Dogs love learning new things every day. Show
Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise. Teaching your dog new tricks is a fun way to incorporate mental training and bonding into your daily schedule. Below is a list of 9 simple dog tricks for beginners to try at home. Teaching new tricks will not only improve your dog’s ability to learn but will also make you a better handler in the process. Each time you train with your dog, he will be able to acquire new skills quicker and quicker. Many tricks are so easy that your dog will get many positive rewards which will boost his confidence as a result. Tricks and commands don’t have to be difficult. As a new and inexperienced dog owner, you will have just as many options to choose from as veterans. You probably haven’t heard about these creative dog tricks and yet they’re quite easy to follow. Every piece of equipment can be made DIY. But before you start with the training, make sure that your dog knows all the basic obedience commands and that you’ve opted for the mainly positive reinforcement type of training. 1. Give a HugGiving hugs is such a cute trick to teach your dog and so easy for beginners. Your dog will be taught to wrap his paws around your shoulders while you are kneeling on the ground. It is best to train this trick when your dog is calm because otherwise, he will jump all over the place.
Teaching your dog to jump through a hoop is definitely easier than it sounds. The only thing you will need is a simple hula hoop and some yummy treats.
For the advanced version of this trick, you can also form your arms into a hoop and use them instead. This will work best with small to medium breeds as a Great Dane usually won’t fit through your arms. Using your arms, you will be able to create a dynamic movement while your dog is jumping through them. You can watch the video below as reference: This trick can be part of a dog agility course that you can create in your own yard. Luring your dog over, under, and through obstacles is a great way to exercise his mind while building up more confidence. 3. Take a BowTake a bow is a trick that any dog of any size can learn. After this training, your dog will be able to bend down onto his front elbows with his butt poking up in the air. It looks pretty adorable and makes it seem like your dog is doing yoga. You will only need your dog’s favorite treats for this.
4. Ring a BellThis is by far the easiest trick of this list and only requires some dog treats and a bell (obviously). Many dog owners use the bell to potty train their dogs. The bell is being used as a signal that the dog needs to be going outside but for this exercise, we will just be using the association of the bell with treats.
And that is it. It’s so easy and if you have a puppy and want to know how the potty bell is being trained, check out the video below: 5. Figure 8This dog trick is not as simple as the bell-ringing one before but still a beginner trick as it involves normal lure training. Figure 8 is a trick where the dog moves between your legs and walks around each leg to form the figure 8.
You can also train your dog to do the figure 8 while you are walking. For this, you will need to repeat the same process and just take one step with the leg your dog is currently going around and then with the other. So you will be slowly moving forward with your dog parkouring between your legs. 6. Hold an ObjectHolding an object in a dog’s mouth without chewing or biting on it is a common task for service dogs and is often used in obedience training. For everyday life, your dog could learn to bring you the newspaper for example.
After your dog has completed the training, you can also ask him to “hold” other objects like a newspaper or the remote control. 7. Agility Weave PolesFor this one, you can either use old broomsticks and do it DIY (explained in my PDF below along with other possibilities for a DIY Agility course) or you buy these stable weave poles. 8. CrawlCrawling is not a dog characteristic. Human babies are used to crawling before they walk but puppies go straight into walking. That being said, a dog is very capable of crawling on the ground and if you have a baby in your household, chances are your dog will try to imitate the behavior. Before you start teaching your dog to crawl, he will first need to learn how to lie down (more on that below).
9. Back--UpTeaching your dog to back-up is a cool and very useful trick. When your dog is standing right in the doorway or is blocking the path for people, you can simply ask him to back up.
To make it easier and more rememberable for your dog, you can also place a mat on the floor behind your dog. Once his back paws touch the mat, you can treat him. Using targeted training is often more simple for you and your dog. Watch this video as a reference: You can also try to incorporate tricks in your dog yoga routine where you both practice together to strengthen that bond! BONUS: Professional Dog Tricks in Dog ShowsFor those of you who are giving up too quickly or those who are interested in what a dog can actually achieve in terms of tricks, check out the video below. It’s a great demonstration of the mental accomplishments our canine companions can actually achieve. If you’re struggling with teaching a certain trick right now, don’t get frustrated. Sooner or later, your furry companion will come around. Clear communication and fun learning experiences are the keys to success. If you want to find out more about mesmerizing dog tricks and routines, go down the rabbit hole and research Flying Disc competitions. It sure looks impressive and is fun to watch. Make sure to challenge your dog but never go beyond exhaustion. If your dog’s breathing gets heavy or he starts to refuse to participate, you might want to evaluate the exercise level your dog gets (although too little exercise happens far more often). Teaching your dog new tricks will heavily improve your overall bond with your canine companion! Oh, in case you’re searching for simple tricks without any equipment, here’s how to teach Roll Over & Play Dead. Teaching Your Dog Roll Over or Play DeadJust like the Play Dead command, teaching your dog to roll over is not a completely necessary trick like “Stay” but a very funny and playful one. Before we start training your dog the new command, he should already know the command down and sit which will make it a lot easier. If you haven’t taught this already, I have mentioned the steps below. Grab some delicious and healthy treats for your dog. Or if you prefer to rather praise your dog verbally, with a clicker or a toy, this will work just the same. How to Teach a Dog to Lie DownIf your dog already knows this command then you can simply jump to the next step. The command lie down is very helpful for this trick and for many other commands out there. Get plenty of treats and start in a low distractive environment like your living room. If you are afraid that your dog might get hurt when sliding down on a wooden floor then you can always lay a blanket or mat under him. This will make the process much more comfortable for him.
Once you have repeated the steps from above and your dog had a few successful downs in a row then you can gradually fade out the luring and only give him a treat when he completed the command. Now you are ready to get into the roll over trick. 5 Steps to Train Your Dog to Roll OverStep in a quiet and non-distractive room in your house to better get your dog’s focus on training. For this trick, you will have to move close to the ground, so crouch down for every step.
If your dog has problems with that and stands up or wiggles around in between then you will have to split up the process in smaller parts where you treat for every little step. Split up each step into two parts and praise for the head turn as well as for him laying on his side. It doesn’t have to look perfect in the beginning. Reward every effort from your dog. You can also help him with your free hand by gently grabbing one of his front paws and using it to rotate him in the right direction. Phasing Out the TreatsAfter many successful rollovers, you can then start to slowly fade out the treats. Make your hand movement more subtle every time and see if your dog is able to roll over immediately. If you have trained each step well, your dog probably won’t have a problem with it. But if he doesn’t know what you want from him then start again at the beginning and provide him with more hand movement and treat luring. You will want to take it even slower to set him up for success each time. You don’t have to treat always as a reward. Start by giving him treats every second time then every fourth time until the verbal praise will be the only reward. Of course, you can still occasionally treat your dog. Adding DistractionOnce your dog has perfected “roll over” in the training room then you can step outside to ensure that your dog will be able to perform the trick anywhere. Start with a low distractive environment like your backyard or any enclosed area. Let him sniff around and if you haven’t trained him a recall yet, you can attach a long leash to get him back to you. Let him perform the trick a few times and give him the same treats as before to praise him in the new environment. If your dog can do the trick easily in your backyard then you can go into more distractive places like the dog park or public areas with other people. If he fails too often then you will have to take a step back to ensure that he doesn’t get confused. Problems that May OccurRollover is a trick that is not so easy to train compared to a simple command like sit. In the beginning, my dog used to turn her head the wrong way or standing up because I moved the treat too quickly. Make sure to always take baby steps to avoid failure as much as possible. It is always important to make training fun for your dog to encourage him to actually like performing the commands which will lead to a faster and more reliable result. If your dog refuses to roll over or seems bored or tired, then end the training and try again later or the next day. Always pay attention to your dog’s body language. It will tell you how much he enjoys working with you. Feel free to share your experiences with teaching your dog how to roll over in the comments below! How To Teach Your Dog Play Dead“Play dead” or “Go to sleep” is an advanced trick that you should teach your dog after he has already learned all the basic obedience commands like, “sit”, “stay” or “drop it”. Dogs love to learn new things and if you are running out of commands and tricks then this is the one to teach. The command is also known as “Shoot the dog dead” which seems too harsh for some owners. If you want, you can always go with it as a quiet sleep command to put your dog at ease. If your dog already knows the “lie down” command then you can simply jump to the next step. The command “lie down” is very helpful for this trick and for many other commands out there. 1. Lie DownStart with your dog in a down position. After a few times, you can add the verbal cue and be sure that he stays in this position until you release him. Gently push your lying dog to one side by rubbing his belly or luring him with a treat and praise him for doing that. After a few times, you can try to hold the position for a few seconds or longer and reward. 3. Adding CommandChoose your desired verbal cue, like “play dead”, “bang” or “go to sleep” and repeat it whenever your dog rolls to its side. You can also add a visual command, like a shooting movement with your hand to make it even more fun. Teaching from a Standing PositionThis is the advanced version from the command “play dead”. Before teaching it from a standing position be sure that your dog has mastered the easier part first. For this, you will need to train your dog a proper “stand” and “stay” so he won’t move into another position before you give him the command. Give the verbal and visual cue and if your dog doesn’t know what you are talking about then you can add a “down” to make it easier. After a few times, your dog will get into the “play dead” command much quicker and more easily. Wanna introduce play dead alongside this command? Once your dog has perfected the play dead command, you can teach him to roll over and combine the two tricks. In this article, you can learn how to teach your dog to roll over. You can either use the two commands separately, so the rollover command first and then the cue for play dead or you can choose to teach your dog to play dead after every rollover. The second one will condition him pretty fast and it is definitely a nice addition to rollover. If you haven’t taught your dog to roll over, then instead of teaching him to roll into a lie-down position, you can teach him to only roll to his side. If you do not want him to do it every time, then simply tell him to “roll over” and treat him and then say “play dead”. Teaching with a clickerPlay dead is a great command to teach it with a clicker. It is no different than clicker training with any other command. When your dog has performed the desired behavior click instead of a reward cue like “yes” and treat him. A dog that has already learned the rollover command will probably go completely around every time, this is where a clicker comes in handy. Slowly lure your dog’s nose behind his shoulder and right when he lays on his side click immediately and treat him. After a few tries, your dog will understand that he gets no treats for completely rolling over and only for ending on his side. If your dog has problems with that, gently push him onto his side when he rolls over. You can then slowly increase the time, your dog is laying on his side and only giving him treats after a few seconds. Pay attention to the processWhen you train any new trick or command, be patient and calm to receive the best possible results. If your dog makes mistakes, that means that you went on too quickly and your dog can’t keep up with you. Do not push your dog for too long and include playtime or try it on another day otherwise your dog might feel pressured and will start hating the training process. If he seems frustrated, tired or bored then stop immediately and be sure to make it more fun next time. If you want your dog to be excited about a new trick, then be excited yourself and make it interesting. Be consistent with the commands you choose and the way you teach them. You cannot expect your dog to know what you want from him. A dog doesn’t understand human language and words mean nothing to him, you could also teach him “car” instead of “sit”. Let me know in the comments which of these tricks you have tried and if you have other recommendations. Pin This: |