“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen”
--Orhan Pamuk
Sit. Stay. Lay down. Those all-important words for dogs sure do come in handy. Teaching a dog these “tricks”, will surely ingratiate your pet to other humans and make life with them more manageable for you. Heck, your dog can even learn from peers. What do I mean by this? Well, one of our clients recently shared a video of one dog teaching his younger “brother” how to sit for a treat. It was both impressive and hilarious. You can check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myt6bStT2mA&sns=em
I personally think that's a trick in itself-- teaching your dog to train another dog. Take that, Cesar Milan! But I digress....what I really wanted to talk about today was some helpful and amusing tricks you could teach your dog. You know, because we all have so much extra time on our hands...
Let's start with some tricks that are really helpful, the first of which is “heel”. I guess “heel” is more of a command, but we'll call it a trick for this blog. My blog, my rules. I truly wish every dog was born knowing how to heel. I love ALL of our dogs, but the leash “pullers” have definitely given me “dog-walker-syndrome”-- you know, when your dominant arm hurts all the time from non-heelers. It's a thing, I can assure you, like carpal tunnel syndrome. Whether you are a dog walker or a dog owner, having your dog walk into the sunset right next to you, rather than tugging you toward it, is definitely preferred. To learn “heel”, or “with me”, walk 10 steps with your dog on a leash. When they walk with their shoulder by your left leg, give them a treat. When they walk in another direction, do not follow. Stop, make them sit, and then move on. You can actually hold a treat in your hand to lure them. Praise, of course, for a good job is always a good idea. Every 10 steps, give a treat for heeling or correct your wandering or pulling dog with a sit. Practice several times a day for 10-15 minutes. Voila-- you saved your arm!
Another useful trick, is “get in your bed” or “get in your crate”. This is a command that a close friend always teaches her dogs, and it's especially good when you need your pup to calm down for the evening, or if they are being a bit of a nuisance and need a “time out”. First, coax your dog to their bed with a treat, and give it to him when he lays down on the bed (or in the crate, as the case may be). Then, lure the dog away from the bed, and repeat several times. Now try standing next to the bed and see if your dog will come without the offer of a treat, and if he does: 1.) You are lucky to have a very smart, well-behaved, quick learning, not-at-all-stubborn dog!, and 2.) Big reward for that! If you are in the more likely category of not having success the first time, try, try again. Once your dog starts figuring out the trick, then you can add in the name of the place (i.e. bed or crate). Really, don't you wish someone would command YOU to get in bed and take a nap? I know I do.
Now the fun begins: totally unnecessary tricks to teach your dog. One of my personal favorite is “give kisses”. I'm fully aware that this may gross some people out, but I personally find it endearing. Of course, when teaching to give kisses, I DO mean on the cheek. Let's keep your dog's not-so-clean mouth away from yours if you can avoid it. To teach “give kisses”, simply smear a little dab of peanut butter on your cheek, and let your dog lick it off. Then say, “good kisses”. To ensure you have enough peanut butter left for your lunch the next day, move on to small training treats. Put one in your fingers, point to your cheek, and when your dog licks the treat, again say “good kisses”. I think the entire process is made more fun if you make kissy noises. But that's just me. We all love dogs and kisses, right? Combining them just seems like a double win to me.
Everyone likes a friendly dog, so how about teaching them to “high five” or “shake”? It's simple, fun, and will impress your friends. Have your dog sit, and hold a treat in your open hand. Inevitably, your dog will paw at your hand when you don't just hand over the goods, and BOOM!-- the dog gets the treat for pawing at you. When they get the treat, add the “high five” command. If you prefer “shake”, take your dog's paw and shake it, then add the “shake” command. Repeat until Fido gets it. Be sure he knows that a firm handshake or a solid high five is the best way to be taken seriously!
If you want your dog to have some fancy moves, you can teach him to “spin”. This is obviously a totally useless trick, and is really for your own amusement! Hold a treat in your hand, and spin your hand in a circle. Of course, your dog will turn in a circle, because he is gonna follow that treat! At the end of the “spin”, the dog gets a treat. Try doing multiple directions, switching directions, and multiple turns. Maybe your dog could become a ballerina. Or a figure skater. Or a back-up dancer! Or maybe he will just become dizzy. Whatever happens, it's bound to be a hoot.
In my search for dog tricks, I came across some that I'm going to put in the “you have got to be kidding me” category. Now, by that I don't mean that it's too silly, because far be it from me to rain on anyone's parade (and there definitely were some silly ones out there). No, these are in the, “why in the world would you WANT to teach your dog to do these terrible things?” category. Let me give you some examples. One web site suggested that you can teach your dog to “talk”. You guys, there are days I wish that my kids couldn't even talk! But seriously, there's enough barking with dogs already. Teaching them to do more? No thanks. Another that falls into this category for me is “open the door”. I guess this really makes no sense to me. I can see where it might be convenient if your hands are full, but think about this: if your dog can open a door, they can wander the neighborhood at will, and get into trouble inside the house. Nothing will be sacred in your house, people! And dogs don't have in and out privileges, am I right? Finally-- and this takes the cake-- “carry the groceries”. I don't even have words for this one. As someone who plays with dogs all the time, I do not ever want a dog to touch my groceries! I LOVE dogs, but they get very dirty, and put strange and gross things in their mouths. The thought of my dog carrying grocery bags in his mouth is definitely high on my ick-o-meter.
So, are you inspired now to teach your fur baby some new things? One the one hand, you'll be the envy of all the other dog owners at the park. Plus, there's definitely the amusement factor to consider. I'd definitely enjoy seeing a good dog “spin” now and then. But then again, you could just forget about the tricks, cuddle up on the couch with your pooch, the remote, and a nice cup of hot cocoa. Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions......
http://www.trickstoteachdogs.com/30-uncommon-tricks-to-teach-your-dog/
https://www.sitstay.com/blogs/good-dog-blog/teach-dog-to-heel
http://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/basic-training/teaching-your-dog-to-go-to-his-bed/
https://doggiebuddy.com/topics/Trainingtopics/traintopic3.html
--Orhan Pamuk
Sit. Stay. Lay down. Those all-important words for dogs sure do come in handy. Teaching a dog these “tricks”, will surely ingratiate your pet to other humans and make life with them more manageable for you. Heck, your dog can even learn from peers. What do I mean by this? Well, one of our clients recently shared a video of one dog teaching his younger “brother” how to sit for a treat. It was both impressive and hilarious. You can check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myt6bStT2mA&sns=em
I personally think that's a trick in itself-- teaching your dog to train another dog. Take that, Cesar Milan! But I digress....what I really wanted to talk about today was some helpful and amusing tricks you could teach your dog. You know, because we all have so much extra time on our hands...
Let's start with some tricks that are really helpful, the first of which is “heel”. I guess “heel” is more of a command, but we'll call it a trick for this blog. My blog, my rules. I truly wish every dog was born knowing how to heel. I love ALL of our dogs, but the leash “pullers” have definitely given me “dog-walker-syndrome”-- you know, when your dominant arm hurts all the time from non-heelers. It's a thing, I can assure you, like carpal tunnel syndrome. Whether you are a dog walker or a dog owner, having your dog walk into the sunset right next to you, rather than tugging you toward it, is definitely preferred. To learn “heel”, or “with me”, walk 10 steps with your dog on a leash. When they walk with their shoulder by your left leg, give them a treat. When they walk in another direction, do not follow. Stop, make them sit, and then move on. You can actually hold a treat in your hand to lure them. Praise, of course, for a good job is always a good idea. Every 10 steps, give a treat for heeling or correct your wandering or pulling dog with a sit. Practice several times a day for 10-15 minutes. Voila-- you saved your arm!
Another useful trick, is “get in your bed” or “get in your crate”. This is a command that a close friend always teaches her dogs, and it's especially good when you need your pup to calm down for the evening, or if they are being a bit of a nuisance and need a “time out”. First, coax your dog to their bed with a treat, and give it to him when he lays down on the bed (or in the crate, as the case may be). Then, lure the dog away from the bed, and repeat several times. Now try standing next to the bed and see if your dog will come without the offer of a treat, and if he does: 1.) You are lucky to have a very smart, well-behaved, quick learning, not-at-all-stubborn dog!, and 2.) Big reward for that! If you are in the more likely category of not having success the first time, try, try again. Once your dog starts figuring out the trick, then you can add in the name of the place (i.e. bed or crate). Really, don't you wish someone would command YOU to get in bed and take a nap? I know I do.
Now the fun begins: totally unnecessary tricks to teach your dog. One of my personal favorite is “give kisses”. I'm fully aware that this may gross some people out, but I personally find it endearing. Of course, when teaching to give kisses, I DO mean on the cheek. Let's keep your dog's not-so-clean mouth away from yours if you can avoid it. To teach “give kisses”, simply smear a little dab of peanut butter on your cheek, and let your dog lick it off. Then say, “good kisses”. To ensure you have enough peanut butter left for your lunch the next day, move on to small training treats. Put one in your fingers, point to your cheek, and when your dog licks the treat, again say “good kisses”. I think the entire process is made more fun if you make kissy noises. But that's just me. We all love dogs and kisses, right? Combining them just seems like a double win to me.
Everyone likes a friendly dog, so how about teaching them to “high five” or “shake”? It's simple, fun, and will impress your friends. Have your dog sit, and hold a treat in your open hand. Inevitably, your dog will paw at your hand when you don't just hand over the goods, and BOOM!-- the dog gets the treat for pawing at you. When they get the treat, add the “high five” command. If you prefer “shake”, take your dog's paw and shake it, then add the “shake” command. Repeat until Fido gets it. Be sure he knows that a firm handshake or a solid high five is the best way to be taken seriously!
If you want your dog to have some fancy moves, you can teach him to “spin”. This is obviously a totally useless trick, and is really for your own amusement! Hold a treat in your hand, and spin your hand in a circle. Of course, your dog will turn in a circle, because he is gonna follow that treat! At the end of the “spin”, the dog gets a treat. Try doing multiple directions, switching directions, and multiple turns. Maybe your dog could become a ballerina. Or a figure skater. Or a back-up dancer! Or maybe he will just become dizzy. Whatever happens, it's bound to be a hoot.
In my search for dog tricks, I came across some that I'm going to put in the “you have got to be kidding me” category. Now, by that I don't mean that it's too silly, because far be it from me to rain on anyone's parade (and there definitely were some silly ones out there). No, these are in the, “why in the world would you WANT to teach your dog to do these terrible things?” category. Let me give you some examples. One web site suggested that you can teach your dog to “talk”. You guys, there are days I wish that my kids couldn't even talk! But seriously, there's enough barking with dogs already. Teaching them to do more? No thanks. Another that falls into this category for me is “open the door”. I guess this really makes no sense to me. I can see where it might be convenient if your hands are full, but think about this: if your dog can open a door, they can wander the neighborhood at will, and get into trouble inside the house. Nothing will be sacred in your house, people! And dogs don't have in and out privileges, am I right? Finally-- and this takes the cake-- “carry the groceries”. I don't even have words for this one. As someone who plays with dogs all the time, I do not ever want a dog to touch my groceries! I LOVE dogs, but they get very dirty, and put strange and gross things in their mouths. The thought of my dog carrying grocery bags in his mouth is definitely high on my ick-o-meter.
So, are you inspired now to teach your fur baby some new things? One the one hand, you'll be the envy of all the other dog owners at the park. Plus, there's definitely the amusement factor to consider. I'd definitely enjoy seeing a good dog “spin” now and then. But then again, you could just forget about the tricks, cuddle up on the couch with your pooch, the remote, and a nice cup of hot cocoa. Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions......
http://www.trickstoteachdogs.com/30-uncommon-tricks-to-teach-your-dog/
https://www.sitstay.com/blogs/good-dog-blog/teach-dog-to-heel
http://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/basic-training/teaching-your-dog-to-go-to-his-bed/
https://doggiebuddy.com/topics/Trainingtopics/traintopic3.html
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