When you work with your dogs nature rather than against it is easy to teach your dog some tricks. Dogs respond enthusiastically to rewards and they are always eager to please. Teaching trick is a question of using those rewards and building on a dogs spontaneous behavior rather than teaching something entirely new.
Look for the type of spontaneous behavior that is closest to the way you want your dog to behave. Dogs will often crawl on their bellies without any apparent reason it is not always easy to tell whether they are scratching or simply be having fun. Watch for when the dog starts to crawl on its belly then use your voice and appropriate hand gesture and reward your dog at once.
It is usually to teach your dog the basic sit and come, commands. Use plenty of repetition followed by a treat or verbal praise and you will find that your dog is eager to learn. Often you will find that teaching your pet some tricks requires nothing more than building on their basic behaviors. Once your dog has learned tocome it is much easier to transform this into 'walk in a circle'. Keep the command as short as possible, for example use circle or spin.
Treats are a useful way to encourage wanted actions in the beginning, but don't give too many. Ultimately you want your dog to respond to a verbal command and praise rather than food rewards which could spoil its diet. Other than the odd occasion, treats can be withdrawn once the command-behavior pair becomes automatic.
A good way of encouraging certain tricks is to use a dogs favorite toy. Dogs love to play tug and you can use a short rope to encourage your dog to jump by moving the rope rapidly up and down but just out of reach. Once the command-behavior pair is automatic you should be able to just use your hand rather than the rope.
It is easy to teach your dog hide-and-seek with the use of a favorite bone or chew ball. Take advantage of your dogs keen sense of smell which works at a surprising distance as well as close up. Try hiding the toy under a box a few feet away, gradually extending the distance then do it without the box. The best way to teach your pet some tricks is to take things one step at a time.
Your dogs affection for you is a useful ally when you are undertaking trick training. Most dogs offer their paws quite spontaneously as an expression of this affection. Put him in a sit position and kneel down and offer him your hand while giving a command such as five (for 'high five' or 'give me five' or 'paw',) whatever works best for you.
Often your dog will lift its paw straight away, when it doesnt you should gently pull it up simultaneously using the voice command. Once you are in position, praise your dog, lift its paw and try again.
Once you have taught your dog some tricks it is easy to extend them. For example you could start with a high five and then go on to tell the dog to 'sit pretty'. This is done by taking the paw and lifting gently and your dog will often spontaneously lift the other. Hold both paws while you praise and reward the dog. If I am sitting at a desk and want my dog to sit pretty, I will pat my chest when he come up I praise him lavishly.
Teaching your dog some tricks should be fun for both of you. As you and your dog progress you use other training methods to teach safety, control, and the discouragement of property destruction. Tricks are used for you and your dog to have fun together.
