How to Teach Your Dog these 10 Tricks

How to Teach Your Dog these 10 Tricks

You will be amazed by how much he will enjoy that quality time with you. You can use his food or some special treats to praise him. Here are 10 tricks that you can teach your dog.

Training your dog is fun and easy. You just need to be consistent and have the right tools. (Treats, Treat Bag and leash)

I encourage you to teach your dog a new trick every two weeks. You will be amazed by how much he will enjoy that quality time with you. You can use his food or some special treats to praise him. Here are 10 tricks that you can teach your dog.

 

How to teach your dog: Find the Treat

  1. Hide a treat inside your hand
  2. Let your dog smell your hand, don't open your hand
  3. As soon as he touches your hand with his nose or paw, tell him Good Puppy and give him the treat
  4. When he gets consistent, practice showing him both fists. Only one will have the treat. When he touches the fist that has the treat, praise him.

 

How to teach your dog: Give me your Paw

This classic command is an easy and fun trick for dogs. There are many ways to teach it. Here is one of them:

  1. Sit your dog in front of you
  2. With one hand hold the treat tight inside your fist.
  3. When he touches your fist with his paw, open it and give him the treat. Repeat the word Paw.
  4. When he gets consistent, open your hand in front of him and tell him paw, then give him the treat with your other hand.

 

How to teach your dog: Sing

This trick is fun to teach but Warning! When dogs learn to sing it’s hard to make them stop. Some dogs bark and others will howl. Not every dog is vocal, so don’t stress if your dog doesn’t want to sing.

  1. Sit in front of your dog and let him know that you have a treat.
  2. Look him in the eyes and tell him “Sing”. (wait for that “what’s with this human now” look) Be Patient.
  3. After a few seconds repeat steps one and two. He will try to grab the treat with his paws or by jumping on you. Resist the temptation to pet him or feed him.
  4. When he makes even the slightest noise praise him and give him the treat.
  5. Keep repeating until he barks or howls louder.

 

How to teach your dog: Fetch

This trick is great for retrievers or dogs with a fetching instinct.

  1. Grab a toy and call your dog’s attention. 
  2. When he shows interest in the toy, give it to him (don’t throw it) and tell him “Fetch”.
  3. When he grabs the toy, tell him good puppy, and let him play for a few seconds and then take it back and repeat.
  4. Once he is consistent, throw the toy on the floor near you and tell him fetch.

 

How to teach your dog: Watch Me

This is one of my favorite commands. It gives you a lot of control over your dog’s actions and it also teaches them to focus on you.

  1. Sit on the floor if you have a small medium dog or on a chair if you have a large dog.
  2. Grab a treat tight inside your fist and leave your hands on your lap.
  3. Repeat the words “Watch Me”, your dog won’t understand what you are asking and he will try to steal the treat from you. Keep your hands down and every 10 - 15 seconds repeat the words “Watch Me”. Be patient. Don’t use hand signals for this command. After all, you want them to learn the word and look at you when he’s not watching.
  4. Any time he looks at you in the eyes, tell him “Good Puppy” and give him the treat.
  5. Repeat until he gets consistent.

 

How to teach your dog: Stay

 I like to teach this command in baby steps. Here we go…

  1. With your dog on a leash, sit him by your side.
  2. Before leaving him, tell him “Stay” and put your hand in front of his face.
  3. Take a small step in front of him, and return to his side.
  4. If he stays, praise him.
  5. Repeat steps 1 - 4 for a few days. As he gets better, wait longer in front of him and go further back until you reach the end of the leash. 
  6. Practice this command on leash until the dog is at least a year and half and you have been practicing consistently.

 

How to teach your dog: Roll

Whether it’s just for a belly rub or a full rollover, this command is always a conversational trick! Not every dog feels comfortable rolling over. 

  1. With your do laying on the floor, sit in front of his face. Have a treat ready inside your fist.
  2. Show him the treat and keep it very close to his nose.
  3. Slowly start moving the treat towards his belly, and repeat the word Roll.
  4. When he leans, praise him and give him the treat.
  5. When he gets consistent, try to teach him a full roll over by continuing to move the treat to the other side of his body. 

 

How to teach your dog to: Skateboard

For this trick, make sure that your dog doesn’t have hip problems or any predisposition. Don’t force him if he shows discomfort.

  1. First, let your dog smell the skateboard. You can even put some treats on top of it. Leave it around for a few days and every day put treats on it.
  2. When your dog feels comfortable around it, put him on the skateboard, without moving it. Just hold him there and give him treats.
  3. After a few days of step 2, try to move the skate board. If your dog paniks, go back to steps 1 and 2. Give him time.

 

How to teach your dog: Walk 

Usually we expect dogs to walk by our sides but we don’t really take them through the steps of understanding what we expect from them. Walk should mean to be by your side whether you are moving or standing still. So, your goal will be to praise him every time he stands by your side when you tell him to walk. Practice this command inside your home until he is consistent. You will need a treat pouch full of treats.

  1. Have your dog off leash inside your home.
  2. Stand still with a treat inside your hand
  3. Tell your dog “Walk”. He will not respond at first. 
  4. Every time your dog gets close to your left side, tell him Good Puppy
  5. When he stays by your side, tell him Good Puppy and give him the treat.
  6. Repeat steps 2 - 5 for a few days.
  7. When he consistently reaches your left side every time you say Walk, then start walking. Take two steps and praise him if he walks by your side.

 

How to teach your dog: Pretty Down

If your dog already knows down you can teach him to cross his front paws and do a Pretty Down. This is a simple command but it’s cute and it’s great for picture moments! If your dog doesn’t feel comfortable with having his paws touched, I don’t recommend this trick. 

  1. Ask your dog to lay down
  2. Grab one of his paws and cross it on top of the other
  3. Praise him if he lets you
  4. Repeat until he gets consistent

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