How to Teach Your Dog Awesome Tricks

People are almost always impressed by a well-behaved dog, but they are even more impressed when that dog shows off its intelligence by performing tricks. Teaching your dog advanced tricks might be a good way to impress your friends, but it is also an opportunity for you and your dog to bond. Continuing your dog's training will reinforce its basic obedience training and will also help to keep it from getting bored and developing behavior problems.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog treats
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Instructions

    • 1

      Review basic obedience commands with your dog. It should know, at minimum, the "Sit," "Down," "Stay" and "Come" commands. These are the building blocks for more advanced tricks. Practice these commands daily by incorporating them into your dog's life. Require it to sit at the door before going out or stay at the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell rings. Practice the commands in formal training sessions or sign up for a basic obedience class.

    • 2

      Purchase or make your dog's favorite training treats. Consider using healthy, all-natural treats that are lower in fat because your dog will be eating them by the handful. Use hot dogs, cooked meat or bites of cheese if you want extra encouragement for your dog. Cheerios cereal works as well. Make or buy treats that are soft and easy to chew and that are bite-sized so your dog can eat them quickly and refocus on training.

    • 3

      Choose a single trick to teach at a time so that you don't confuse your dog. Some options include dance, high-five, roll over, play dead, shake, speak, jump through a hoop, walk on hind legs, balance a treat or ball on nose or head or sing. Be creative and teach your dog tricks you know you'll both enjoy.

    • 4

      Lure your dog into the correct position using a treat. To teach dance, for example, hold the treat just above your dog's nose and move it upward into the air so that your dog will stand on its hind legs as it follows the snack. To teach your dog to roll over, move a treat from your dog's nose to its shoulder and then across its back to get it to roll. Experiment with the treats to see what motions get your dog to move in what ways.

    • 5

      Speak a verbal command as you lure your dog into position. Say "Dance," for example. Reward your dog with the treat the instant it moves correctly. Don't wait for it to stand fully or roll all the way onto its back. Praise your dog to let it know that it just did what you were looking for.

    • 6

      Reward your dog less and less frequently as it learns the trick. Require it to roll completely over before it gets its reward, for example. Allow your dog to take baby steps to reach that point, but eventually it should only be rewarded for completing the entire trick. After that, start rewarding your dog intermittently, with treats every few times the trick is completed. Your goal is to eventually eliminate the use of treats altogether, but never stop using praise as a reward.

    • 7

      Hold daily training sessions. Practice a single trick for five to 10 minutes before taking a break. Schedule two or three of these sessions per day to help your dog get the practice it needs. Make training sessions a game by having a positive attitude, praising your dog excitedly and having fun together. Your dog will be more eager to learn if it is enjoying the training.

    • 8

      Incorporate your dog's tricks into its life along with its basic obedience commands. Try asking it to perform a few before giving it breakfast or dinner, for example. Your dog will love the chance to show off and will feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction if it earns its meals. This is also an extra opportunity for your dog to practice so that it doesn't forget what it has learned.