When dog owners think about training their puppy, they think of the basic tricks to teach such as, come, stay, sit and down. These tricks are important, but you should never underestimate learning your dog other new tricks. Even if you decide to adopt a dog who is slightly older you can still tech them new tricks.
Teaching your dog various tricks will help improve their mental stimulation and keep them happy. Plus, it's fun to teach your dog lots of commands as you can show off to your family and friends. It will also improve the bond between you both.
Listed below are 5 fun and easy tricks to train your dog.
1. Training your dog to kiss
This is one of the easiest tricks to teach your dog. Not everyone will enjoy a big, wet, slobbering kiss, but for most of us we love the connection and wet nose feeling brushing against our cheeks. Simply place a treat close to your cheek and instruct your dog to kiss. If you keep repeating this trick, the dog will learn to kiss when there is no treat.
2. Roll over
The majority of owners will train their dog to roll over in small intervals and eventually work up to getting them to roll over the whole way. It takes a lot of time and effort to teach this trick but it is worth the effort.
First of all, you will need to kneel down and get your dog into the down position. Place a treat close to their nose with your palm facing upwards. Secondly, turn their nose towards their shoulder and let their nose follow the treat. As they follow the treat they will become slightly unbalanced and flop to their side (make sure to do this on a soft surface or grass in the park) Straight after you must reward them with a dog training treat and repeat this process until they have become fully accustomed to "rolling over".
3. Training your dog to speak
This trick is fun and can help with common behavioral problems such as excessive barking. Using the "speak" and "quiet" commands will help control your dog's noisiness. It is also fun as you can show off their ability to speak at social gatherings.
To teach this trick you must first get your dog to bark. You could achieve this by ringing the doorbell if you know that this will make them bark. When they bark you must immediately say "speak" and reward them with a treat for speaking. Repeat this process over and over again.
4. Teaching your dog to bow
This trick is simple enough and very polite when in the company of those with impeccable manners! It involves having your dog take a bow and placing their chest close to the ground whilst their bottom is reared up in the air. This may sound like a tough trick to teach, but it's actually very simple and comes naturally to dogs.
5. This trick is taught in four simple steps.
Step 1 - Hold the treat right at the tip of your dog's nose and then slowly move it down whilst holding it close to your dog's body.
Step 2 - Keep your dog in the bow position for a few seconds and then bring him back up to the standing position.
Step 3 - As soon as your dog completes the bow and has stood up, then you must congratulate them with a "Yes" or "Well done" "Good boy" etc.
Step 4 - Repeat the steps 2 and 3 several times and say the word "bow" until they get used to the process.
Teach your dog to back up
This is a fun trick to teach your dog and can also come in handy. Once they have learned this command you can use it to prevent them from rushing to the door, bombarding you in the kitchen when going into the fridge. This trick is pretty simple to teach and requires some patience from the teacher.
You should start by giving your dog the stay command. Step back from your dog a few steps and then turn to face them. Begin by moving towards your dog, your dog should naturally start moving backward. If they don't keep moving towards them and lean your body ever so slightly forward towards them. As soon as your dog steps backward you must immediately congratulate them with a "yes" and then give them a treat.
This process must be repeated several times and rewards giving each and every time your dog backs up.
Author Bio:
Ashley loves to write about pets of all kinds and is a regular dog advice blogger at Mypetzilla.
