CHECK OUT 3 EASY TO TEACH DOG TRICKS

To teach your dog tricks, even easy ones, you need to have some small reward treats, be in a quiet, suitable place, and keep the training sessions to 10 - 15 minutes, or your dog will start to get bored. Remember to praise it and reward a treat when it gets something right. Be careful not to get it overexcited, or it will lose concentration.

1. GIVE A PAW 

You should start by getting your dog to sit first. As you say the word 'paw', take your dog's paw in your hand, give the dog a treat, and repeat. After a few times, do not take his paw so quickly. Say the word, count to one, then take it. You should notice he is bringing his paw up as you say the word. If he does not go back to do it simultaneously, do it a few more times, then slow your response again. After 2 or 3 sessions, most dogs pick this one up quite happily.

2. HIGH FIVE 

Like many tricks, the high five is a progression of an earlier trick; in this case, the paw trick. Hold a treat in your fingers and raise your hand slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. As we taught it earlier, your dog will think you want to do the paw trick and reach for the treat with its paw. You say "high five" and give it the treat as it reaches up. Once your dog has mastered the paw trick, this one should be very easy to learn, and with just a few sessions, it will be done on hand signal rather than voice control.

3. JUMP THROUGH A HOOP 

Before starting this one, I would like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you do not want your dog to hurt himself while doing the trick. Sit your dog on one side of a hula hoop, get the dog's attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop, take a treat in your hand and give the dog the command to release it from the sit. At first, it may attempt to go around or under the hoop. If this happens, start again. Your dog wants the treat and will soon learn going around or under does not get it, so it will quickly begin to understand that going through hoop will get it the treat. It will soon be jumping through the hoop on the command of hoopla. If you have a medium-sized dog, start with the hoop 6 inches from the ground and slowly raise it to waist height. If you have a smaller dog, you might want to start with the hoop touching the ground, let the dog go through the hoop, and slowly raise it as it gets used to the trick.