5 Tricks to Teach Your Dog This January!

New Year, New Start. Have you relaxed with your puppy's training? Do you want to teach your family pet some new tricks? Check out these easy tricks and tips to teach your dog so you can show off to family and friends.

SIT

1. Get on your puppy’s level, either on the floor or in a chair next to him.

2. Hold a treat close to his nose and let his head follow the treat as you move your hand up.

3. As his head moves up, his bottom will lower.

4. When his bottom hits the floor, release the treat to his mouth. Immediately praise him for his brilliance.

5. Repeat multiple times every day. Pair the behaviour with the word “sit.”

*Don’t hold the treat so high that your dog tries to jump up for it. Instead, hold it in your closed hand just high enough that he stretches his neck. Every time his rump hits the floor, tell him “Sit!” This is a great game for children in the house to play with your dog.

Repetitions are important, but your dog will tire of multiple reps. Rather, play the sit game with your dog in short bursts multiple times every day. 

ROLL OVER

1. Kneel down, and get your dog in a ‘down’ position in front of you. Hold a treat close to their nose with your palm facing up.

2. Turn their nose towards their shoulder by rolling your hand over so your palm is facing downwards while arching your arm over their head.

3. As your dog’s nose follows the treat, they’ll become unbalanced and flop onto their side. At this point, reward them with the treat and plenty of praise.

4. Repeat the move, and add a second step: this time, keep your hand moving so that your dog has to roll over on to their other side. As soon as their body flips over, give them the treat.

5. After some more practice to reinforce what they’ve learnt so far, try getting them to roll right over in one move. When they get it right, add the command, “roll over!”

6. After enough practice and treats, they’ll learn to roll over on your command alone.

SPEAK

Teaching your dog to speak on cue can be a fun trick as well as a useful behaviour. It is also easier to teach your dog to “quiet” when you put barking on a cue. You can reward your dog for just one bark, as opposed to barking non-stop for several minutes.

Plus it is a great trick to show family and friends!

1. Find something that gets your dog excited enough to bark. This may be a favourite toy, ball or treat. If treats and toys do not work, try knocking on a door or ringing the doorbell.

2. Get him to bark by waving your object around excitedly and being exciting yourself.

3. As soon as your dog barks, mark it by immediately saying “yes” or “good” and reward with a yummy treat or play with the toy.

4. When your dog starts consistently offering a bark, add a hand and/or verbal signal to put the behaviour on cue.

Tips:

1. Do not reward barking unless you ask your dog to speak.

2. Try to capture only a single bark. You do NOT want “speak” to mean a barking frenzy.
 

SLEEP

This is a famous trick that dog owners teach their dogs. Many dogs lay on their backs, especially if they're looking for a belly rub. If you notice your dog doing this often, catch this behaviour and then associate the action with the command, 'Go to Sleep'.

1. Have your dog lay down. With your treat in hand, slowly guide it so that your dog moves into the 'Go to Sleep' position and give him a treat with praise.

2. Keep repeating the process while saying, "Go to Sleep!" See if he'll do it at your command.

3. In different training sessions, shape and perfect the trick by only treating when he is in the exact position you want him to be in (i.e., legs in the air, paws bent and still etc). 

PEEK-A-BOO

Peek-a-boo is an adorable trick to teach your dog and is a great way to impress your friends.

There are two different methods to teaching your dog this trick. If your dog can already give his paw on command, start by having him sit in front of you, and ask for his paw.

Hold his paw in your hand, and then raise it over his eyes. Repeat the command gently, and treat/praise him immediately.

Continue repeating the process until your dog makes the connection. 

Next, try simply clicking above your dog’s nose gently to get him to raise his paw. If you repeat these steps whilst saying the command, your dog will eventually perform the trick automatically.

You can try this trick with them sat down to start with and then make it more difficult by having them lie down and put both paws over their nose.

Here's to a well behaved January!