Tricks are a great way to have fun with your dog and keep them entertained. They can also be a subtle way to teach obedience to your dog, and stop bad habits like jumping up. Here are a few simple ones to work on after theyโve mastered โsitโ and โstayโ.
Roll over
The key is to move and position a treat in a way that intuitively gets your dog to roll over. You need to keep the food very close to your dogโs body, and move it backwards over the neck and shoulders so your dog follows the movement. Itโs important to repeat the command โroll overโ throughout, to make sure they associate the trick with the words.
Bang
A funny trick, enjoyed by adults and children alike, is getting your dog to play dead when you point your hand like a pistol and say โbangโ. The training starts in a similar way to the roll over trick. Say โbangโ, and then use the treat to get them to roll over, but once they get on their back, stop them by saying โstayโ. After you do this enough times your dog will associate โbangโ with rolling onto their back and staying still.
Give us a hug
Every pet owner knows the heartache of a wet dog jumping up on you and ruining your outfit mere moments before you get in the car to head out. The โgive us a hugโ command is a fun way of telling your dog when itโs ok to get its paws all over you, and when itโs not.
Start by getting your dog to sit, and then say โgive us a hugโ, whilst exciting them by showing a treat above their nose and slapping your hands on your chest. Most dogs will naturally want to show their affection by jumping up anyway, so this is the easy part. The trick is to intermittently put in a โsitโ and โstayโ command, so your dog can learn the difference between excited greetings and normal ones. This way you have time to get changed into more relaxed clothes before giving your friend a hug.
