First Tricks To Teach Your Pooch

 

Ready to teach your pooch some cool new tricks? You will need a quiet place to train in and some treats for rewards. Praise your dog and give him a treat whenever he gets something right, but don't get him too excited or he will lose his concentration. Also, remember to keep each training session just 10-15 minutes short to prevent him from getting bored.

Paw Trick

Teach your pet to give you his paw. First, get him to sit. Say the word "paw" and take his paw in your hand. Give your dog a treat. Repeat. After a few times, don't take his paw right away. Mention the command, but count to one before you take it. Your dog should be bringing his paw up as you say "paw". If he doesn't, go back to taking his paw as you utter the word. Do this a few more times, then slow your response again. Most dogs learn this trick after two or three sessions.

High Five

The high five is a progression of the paw trick. Hold a treat in your hand and raise it slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. Your pet will think that you want him to do the paw trick and will try to reach for the treat with his paw. As he raises his paw up, say "high five" and give him the treat. If your dog already knows how to do the paw trick, he shouldn't have a problem learning the high five. After a few sessions, he'll be able to high five based on hand signal instead of verbal command.

Hoop Jump

When trying to get your pooch to jump through a hoop, don't hold it too high as you wouldn't want your dog to hurt himself while doing this trick. If you have a small dog, start with the hoop touching the ground so he just walks through it. Raise it gradually as he gets used to doing the trick. If you have a larger dog, you can begin with the hoop six inches above the ground and slowly elevate it to waist height.

Have your dog sit on one side of the hoop. On the other side, hold a treat in your hand and try to get your dog's attention with it. Initially, he might try to go around or under the hoop. If this happens, start over. Your dog will eventually learn that he won't get the treat by going around or under the hoop. When he does jump through the hoop, say "hoopla" and give him the treat. Soon, your dog will be doing the trick on command.