

Step 2: Hold up an object that he is familiar with (he knows its name) and let him smell it.

Step 3: Place the object under something obvious (like a towel), and say "find it." You might add the name of the object if it doesn't do it quickly ("find it" bunny). Click and treat when he touches the object.

Step 4: Repeat several times, but each time you repeat move the object to a different location, getting progressively more difficult. Click and treat each time.

Step 5: Let him smell and then hide other objects that he is not familiar with and give the "find it" command.

OUR EXPERIENCE

When I first taught this trick, I was using an old Atlanta Braves hat that I used to wear. Because the hat had a lot of my smell on it, it was really easy for Caspian to pick up on. It started out basically by accident, I hadn't planned on teaching him this trick. I was just playing around with the old hat, playing keep away, putting it underneath things for him to dig it out. I had him go out of the room, and I stuck it partially underneath the rug, then called him. He sniffed around a few seconds before finding it. Although I had stumbled upon this trick by accident, I got my clicker and started rewarding him for finding the hat. Because he had learned the term find it, in relation to finding things with my scent on it, when I lost a set of car keys in the backyard one day, I told Caspian to "find it." Although he didn't know what he was looking for, he went to the thing that had our scent on it. In just a few minutes, he had found my keys.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog doesn't understand what I want him to do. Some dogs have great noses; others don't. But your dog doesn't have to be a bloodhound to learn this trick. When starting out, make sure the toy you use to hide is one he really likes. Also make sure he knows its name. Start out easy; you may not want to even hide it starting out. Put it in plain sight and encourage your dog to touch it. After that, then you can start to hide the toy in progressively more difficult spaces.

Tip: "Use the same terms each time! In other words, don't tell your dog to "Find it," while still using "Get it," "Where is it?" and "Search" intermittently. Consistency is the key!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Put His Toys Away

Difficulty: Hard

 Teach Dog to Put His Toys Away 

So you've finally taught your kids to put their toys away—but what about your dog? This trick is helpful, and also impressive. Give your dog a simple command and watch him go around the house and gather up all his dog toys together and drop them in a basket or box.

Step 1: Get a large box or basket. Gather all your dog's toys and put them in a pile.

Step 2: Point to each toy and say, "Take it," then "Bring it" and "Drop it" into the basket. When he does this, click and give him a treat. After he puts all his toys in the basket, reward him with a treat, saying "Put your toys away."

Step 3: Do this several more times. After several training sessions, you should be able to just say, "Put your Toys Away" and he will put them all in. Give him a big treat each time. 

Step 4: Next put each toy farther away from the basket. Work with him to find all his toys and put them away into the basket when you give the command.

OUR EXPERIENCE

It was difficult to teach Caspian to put his toys away, but since he already knew to "Take it," "Bring it" and "Drop it," that was a big help! I spread an assortment of toys across the floor with a big basket in the middle. I told him to take one of his toys, to bring it and drop it in the basket. He wouldn't drop it in the basket at first, but I would go ahead and click for the effort. Eventually I became stricter in what I was looking for, and only clicked when he actually got the toy in the basket. As soon as all his toys were in the basket he got a big treat! I would always say "put your toys away" whenever he would put any toy - or all toys - in the basket. We did several sessions of this until he was able to put them all in the basket when I gave him the command: "Caspian! Put your toys away!"

TEACHING TROUBLE

He won't put them all in! Probably the hardest thing I had to work with for Caspian was grouping all his toys together in one command. Sometimes by the time they get all their toys in, they forget what they did at the beginning. One thing you can do is start out with only three toys. When your dog puts them in, click and treat saying: "Put your toys away!" Do this several times, then add another toy. When he puts all four in, click and treat saying: "Put your toys away," and so on until he can put all his toys away!

Tip: "Sometimes you'll feel like treating him for his good efforts, but only click and treat when your dog actually drops the toy into the basket. If it's only halfway in it counts, but it doesn't count if it's not in at all."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Bring You His Dish

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Bring Dish

Another useful trick. When your dog brings you his dish, not only does it make him look smart but it saves you the effort of having to get it. How does your dog tell you he's hungry? Pawing at his dish, knocking it over, barking? Here's a simple and cute way for your dog to let you know that he needs to be fed.

Step 1: Use the "Learn the Names of Everything" to teach him to touch his dish on command.

Step 2: Teach him to hold the dish in his mouth using the "take it" command . Your dog may not like holding a metal dish in his mouth, but this trick is worth the extra effort. Take extra time with this step. 

Step 3: With the dish on the floor say the name "dish." When he starts to touch the dish say "take it." If he takes the dish in his mouth at all click and treat.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 several times in multiple training sessions.

Step 5: With your dog holding the dish in his mouth say "bring it." Click and treat when he takes a few steps toward you with the dish.

Step 6: As you repeat step 3 introduce the command "get your dish." When he takes it, click and treat.

Step 7: Repeat step 6 in several sessions.

Step 8: Give the command "get your dish." Click and treat when he brings it to you. Gradually extend the distance from the bowl as you perfect this trick.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Teaching "Dish" wasn't too hard once I taught Caspian to learn its name. I first had him touch the dish, eventually teaching him that its name was "Dish." The next step was getting him to pick it up. This was more difficult because his dish is heavier than other objects we have trained with before. I clicked and treated for small advances towards the behavior I wanted. Eventually, he was able to carry it completely in his mouth. I then told him to "Bring it" to me. Since he knew these commands already, it wasn't very hard to string them together into this nice trick — "Get your dish."

TEACHING TROUBLE

What if my dog's dish is too heavy for him? Your dog will most likely be able to carry it. It could be that he's just not used to carrying something that bulky and heavy before. It's a good idea to start out small and click and treat for small advances toward the dish. You could even build up to this trick by having him learn to take lighter things in his mouth, then gradually teaching heavier things until he is able to hold the dish. Of course, if you have a small dog, it metal dish might be too bulky for him to pick up. You can try using a smaller dish. Another idea is to teach "Fetch a Drink" first to get him gradually used to carrying heavier things in his mouth by filling up the drink bottle a little at a time.

Tip: "After several training sessions, your dog may eventually bring his dish to you to tell you he's hungry!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Bring You His Leash

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Bring You His Leash 

Like, Bring Slippers, this trick builds off of the Learn Names trick. In this trick, you will teach your dog to bring you his leash when you are ready to take him outside for a walk. This is quite an impressive trick, and makes your dog appear super smart. I remember my grandmother came for a visit one day, and I nonchalantly asked Caspian for his leash to take him outside. When he came trotting back with the leash dangling from his mouth, my grandmother laughed and pronounced him "the smartest dog." I'm sure your guests will do the same!

Step 1: Set the leash on the floor. Tell him to take it. Click and treat when he does.

Step 2: Go to the door. Tell him to take the leash, bring it, and drop it in your hands. Click and treat.

Step 3: Repeat the take it, bring it, drop it action several times, saying, "Leash!" when he drops it in your hands.

Step 4: Eliminate the "take it, bring it, drop it" commands and start only using "Leash." You can also use a hand signal to give him a hint.

Step 5: Command him to get his leash. Click and Jackpot if he obeys you, and take him outside for a long walk!

OUR EXPERIENCE

Although this trick took several training sessions to teach, "Leash" was a moderately easy trick for Caspian to learn. I started out with the leash on the floor. "Take it!" I said. He did, and I clicked and treated. The next time, I said "Take it, Bring it, and Drop it," into my hands. Each time he did this for me I would click and treat, saying, "Leash!" Many times, when he would successfully drop it into my hands, I would take him outside as a reward instead of a treat. Soon, Caspian was able to bring me his leash whenever I gave him the command. Whenever we go outside, he brings it to me every time!

TEACHING TROUBLE

He won't drop it in my hands! Be picky. If he doesn't put it in your hands, he doesn't get a walk, or a treat either. If he successfully brings it to you and drops it on the floor, tell him to take it again and drop it in your hands. Immediately click and reward when he does drop it into your hands.

Tip: "Put the leash somewhere so your dog has easy access to it, such as draped over a closet knob or in a basket near the door."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Bring Your Slippers

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Bring Your Slippers 

This trick is a combination of Take it, Bring it, and Give . When you tell your dog to get your slippers, he will take them, bring them, and drop them right in your hand. What if you lost your slippers? Wouldn't this be a helpful trick! Just tell your dog "Get my slippers!" and off he'd go. In no time he would come back with the pink slippers and drop them by your feet. Some dogs can bring both slippers at the same time. But if you're having difficulty getting your dog to bring both slippers, keep your slippers together with a piece of velcro or string. You don't have to keep them together, however. Your dog will do just as fine getting them one at a time. (This is especially useful if you forgot where you left them!).

Step 1: Using the "Learn Names" trick, teach your dog the name of whichever object you want him to bring you (Slippers, for example).

Step 2: Now that he knows what the name of the object is, tell him to "Take my Slippers." Click and treat.

Step 3: Tell your dog to Take it and Bring it. If he does so, click and treat.

Step 4: Now, try combining all three tricks. First, say, "Get my Slippers!" Then, "Take it, Bring it, and Drop it." If he does what you ask, click and give him a generous treat. Repeat this until you have a polished trick.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This was one of our favorite tricks to teach Caspian, and one of his favorites too. He does really well at learning names of things—he knows his toys by each of their names for example. So we introduced the slippers in the same kind of way. Because he was really excited about this trick, the slippers themselves were the reward. We realized, however, that he thought of the slippers as a toy, and would get preoccupied and play with them when we asked him to retrieve them for us. He would eventually bring them, but he would want to play with them first. To fix this problem, we clicked/treated only when he brought them back faster. We then conditioned him to bring them right back as soon as we asked for them.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog can do each of the initial tricks (take it, bring it, give), but is having trouble blending them all together. What do I do? Repetition is the key to this trick. As you practice it more, it will flow together better and you won't have to use each command to get him to do what you want him to do. Eventually, you will have him learn that the command "Get my Slippers" means to take the slippers, bring them, and drop them into your hands (or at your feet!)

Tip: "When shaping this trick, have your dog take the top part, or toe of the slippers each time so that they're not soggy when you put them on!"

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Yawn

Difficulty: Moderate

Teach Dog to Yawn

The clock says the time is eleven-thirty. It's dark out and you're tired, and the couple on the couch haven't stopped talking. They are your friends, or used to be—you're not so sure now. But the greyhound in the corner is your friend. "Come here boy," you whisper under the jabbering of the couple. He lays down by your legs and you look at him. You stare into his eyes and say, "Are you tired?" He smacks his lips and yawns, his great teeth revealing themselves, then disappearing again. "Yes, I know you're tired," you say and pat his head, "I am too." Your friends get the message.

Step 1: Most dogs will yawn when they are anxious. You can use that to help you catch the yawn. Look for your dog to yawn when he wants to go outside or wants a ball or toy that you are holding. When he yawns, click and treat. Because this trick has to be 'caught' with the clicker, it can be fairly difficult, and you have to time your clicks just right.

Step 2: When he starts to offer a yawn because he has been treated for it, go ahead and give the command you want to associate with his action. It could be yawn, tired, or sleepy, but in any case, be consistent with your command. Repeat three to four times per session.

Step 3: After several sessions of training your dog to yawn, give him the command and see if he will respond with a yawn.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Because we have to catch Caspian in the act of yawning, it can be frustrating when trying to get him to yawn multiple times in a training session. Caspian will lick his muzzle and yawn if he is anxious, so sometimes during our training session, we would turn around and not say anything for a few seconds. Caspian, not knowing what to do, would then get a little anxious. An assistant would either click or let the trainer know when to click if he yawned (you won't be able to see your dog if your back is turned). This trick was more frustrating for Caspian in general. He knew that he was being clicked and treated for something that had to do with his mouth, but didn't quite understand at first. If your dog gets frustrated during a training session, cut back on the amount of time for each session, but always try to end on a high note.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog doesn't understand that he's being clicked for yawning. How can I fix this problem? Since a yawn is a natural response that a dog might give for either being tired or anxious, he usually doesn't even notice when he's doing it. Making him aware that he is yawning is the key to this trick. It may take several training sessions, but eventually your dog will get it!

Tip: "This trick presents better if you use a cute command like "Are you sleepy?" or "It's bedtime."