by Terry Zinndell

Dogs are usually high strung and are eager to do whatever the owner wants. Dogs are happiest when they have something to do, and even more so when they actually receive some sort of treat for having done it. These are things that you’re going to want to use to your advantage as you try to teach them to do different tricks. The things that they do naturally can be very useful in teaching them to do new things. These habits that they have developed along with the treats that you give them make it a lot easier to train a dog.

See what your dog does for recreation, and then determine whether or not you can use any of it to your advantage. If there is something they do that looks like it could be a decent trick then some of the work is already done for you. When you see your dog doing something that might be considered cute, use a hand signal for that particular action, and then give them a treat. The dog will then know that when they do that act after a hand signal there will be a treat, and therefore they will be quite eager to do it whenever you want.

It’s important to not feed your dog an excessive number of treats. If you feed them too many you risk them either becoming sick, obese, or immune to the treat if you know what I’m saying. Treats will be good in the beginning, but you need to slowly wean your dog off of these treats so that he or she will do the tricks after seeing your hand signal or receiving the verbal command.

For the most part dogs learn very fast and they’ll understand that a treat waits for them so long as they perform the trick when you give the command. Sometimes you might have to improvise, so for example after you teach them “down” you might from that position teach them “play dead”, and you’ll have to get the dog to associate the new command with the additional trick. After a bit of training you can use other commands such as “stay”, “come”, and even “sit” and add on tricks from those starting points.

You can try using a favorite toy in the training, and you can do this pretty easily. Hold their toy close to their nose, and then command the dog to jump. The dog will jump, and though it won’t understand at first, it will soon come to realize that “jump” means jump. There will come a time when you don’t even require the toy to get the dog to jump, you can just use the verbal command and/or hand signal.

Your dog’s ability to smell is a huge factor in the training. One thing that you can do is play a little game with your dog that involves hiding a favorite toy or treat and then having them find it. You can start out by putting the toy in a close location so that it’s easy for them to find the object, and when they become more adept at that you can hide it farther away so that they have to work for it. After a while you will be able to use this as a viable trick to entertain your dog as well as any guests that you might have.

Having your dog give you a high five is also great, and the good news is it’s not a hard trick for a dog to pull off. The majority of dogs will just hand you their paw as soon as you show them your hand, but for those that don’t there might be a little more work involved. You may need to teach them several times, and make sure you give them a treat every time they do it properly so that they know there’s an actual reason to do it for you!

Sometimes you may find that the dog doesn’t lift its pay when you want it to, in which case you’ll have to resort to other measures. You’ll have to physically lift their paw, but make sure you praise them and give them a treat. After a while they’ll do it immediately without you lifting the paw as long as they know there is a treat for them.

There are a few other things that you can expand on once you’ve taught the dog a few tricks. One thing that you can do is expand the high five into a way to make them sit up. You can do this by compelling them to raise both paws, at which point they’ll just sit up. Once you’ve gotten them to do this, make sure you give them a treat.

There are many different things you can do to train a dog. Whether you do it for behavior control, house breaking, or just tricks, you’ll find that this greatly strengthen the bond between you and your dog. This is a great way to become closer to your dog.

About the Author:
Pick up important information, tips, and techniques about Dog Training and Care. Also Learn about choosing the best Dog Bedding for your dog.

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