Dog Tricks for Poodles

Intelligent and active, poodles abhor boredom. Easy to train, they delight in entertaining their masters and respond enthusiastically to applause and laughter. Poodles rose to popularity during their reign as the circus dog of France, astonishing crowds by leaping through hoops and dancing on their hind legs. Stars of competitive obedience shows, poodles have great capacity for learning tricks and commands.

  1. Hoop

    • Because they are bright and highly trainable, poodles excel at jumping through a hoop. Plan a 10- to 15-minute practice session twice daily in a quiet place. Hold a hula hoop upright (standing on its rim) in front of your poodle and place part of a dog treat on the other side so he has to step through the hoop. After a few times, raise the hoop about an inch off the ground and repeat the trick. After a few days, your poodle will be jumping through the hoop. Be sure to praise and applaud your poodle, because they love attention.

    Twirl

    • Have your poodle pirouetting in no time. Stand on your knees beside her and hold up a treat. Poodles will naturally stand on their hind legs to reach what they want, so she will stand. Hold the treat near her nose and lead her around in a circle while saying "twirl." When she completes the circle give her the treat and praise. Repeat this five times in the morning (break one treat into several pieces for practice time) and five in the evening until she masters the twirl.

    High Five

    • Poodles are notorious show-offs. If you have ever laughed at poodle misbehavior, you know your dog will repeat that "trick" again and again because it seemed to amuse you. The high five trick is not only impressive on its own, but a great reward to the poodle for performing another trick as well. Choose a command such as "high five" or "give me the paw," and sit on your knees with one hand raised by your face. Hold a treat if you need to get your poodle's attention. Your poodle should stand on his hind legs and pat your palm with his paw. Practice this every day. Eventually it will be a fun reinforcement for your poodle to "give you five" when he has done a trick well.