Introduction
Dog tricks include things like spinning in a circle, nose bumping a target or barking on cue. Tricks give you ways of playing interactive games with your dog for the fun of it and that’s what’s important to your dog – you giving them time, attention, toys and treats! Tricks can be simple and easily accessible or they can involve a few complex behaviours combined.
Puppies
Puppies have to have limited walks because their bones and joints are still developing and this can leave them with boundless energy and an inability to settle themselves. While we are trying to get on with the business of our lives they can end up getting our attention for doing all the wrong things. Teaching them movement based tricks is really helpful for their physical and mental development as well as tiring them out!
Senior Dogs or Dogs with limited mobility
Regardless or their age or mobility you can find simple tricks which allow you to play with your older dog which they will love. Even if your dog is confined to a crate!
Why I love tricks
I love how playing these sorts of games gives a feeling of fun and cooperation with my dogs. I absolutely love how enthusiastically they try different things and how it makes me get better and better with my timing and rewards.
Where to start – the nose bump
Teaching your dog to nose bump your hand is probably the easiest place to start. You’ll need a readily available supply of tasty treats and a calm environment. Your cue for them to touch your hand is that you will show them your flat palm of your hand and say touch. To start with you may want to hold a treat between your thumb and first finger while maintaining a flat hand. As your dog tries to smell the treat they will inadvertently bump the palm of your hand. Make sure you say ‘good’ or click your clicker each time their nose touches your hand and give them a treat from your treat bag or pot of treat. Repeat in sets of 4 to 6 giving a treat for each repetition and then stopping for a play with a toy. Make sure you change sides for the second set. If you practice every day you should be able to get your dog to touch your hand if its up high, down low, slightly behind them or in front. This simple game is an easy one to use if your dog is walking on a lead or if you are having to sit and wait somewhere like at the vets.
To click or not to click – are clickers worth the effort?
A clicker is a very simple hand held device that when pressed makes a clicking sound. You can get different varieties some which are louder and some which are quieter. Clickers can be really helpful when teaching tricks provided you are careful and click at the exact moment that your dog does the behaviour that you asked for. It accelerates their learning because they know the exact moment that they earned the treat. So, thinking about the hand touch example above, you’d click the moment that they touched your hand and then follow that with a treat. Clickers can be helpful in other training contexts too, especially for dogs who’ve learned to screen out verbal information!
Easy Tricks for Beginners
At the start your aim is build engagement with your dog so keep all your training fun and accessible.
Easy beginning level tricks include:
- Spin & Twist – start by luring with a treat held at nose height in a circle clockwise & anticlockwise
- Paws up (on a sturdy box or big book)
- Rollover
- Back up
- Giving a paw
Once you got a few tricks then see if you can string them together into a simple routine for one treat at the end.
Developing Tricks for Intermediates
In order to develop your tricks you’ll need to start to get a bit clever with your rewards. Give excellent rewards and praise for a particularly good version of the behaviour and give modest praise and maybe a bit of dried dog food as a treat for a version they really already know. It’s best to avoid correcting your dog for making a mistake. If you get more than a couple of mistakes you may want to make the exercise easier for them. Some dogs might find it helpful if they are trying really hard and getting it wrong if you use a ‘no reward marker’ – I tend to use ‘oopsy’ or ‘whoops’ rather than ‘no’ or anything that sounds harsh. It’s not a correction, it just means that that didn’t earn a treat.
- Holding on to a toy when asked but staying in a sit, stand or down and then releasing it when asked
- Leg weaving
- Barking on cue
- Sitting pretty
- Running round an obstacle
- Laying on their side
More Advanced Dog Tricks
- Spin & Twist or any other behaviours at a distance from you, for instance on their mat
- Pull
- Push
- Jumping over a pole or hoop held in your hand/ or just over your arm
- Different vocalisations on cue – growl or howl
What are the most useful tricks you’ve learned?
For me, the hand touch helped me no end with Lawrence the labrador because I transitioned into a leg touch which I can use during heelwork to help him walk alongside me rather than slightly in front. For all the dogs, although it may not sound really useful, but getting them to walk backwards is REALLY useful when they are standing in the way! And barking on cue has enabled me to teach quiet, again useful for Lawrence!