Teaching your dog new tricks is a rewarding experience that strengthens your bond and provides mental stimulation for your canine companion. Beyond the enjoyment, mastering advanced tricks can even qualify your dog for AKC Trick Dog titles. All you need is patience, time, treats, and potentially toys if your dog is toy-motivated. A clicker can be helpful for marking desired behaviors, and a quiet training environment is ideal. teach a old dog new tricks.
How to Teach Your Dog to Catch
To begin teaching your dog to catch, have them sit in front of you. Get their attention with a treat and then gently toss it with an underhanded throw. Celebrate enthusiastically if they catch it! If they miss, try to retrieve the treat before they eat it and try again. Repeat this a few times in each session. Once your dog consistently catches treats, you can transition to gently tossing lightweight toys they enjoy. Reward successful catches with praise and a treat.
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How to Teach “Under the Bridge”
For this trick, sit on the floor and form a “bridge” with your raised knees. Have your dog on one side of you, and hold a treat or toy on the other side. Reach the treat under your legs and let your dog sniff it. Slowly move the treat under your legs towards the ground, encouraging your dog to follow. As they move under your legs, praise and reward them with the treat or toy. After several repetitions, you can add a verbal cue like “under” or “bridge” as they move. Eventually, your dog will perform the trick with just the verbal cue.
How to Teach Your Dog to Speak
Capturing is an effective method for teaching your dog to speak. This involves marking a natural behavior and then associating a cue with it. Keep treats handy. Whenever your dog barks out of excitement, mark the behavior with a chosen cue, such as “talk” or “speak,” and give them a treat. Using a clicker can precisely mark the moment of barking, aiding their understanding.
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After several rounds of marking and rewarding, your dog will begin to associate barking with your cue. To prevent excessive barking, ensure you only reward them when they bark in response to your specific command.
How to Teach Leg Weaves
To teach your dog to weave through your legs, start in a safe, leash-free area. Stand with your legs wide apart and have your dog in front of you. Hold a treat behind your legs to encourage them to move through and around. Bend your knees and use the treat to lure your dog between your legs. Praise and treat them upon successful passage.
Next, use another treat to guide your dog through your legs and around one leg until they return to the front. As you lure them, allow them to lick the treat to maintain their focus. Once they return to the starting position, praise and treat.
When your dog confidently follows the treat through your legs and around one side, repeat the process for the other leg. Once they can navigate between and around both legs, combine the movements into a figure-eight pattern. Start by luring them through your legs and around one leg, then the other, before rewarding. Gradually fade out the treat lure, using an empty hand to guide them. Introduce a verbal cue like “weave” or “legs” once they follow your empty hand. With continued practice, you can eliminate the hand lure, and your dog will respond to your body language.
As they master stationary leg weaving, you can teach them to do it while you walk. Begin with slow, large steps, cueing your dog to weave. Reintroduce the treat lure to build confidence as you add movement. As your dog gains experience, you can gradually increase speed and shorten your steps.
How to Teach Your Dog to Shake Hands
To teach the “shake” command, offer your hand to your dog. Ignore any sniffing or licking, but when your dog paws your hand, mark the behavior with praise or a clicker and offer a treat. Repeat until your dog consistently paws your hand.
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Now, gradually increase the duration your dog’s paw stays on your hand. Wait for their paw to rest on your hand for a second or two before marking and rewarding. Slowly extend this time as they understand.
Once your dog reliably places their paw on your hand and waits for a reward, introduce the verbal cue “shake” or “hello.” Flatten your hand and hold it vertically, as if you were about to shake someone’s hand, perhaps with a treat in it initially. Introduce a gentle up-and-down motion with your hand before treating your dog.
How to Teach “Yes” and “No”
This trick allows your dog to seemingly answer your questions. To teach “yes,” hold a high-value treat in a closed fist. Slowly move your fist up and down, encouraging your dog to follow the lure with their nose, which will result in a head nod. Reward them with the treat.
Once your dog consistently follows your fist’s movement, try it without a treat in your hand. When they nod, praise them and give a treat from your other hand. After practice, the closed fist becomes the cue for them to nod.
For “no,” use a different hand signal, like a closed fist with your pointer finger extended. Slowly move your hand from side to side, prompting your dog to move their head as if shaking it. When they follow your hand movement, praise and treat them. Eventually, the extended finger will be the cue for them to shake their head.
How to Teach Your Dog to Bow
To teach your dog to bow, start with them standing in front of you. Get their attention with a treat and lure their nose down between their front legs, towards their chest and belly. As they follow the lure, they will naturally assume a bow position. Praise and treat them, then toss a treat away from them to prevent them from going directly into a down position. Repeat this over several sessions.
If your dog tends to collapse into a down position, Penny Leigh, CPDT-KA, suggests lightly placing a hand or finger on their stomach, just below the loin, to indicate you’re not asking for a down.
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Take a Bow: It’s good for stretching and building strength.
When your dog consistently follows the food lure into a bow, switch to an empty hand lure. Reward them after they achieve the bow. Once they follow the empty hand, introduce a verbal cue like “bow” or “fancy.” With practice, they’ll gain strength and coordination to hold the bow longer. You can also phase out the physical lure, eventually evolving the physical cue to you bowing or curtsying.
How to Teach Your Dog to Make a Circle
To teach your dog to spin, get their attention with a treat or toy. Hold the lure just above their nose and move your hand in a large circle. As your dog follows, they will walk in a circle. Praise and treat them. After a few repetitions and once they consistently follow the lure, add a verbal cue like “spin,” “twirl,” or “around.”
Next, use the same technique to lure your dog in the opposite direction. Once they consistently follow your lure to spin the other way, add the appropriate verbal cue. When your dog reliably follows your cues in both directions, you can use the circular hand motion without a treat while giving the verbal cue. Praise and treat when they spin.
How to Teach Your Dog to Play Peekaboo
This trick is useful for maneuvering in tight spaces with your dog close by. To teach Peekaboo, stand in front of your dog, both facing the same direction. Get their attention with a treat. When your dog comes forward through your legs, praise and treat them.
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After several repetitions, introduce a verbal cue like “middle” or “peekaboo” as they move between your legs. Use a release cue or toss a treat to move your dog out of position so you can practice again. As you practice, you can fade out the treat lure, and your dog will respond to the verbal cue to get into the Peekaboo position.
