What to do for fun

Dog tricks, teach your dog a trick --

One of the easiest tricks to teach a dog is to sit. Say the word sit and at the same time push down on his back end until he is in the sitting position. He will likely want to stand immediately. Right away say sit again and push down on his rear end to keep him in the sitting position. Keep doing this until he stays sitting for several seconds. Then reward him in some way. It could be by rubbing behind his ears, a hug or whatever the both of you seem to like. Giving him a chunk of dry dog food or other small treat is also a good reward. If he lays down instead of sitting, tap his front feet to get him to raise the front of his body. Or lift his front half up while holding down on his hips. Spend maybe 5 or 10 minutes going through the steps of saying sit, pushing down, and giving a reward when he keeps sitting. Then take a break and repeat the process later. Its probably a good idea to stop and take a break when either you or your pet gets tired of such training.

Another easy trick is shaking hands. When your dog is sitting, say shake, grab his right paw and shake it up and down. Then give him a reward. Repeat that many times. Then say shake and wait to see if he will raise his paw. If he does let him know that you are very pleased and give him a reward. If he doesn't raise his paw, repeat the process of saying shake, grabbing his paw, shaking it and giving a reward. Do that often enough and he will know what it is that you want him to do when you say shake.

Dogs hear the pitch and loudness of the words you say more than the meaning of the words. It helps to say each command in a more forceful tone than the dog is accustomed to hearing. Be consistent in how forcefully you pronounce the commands. Body language can be important. A gesture such as putting your hand out when saying shake can be much easier to learn than just the word shake alone. Likewise lowering your hand when saying lay down will be learned more quickly. Try to make each gesture much different from the gestures you use for other commands.

Other tricks you can teach your dog are lie down, beg, come here and fetch. Some more difficult ones are stay, play dead, roll over, heel and speak. Wait until one trick is learned well before trying a new one. Be patient. If the training is not going well, try another time when you and your dog are in a better mood.

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