There are many dog tricks your pooch can learn, and besides the benefit of being fun and creating a bonding experience, the tricks will also serve as reinforcement for all your other pet behavior training. Here's everything you need to know to get started.
What Kind of Dog Tricks Can You Teach?
Many dogs love attention of all kinds, and nothing garners more attention than a cute canine doing tricks. Whether you want to teach her tricks to entertain others or simply to have fun with your pet, there's a long list of tricks you might want to try. Here are a few to consider:
Teaching Dog Tricks Easily
Most of the above tricks are easily taught with the same method of giving treats and praising correct behavior. Simply give the command and then move your dog's body the way you want it to go (for instance, physically roll your dog over). Give her a treat even if you helped her through the trick.
In some cases, you can model for your dog exactly what you want her to do. For instance, with the "shake" command, you can give the command then shake your head from side to side vigorously to show her what you expect. When she moves her head even a little bit, praise her and reward her for that.
Don't make training sessions a chore for any pooch. Five to 10 minutes at a time is sufficient; more than that, and you may actually undo the learning by making it work and something to avoid.
Another Benefit of Dog Tricks
Besides just being fun, teaching Dog Tricks can also help develop the bond your dog has with you. The more you teach her and the more she trusts you, the more you solidify your position as her leader. This helps her be more obedient in all situations and even with other commands like Sit and Down. Just be consistent and always make it fun and rewarding when teaching dog tricks, and she'll love the learning experience.
