Alice White
Exercise alone is not enough to provide Waldi and Luna with an adequate workload. Even the head needs to be challenged. With simple dog tricks, you can keep your four-legged friend busy in a simple, entertaining, and uncomplicated way. Whether shaking a paw, a male, or a dead dog: We give an overview of the best tricks that you can teach your dog.
Why Teach the Dog Tricks?
Tricks for dogs even have a technical term: trick dogging. Nevertheless, it is not a dog sport in the classic sense. Rather, two and four-legged friends should simply have fun together.
Tricks and tricks are a wonderful way to develop animal intelligence. Trickdogging is particularly suitable for intelligent dog breeds such as border collies and for breeds with a pronounced hunting or herding instinct. If these animals are not mentally busy enough, they like to look for a job on their own.
Common challenges such as learning tricks promote cohesion and communication between humans and dogs. Bit by bit, both of them are getting better and better as a team. Every trick you learn becomes a mutual success.
Nothing gives the four-legged friend more joy than praise and recognition from his human being. That strengthens his self-confidence. In addition, the constantly changing tasks keep him open to new things.
Teaching Dog Tricks: Tips for Dog Owners
In order to practice successfully with your beloved fur nose, all you have to do is pay attention to a few points:
- Do not overwhelm the dog, but start with light tricks;
- Be patient – sometimes it takes a long time for an exercise to really sit down;
- End every training session with a sense of achievement;
- Always reward with a small snack and pats.
The following tricks are easy for the dog to learn and at the same time make a lot! Whether shaking paws, balancing treats, or being a man – the tricks are learned quickly and are great fun.
Dog trick 1: Shake Hands
First, let your dog sit in front of you. Take a treat and make a fist around it with your hand. Hold your dog out with your fist at about chest height. First, he will sniff it and lick it. Stay undeterred. Sooner or later he will try to open your fist with his paw. As soon as your dog tries to get to the treat with his paw, open your hand! Praise him vigorously while he takes the treat. Once he has understood the principle, clearly say “paw” when he touches your hand. Repeat this exercise over and over until he knows exactly what to do.
Dog trick 2: Make a Mannequin
Have your dog sit in front of you again. Hold a treat over his muzzle so he has to stretch and lift his front paws. As soon as he lifts his paws even very slightly, reward him. Slowly increase the height of the treat until your four-legged friend rises to its final position. Then give the exercise the command.
Dog trick 3: Balance Treats
Balancing treats is easier than you think. However, the dog must have a certain amount of impulse control to do this. Bring your darling into the sitting position, coupled with the command “stay”. Put a treat on the dog’s nose, repeat the command if necessary. Then release him with an “okay” or “snap” – depending on what he knows. The dog will now instinctively throw the treat up and catch it.
Tricks for advanced dogs are a little more difficult to learn but very impressive! Here, too, patience and practice are required.
Dog trick 4: Bang, Dead Dog!
A dead dog is a real classic – and at the same time one of the supreme disciplines among the difficult dog tricks. Your four-legged friend should definitely have impulse control and self-control. The trick must also be practiced in several individual steps. First, the dog makes room. Then place him on his side with a treat and reward this position. Keep extending the amount of time the dog is lying flat on its side. The longer and quieter he lies, the better! Reward him generously for this and name the position “Bang” or “Dead dog”!
Dog trick 5: Shame on You!
Let your dog sit down and stick a sticky note on the side of his muzzle. The dog will immediately wipe it with its paw to remove it. As soon as he does that, reward him and mention the signal word “Shame on you”. It will take Waldi a while to internalize the connection even without sticky notes. But it’s worth the effort! “Shame on you” is without a doubt one of the cutest tricks for dogs.
Dog trick 6: Make a Roll
Among the fancy dog tricks, the role is definitely a must. To do this, bring your dog into the down position. Run a treat along the side of his neck and across his back. Your dog instinctively follows the snack with its snout and lies on its side. Reward him for this in the first few steps. Now increase the pace so that Waldi has to get more momentum – and does a role.
Our Recommendation: Useful Dog Tricks for Everyday Life Make Life Easier
Would you much rather teach your four-legged friend something useful? Bring slippers? Get the newspaper? Then lay the foundation with simple barter deals! For example, if your dog brings you his favorite toy, give him lots of praise. Quickly give the order to “turn off” and swap for treats immediately. Once your four-legged friend has understood the principle, he will happily bring you everything possible to catch a treat. When the practice has established itself, you can use Bello’s newfound trading skills on a variety of items. All you have to do is mark the relevant objects with signal words. With a little practice, it will not only bring you slippers and newspapers but even your own food bowl!
