Best Dog Tricks

Your pet wants to please you. It’s just in his genetic makeup. He likes to get a laugh out of you or a “good boy,” and a pat on the nose. That’s why he is susceptible to learning dog tricks. If you want to teach dog tricks, however, it may not feel like you are always getting through to him. But with a little work, patience, and reward, he will be obeying commands and becoming the life of the party in no time at all.

Before you teach dog tricks to your pet, it helps to have a sense of which dog tricks he will pick up the fastest. You probably don’t want to start him out with anything incredibly difficult. Playing fetch is one of the simplest and most common dog tricks to get him accustomed to. This consists of you showing him that you want to play by getting down on the floor or ground at his level. When you do this, there isn’t a doubt in his mind that you are invested in the moment.

When he knows you’re invested he will do any of the dog tricks you want him to in order to please you. Show him a ball or a newspaper or a twig, and throw it as far as you can. Keep your position, and most of the time, he will get the idea that if he wants to continue playing with you, he must retrieve the object and bring it back. Dogs love to exercise, and of all the dog tricks out there, this is one of the best because it gets him to do just that.

Another option if you want to teach dog tricks to your pet is that of dancing. Pets have a natural tendency to jump on people in the first place. While you will certainly not want him to do this in every situation, it is okay if you’ve set the appropriate context. Pets United Group (Pug) advises that you have a command for letting the animal know it is okay to jump. These commands usually come in the form of hand signals, which aid in the completion of dog tricks. When he jumps on you, place his front paws over your shoulders, and then lead him. Accompany the activity with a verbal command such as “dance,” and he will start to associate the activity with it.

Pug, whose website pug.com offers many great tips and advice for teaching dog tricks, advises that you always accompany hand signals and activities with verbal commands that help the animal make multiple associations around one practice. It all gets back to simple dog training advice 101, and that is to set your expectations, and respond to them so that he knows whether or not he’s a “good boy.” Pug.com can help you create these expectations and lead your dog into fulfilling them.