Tricks are a fun way to revive your training program and enhance your relationship with your dog. When introducing a new trick, it is amazing how we humans lighten our mood and body language. Tricks are a great way to recharge your dog’s brain and body.
Play dead To start this trick, you want to make sure your dog is fairly relaxed and has a reliable down . Once your dog is calmly lying down, wait for a shift in hips. If your dog lies on the left hip, place the treat at her nose and very slowly draw an imaginary line with a treat lure or your touch along the right jaw line. Keep your hand low so your dog follows and lays her head on the ground, cue play dead as soon as your dog is lying stationary on the left side. Repeat down , play dead and lure into the lying position a couple times, yes and treat for non-movement . Next, say down , play dead and point your finger to the ground before luring. If your dog responds, say yes and give a treat. With practice, you can add more duration so your dog will play dead until you release her. You can get creative with this trick by saying bang, down then bang, play dead then fading down and play dead so your dog drops into a down and lying position in response to bang, bang . Cute party trick!
Fetch Keep in mind you are asking your dog for multiple behaviors with this game: run away; pick up a toy; carry the toy to you and drop. Some dogs catch on to this very quickly while others need you to break it up into multiple steps. Start with a favorite toy and move it around a bit to get your dog excited but keep it low so you do not encourage jumping. Toss or roll the ball a couple feet away ONLY. Do not move from your original position, you want your dog walk or run to the toy all on his or her own. Say yes if your dog walks towards it. Continue to give verbal praise for every step your dog takes to the toy. If your dog touches the toy or picks it up, continue giving feedback. If your dog takes a step towards you with the toy in their mouth, increase the volume of your verbal praise so your dog knows she is on the right track. Some dogs will drop the toy a couple feet away from you. If that occurs, pick the toy up and put it away. You do not want to get in the habit of playing fetch for your dog. Try again until your dog understands the game continues when the toy is brought to you.
Some dogs get so excited with this game that they run right past you with their toy. Do not chase your dog. Next time you work on your fetch game, have a second toy handy to squeak or move about to get your dog to drop their first toy directly in front of you.
For dogs that do not catch onto this right away, repeat each step every day until your dog is reliably responding to that step. Then, only praise for response to the next step. For example, this week’s goal may be to praise for walking towards the toy; next week you say nothing for walking towards it but wait for your dog to touch it. Tons of praise when that occurs then only praise for picking up the toy. Remember, your dog may not understand all the steps in the process, so help her along by giving feedback for every behavior in this game.
For dogs that do not catch onto this right away, repeat each step every day until your dog is reliably responding to that step. Then, only praise for response to the next step. For example, this week’s goal may be to praise for walking towards the toy; next week you say nothing for walking towards it but wait for your dog to touch it. Tons of praise when that occurs then only praise for picking up the toy. Remember, your dog may not understand all the steps in the process, so help her along by giving feedback for every behavior in this game.
Speak The easiest way to teach this trick is to anticipate what causes your dog to bark. Some dogs LOVE to hear themselves bark so please keep in mind that if you reinforce this behavior, your dog will enjoy barking even more. One of my favorite ways to cue this is by making a loud noise that does not often occur such as knocking on the refrigerator or making silly noise. This helps prevent unwanted barking with visitors, passersby or at meal times. Be ready with some treats, and say speak before you pound on the refrigerator. Once your dog barks say yes and treat. When your dog is responding nicely to the knock and verbal cue, simply say speak and give happy verbal praise for barking. You can then cue shush and heavily reinforce for ceasing of barking so your dog becomes silent when you are ready; great way to train your dog to quiet on command.
Beg Start with your dog in a sit position and either use a treat or your touch starting at the nose and draw it upwards so your dog’s front two paws lift into the air. Cue beg , say yes then treat. Do this a few times. Next, require your dog to maintain the position a little longer, only rewarding if she remains in the position for 2-3 seconds. Once your dog is holding the beg position for a few seconds, fade your hand cue by requesting beg and giving your dog a moment to consider what you are asking. If your dog raises her forequarters in air, say yes and treat. This trick is a little more difficult for large dogs, it is helpful to use a couch or wall to support your large dog’s back.
Wave You will need a basic shake to teach your dog to wave . Get your dog into a sit and simply hold a treat in a closed fist right at the nose. You want your dog to sniff at your hand to get the treat then resort to using the paw when sniffing is unsuccessful. When that occurs, cue shake , say yes and give the treat. This trick is best suited for dogs that have already been trained to take treats gently from human hands.
Once your dog reliably responds to shake when you present your hand, introduce your new cue wave then present your hand. Do this a few times, then say wave and only briefly show your hand. Be quick with the treat so your dog does not get frustrated with the new expectation. Do this a few times until your dog is pawing at the air with just a quick flash of your hand. Lastly, say wave and praise and treat your dog for pawing at the air without your hand to cue the behavior.
