Dog commands and tricks?

Question

Hi,

Since getting my beagle puppy I have realised that he is incredibly easy to train as he responds very well to food rewards. He already knows SIT, COME, GIVE, DOWN, HI-FIVE, and ON-YOUR-BED at 11 weeks of age!!

I want to take advantage of this intelligence and teach him as many tricks as possible while he is still so young and willing to learn.

What are some of the cool tricks your dogs know?
How did you teach them? or
What did you wish you taught them?

Thanks

Answer 1

First, you are a GREAT owner. Dogs see no difference between obedience and tricks. You're engaging your dog, learning what works for him and he's seeing you as the source of FUN. Plus, you're stimulating him mentally which will make him a mellower dog and better behaved. Good for you--you rock!



Second, you want tricks? Try these:

--Crawl on his belly.

--Do a play bow (which is what dogs do when they want to play with another dog).

--Nod his head "yes" or "no" on command (very humorous as in "Spot, is Dad right?" and spot shakes his head "no").

--Cover his eyes with his paws (again, very humorous as in "Rover, what do you think of Susie's new outfit?").

--Spin in a circle (ideally, use a different word for each direction so he's learning left and right like "circle" for spin left and "spin" for spin right).

--Play dead

--Find a particular person who's hiding in the house ("Spike, go find Mommy!").

--Choose between toys on command (as in "Sport, get your jack. Now get your ball."

--Jump into your arms.

--Weave between your legs as you walk.

I use a clicker to train my dog. And Donna Duford's book taught me how to do the weave between legs and jump into my arms.



For any training, here are the tips:

--start with something your dog already does partially or naturally and build on it.

--break it down into parts and small pieces.

--be positive and reward.

--always end on a high note (so your dog doesn't dread working with you and sees "tricks" or "training" as fun).



Third, try shaping games. To do these it helps to know how to use a clicker and then train your dog (called loading the clicker). A clicker is the ideal way to train a dog (because it sends a clear, unmistakable message of "you done good!"). The best shaping game is Shirley Chong's "101 uses for a box." Using a handful of treats, a clicker and an object (a box, a ball, a vase, a piece of furniture), I train my dog to do something with it in about 10-15 minutes. I trained my dog to nudge a ball with his nose, turn a bowl upside, climb into a rocking chair, climb onto a stool and then automatically sit, lay down on top of a cinder block. Website is www.shirleychong.com



Finally, here is a website you've got to check out for inspiration. Silvia Trkman is from Slovenia and one of the top agility competitors in the world. She believes heavily in the value of doing tricks with your dog. Look at the videos and be envious. www.silvia.trkman.net

Answer 2

An easy one to teach is right and left... Take a treat and have him follow it to the right or the left in a circle(while giving the appropriate command). It really makes people think your dog is a genius!



Also, teach him wave! Ask for a high five, but hold your hand a little farther away. Then he is waving!



Your dog should always be ready to learn! The "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" saying is garbage!



Good luck!

Answer 3

"Take a Bow" is kind of cute. I taught it by getting down on one knee and luring him to stick his head under the leg that not on the floor (not sure how to describe that). Basically he had to go into ALMOST a 'down' position to get to the treat but his butt was still up in the air. I then used the clicker to click and gave him a treat. If you don't use a clicker, that's fine, just say "good" or "Yes" when he is in the right position and then treat. Once he starts doing it on his own then you can say the command at the same time until he knows what it means. Also once he gets the position try to get him to do it while you are standing up and next to him otherwise he'll only do it when you are in front of him.



"Don't Cry" or "Wipe your face" or whatever you want to call it. Basically the dog wipes it's eyes or paws at its face. Put a post it under each eye and the dog will try to wipe them off with his paws. Click when he wipes just right and treat.

Answer 4

ACK! (cease what you are doing)

spin (circle right)

turn (circle left)

away (move in a straight line away from me- usally either following a laser pointer towards a target or just to a target--- a target just being some marker with a cookie)

here (within 4 feet of me, in my vicinity)

leave it (ignore whatever you were just thinking about- I start training this with cookies.. shoes... peanut butter on bread)

"poison" (cute "leave it" trick where the dog shys away from the item until the owner magically blows the poison off, thus making the treat edible).

toy names



Oh.. trained a dog "bow" yesterday



Gads I love training puppies!

Answer 5

The average obedience instructions. Sit, keep, come, lay down, depart it and supply. He additionally is aware of put up in view that I bring a cain and he needs to be on a specified aspect once we move do a stroll. He is aware of in and climbs into his basket so I can take him into industry in view that he's my carrier puppy. He will keep in his basket the complete time although any one else attempts to name him out. He performs useless whilst I shoot him with my finger. I inform him wait whilst I throw his ball and he would possibly not get it till I inform him to. Sit lovely. Jump. Dance and ballerina which might be 2 one-of-a-kind instructions. He is aware of plenty extra. Lol

Answer 6

I taught my dog to put his head down.

What I did was push his head down (softly) and say

"Head down" so he knew what it was,

I kept doing it till I felt like he got the point.

They I would say "head down" and if he didn't do it

then I just keep showing him what it was.

He did it without treats too!

Took him couple of mins!



I taught my dog to lay.

What I did was pull both his front legs down and say "lay"

and I kept doing it.

Just show them what they are doing, they'll get it real fast.

Answer 7

sit down stand takeabow leaveit shakeapaw,otherpaw up spin crawl high5 wave

Answer 8

sometimes i can shake with my dogs hand and sometimes you can also make him BEG or JUMP and also i can put a dog biscuit in my hand and say to her which hand is it in and she smells it and gets it right! :D

Answer 9

catching and retreiving the frisbee. my dog is a natural

Answer 10

just look at a mans life. he begs, pants, and does tricks all the time. that's why we call men dogs.