Dogs love to be trained, as they love learning new things and pleasing their owners.
Teaching your dog tricks can also be a great way for you to build a stronger bond with your pet, and give them something fun to do and exciting to focus on.
Unlike the old saying, you really can teach an old dog new tricks! All you need is a little bit of positive reinforcement, and a lot of treats!
If you’re looking to train your dog, and teach them interesting and easy tricks, then you’re in the right place. We have got 15 easy tricks that you can teach your dog in no time!
15 Easy Tricks To Teach Your Dog
If you want to impress everyone with your dog training skills, then try out some of these simple tricks to teach your dog.
Paw
The first trick and one of the most popular tricks that people teach their dogs is ‘Paw’. This is where you keep your dog in a sitting position, and encourage them to give you their paw in return for treats.
To teach your dog this trick, you’ll need to have them in a seated position, and hold out a treat in your fist in front of them.
This will encourage them to paw at your hand to get you to open the fist. When their paw makes contact, open your fist and give them the treat, praising them.
Repeat this, and say Paw before giving them the treat so that they learn the command.
Kisses
The Kisses trick is a great way to impress your friends and family, as it will show that you have a very obedient, albeit loving dog! A lot of dogs already love to lick their owners incessantly, so some may be great at this trick from the get-go.
However, to teach your dog this trick, all you need to do is place a treat and hold it next to your face and move closer to your dog until its nose touches your face.
When your dog does this, move back, and give the treat and say Kiss or Kisses!
Spin
Spin is a really easy trick to teach your dog, and once you do it right, your dog will be spinning like a disc just at your command!
To teach this one, you’ll just need to hold a treat in front of your dog’s nose, and move it slightly to the side of your dog’s head until its head turns to follow the treat.
Keep moving the treat all the way around your dog so that it has to spin to get to the treat. Once your dog has gone full circle and spun all the way around, you can give the dog the treat.
With this trick it’s all about repetition, so you’ll need to keep doing it consistently, and add in the command ‘Spin’ before you reward with treats.
Shake
Shake is a very similar trick to Paw. To teach your dog this, you’ll have to keep them in a sitting position, and hold a treat in front of your dog, just out of their reach.
Then, say Shake and tap at one of your dog’s feet so that they give you the paw, ready to shake. When your dog raises the paw up in the air, you’ll need to give the treat, and say the command Shake!
You’ll have to repeat this until your dog connects the action with the reward.
Fet
Fetch is one of the common, basic commands that you’ll want to teach your dog.
This is not only a fun exchange for your dog, but it can also help you out when you need your dog to grab something for you. You never know when it could come in handy!
To teach this, throw a toy or stick for your dog, shout Fetch and they should naturally chase after it and pick it up.
As soon as they have it, tell your dog to come, and encourage your dog in a happy, positive tone so that they come back to you. Call your dog back, and teach them to Drop the toy when they get to you.
Speak
Teaching your dog to speak is such a cool trick, as they will learn to bark on command. However, you may need to also teach them to be quiet too, as some dogs just love the sound of their own voices.
To teach your dog to speak, you will need to get your dog to bark by themselves and encourage this behavior. You will also need to look for cues that our dog is about to bark, and say your chosen command such as Bark or Speak.
When they do, you’ll need to say the command word, and reward with treats or their favorite toy. You’ll have to repeat this very often until your dog gets the idea!
Stand
To get your dog to show off their skills, and stand on its hind legs, you’ll need to get your dog in a sitting position, and hold a treat close to the nose.
Then, move the treat upwards very slowly, and your dog should slowly try to follow it, and will stand up to reach the treat. As your dog stands, and gets into a standing position, praise your pet, say the command and give the treat.
Roll Over
To teach your dog to roll over, get your dog to sit, and into a down position.
Then, hold a treat near the nose, and gently move the treat by the side of the head to the shoulder, so that they turn towards their shoulder, and they should roll onto their side naturally.
Then, reward and praise your dog with a positive tone.
Crawl
To start, get your dog in a down position, keeping a treat in your hand and close to your dog so that they can smell it and it will entice them.
Then, hold it in front of the nose, and slowly move backwards so that your dog crawls towards you. Take it slow, and praise your dog for crawling a few inches closer, before giving the treat.
Repeat this until your dog is able to crawl for longer distances and keep rewarding!
Slalom
Make sure you have dog specific poles for this one to keep your dog safe. Use four poles, and hold a treat in front of your dog to get them to follow through the slalom poles.
When your dog weaves through, make sure that you give the treat, and give them lots of love and attention. Repeat this one until your dog fully understands to run and weave between the poles!
Wave
Have your dog sit, and command it to give you Paw or Shake.
With your hand at the height of your dog’s head, say Wave, and as they try to shake, move your hand so the dog misses, and the paw waves. Praise, and reward with treats.
Lie Down
Keep a treat in your hand, and ask the dog to sit. Then, move your hand near the dog’s nose, and down past the chest towards their feet. Your dog should follow, and lower itself, so use the phrase Down, and give the reward.
Play Ball
Encourage your dog to chase you when you have a football, by calling them in a high pitched voice when you have the ball, then when they try to pick up the ball, say the phrase, and give a reward.
Play Dead
Command your dog into a down position, and rub their belly until relaxed and calm. Then, softly roll the dog onto the side and praise them.
Then, give the command to Stay, or Wait, and praise when they do. Once you’ve mastered this, give the command Play Dead, and reward.
Hug
When your dog is sitting, gently lift the paws and place them on your shoulders and say Hug. When they do, offer praise or reward, and repeat until your dog is confident in hugging you or other people!
Whichever tricks you choose to teach, just remember that practice (and patience) makes perfect!
When it comes to dog training, it is important for the owner to be taught the simple but correct techniques, and the way in which you communicate with your dog is vital to this process. I recently decided to set up this blog to share my knowledge and skills with a wider audience.
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