How to Teach Your Dog These 5 Easy Tricks
I love working on new tricks with my furry best friend. Spending time like this working closely with our dogs is truly an amazing bonding experience for us and them. The best part? It’s fun too!
Some Important Reminders
It is essential that your training sessions with your dog must remain positive, lighthearted, and fun. Your dog can tell when you become frustrated, and it will not improve your training session or make your dog learn any new tricks any faster.
Remain positive and practice patience with your furry pal. This is supposed to be a fun experience to engage with your dog, no pressure!
The High Five
When you start any new training session with your dog, make sure you have some of their favorite treats on hand to get your dog motivated.
Sit down with your dog on a soft surface and get them into a sit position. With a treat in your hand, ball your fingers into a fist. Your pup will most likely show curiosity by moving their mouth to your hand first. Once they lift their paw to your hand, you can allow them to have the treat.
*Important: Always provide verbal and physical cues when working on training your dog to perform these five tricks. When they complete a step, let them know they’ve done what you like. You can do this by choosing words like yes, good girl, etc.
Next, take your open palm and place it in front of your pup. This time without a treat. When they touch their paw to your palm, you can reward them with a treat and your verbal response of choice.
After your pup has made it past all of the steps above, you can start putting your hand in a high five position. Once their paw makes contact, reward them the same way you have been with the other steps.
The final step in this training process is to say the cue “high five” when you put your hand in a high five position. Reward your dog with lots of praise and, of course, a treat when they have completed the last step!
Waving
This is an awesome trick to follow up with after high five. Your dog is already comfortable raising its paw. This time it will just be without your hand.
*Tip: There are always different ways to teach your dog these different tricks. If your dog isn’t responding to the way you are trying, you can always check out another way.
First, tell your dog to shake. If your dog does not know that command, using the newly taught high five command will work for this too!
Next, you will slowly wave your hand around in the high five positions. This will cause your dog to try to reach for your hand. When your dog does this, you can provide a treat.
Practice these steps until your pup has it down pat. Last, say “wave” and when your dog does the correct motion. Reward and repeat!
Bow
This adorable trick is a great way to practice getting your dog’s attention and good eye contact.
Get your dog to look at your face and get all of the attention on you.
Start going towards your dog’s face with the treat in your hand and say aloud the word “bow”. Do not give the treat to your pup just yet! Though it may be tempting! From here, in slow motion, move your hand (with the treat) down by your dog’s front paws.
Allow your dog to follow your hand until their chest makes contact with the floor. After your dog’s front half has made contact with the floor, you can give a treat and get them back on all fours!
The key to this one (and all five of these fun tricks) is practice, practice, practice! Eventually, you will be able to phase out the treat, and your dog will be bowing on command for you!
Shake
Shake is a great trick to teach your dog! It is similar to a high five and is a great way to get some engaging close contact with your pup!
First, you will place your palm out to your pup, just like you did with high five. Since your dog is already familiar with making paw to palm contact with you from learning high five, it should be easy.
When your dog places their paw on your palm, you can provide them with a treat. Increase the time that your dog spends with their paw in your hand. Reward them each time.
The key to completing this trick is getting your dog to rest their paw on your palm. When they can do this, you can say “shake”.
Kiss
Chances are your dog has already given you a kiss on their own. Dogs naturally explore things with their mouths. Licking your face is definitely not a strange idea to most dogs.
Start by working with your dog’s natural instincts. Whenever your dog makes contact with your face and with their mouth, say the command “kiss”. You should also give your dog a treat and let them know they have done what you wanted.
If your dog can perform the trick, provide treats and lots of praise.
Summary
Teaching your dog some of these new tricks is a lot of fun. It gets your dog’s mind engaged and creates a positive bonding experience for the two of you. Dogs love to learn.
Enjoy!
