Tricks to Train a Dog

Dogs in general are eager to learn from and please their owners. This makes teaching them fun tricks an easy way to bond and keep them active. You don't need any fancy or expensive equipment for some basic tricks. Depending on your dog-training skills and your dog's temperament, you may be able to teach all of these tricks in a few days, or it may take a few weeks. Either way, you should enjoy and learn from the experience.

  1. Sit

    • Sitting on command is one of the most basic commands that any dog should know. It's easy for owners to teach and easy for dogs to learn, making it a good way to practice training. It also allows you to bring your dog's focus onto you when you start to teach more advanced tricks. The sit behavior is taught by holding a dog treat in your closed fist over your dog's head. As the dog looks up to the treat, he usually automatically sits down to get a better view. The cue becomes a closed fist and the word "sit."

    Circle

    • The circle behavior is where the dog spins in a complete circle. Start by having the dog stand or sit in front of you. Then hold a treat in your hand and close to the dog's nose. While saying "circle," have the dog follow the treat in a circle. Make sure your hand with the treat is always at the same level as your dog's nose until this behavior is well-trained. Raise your hand with the treat too high and you will confuse your dog into sitting or rising up. The cue becomes the word "circle" and your hand making a circle motion.

    Rise Up

    • For this one, the dog sits or stands on his back legs while raising his front legs up in the air. Small dogs tend to do better at this as they can sustain the position longer. To give the cue, hold a treat in your hand while giving a thumbs-up just above your dog's nose. Then slowly raise your hand straight up to encourage your dog to follow the treat up. The cue becomes a thumbs-up signal and the phrase "rise up."

    Going Through Legs

    • This trick is often easier to teach after the dog already knows "circle" because the concept is similar. With this trick you stand with your legs apart to make a tunnel and your dog walks through. To give the cue, point towards the opening and say "go through." To help the dog understand what you want, toss a treat for him to follow in the direction you want him to go.