10 Simple Tricks To Teach Your Dog

One of the fun activities that you and your dog can do together is to learn new tricks. If you have a few free minutes a day, and some small treats to use as a reward, you will be surprised at how fast your dog can learn some pretty impressive tricks. You don’t have to do this with an eye toward obedience or a dog show – it can just be a great time for you and your dog to bond and have fun.

1. Roll Over

This classic trick asks your dog to lay down, and then roll over onto his or her back. Usually rewarding this trick with a nice belly rub is enough motivation for them to do it over and over.

2. Sit

So this one might not qualify as a ‘trick’, but it’s still an important skill that your dog will quickly master. It is an essential trick that everyone needs to start out with when trying to train a dog, simply because it is the easiest for you to teach and the easiest for the dog to learn.
[mnleft]It will teach your dog to be obedient and listen to you. Teaching a dog to sit is the first step in establishing a relationship as an owner and showing your dog that you are a figure of authority that he or she needs to listen to.

3. Fetch

Playing a game of fetch is endless fun for many dogs, so teaching your buddy to retrieve a rope, stick or tennis ball is a great one to learn. This is also a nice way for them to get exercise on a regular basis.

4. Stay

Most dogs want to follow their owners wherever they go, so stay can be a tough one. With some practice, you can get your dog to wait in a sitting position until you release them.

5. Shake

This trick has your dog reach out a paw and shake hands with you, just as a human would do. Most dogs can master this one with minimal practice.

6. Jump

If your dog likes to go up on his or her back legs, teaching them to jump is a natural progression.

Small treat rewards should be all the motivation they need to start hopping around!

7. Speak

You might spend a lot of time teaching your dog not to bark too much, but teaching them to speak on command can be just as challenging.

8. Back

This can be a useful trick if your dog has a habit of getting too ‘friendly’ with home visitors.
Once trained, they should be able to back up and sit upon command.

9. Leash

This is a great trick with one of the best possible rewards – a walk! Leave their leash in a place that they can access, and teach them to retrieve it on command.
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You are teaching the dog to be proactive with this trick.

Also, it’s a good way to potty train them as well.

Try to teach the dog that the leash equates to going out for a walk.

If you do this, then the dog will be able to let you know when it needs to go out and go to the bathroom.

And if the dog loves going for a walk, this will stimulate it to want to learn the trick.

10. Catch

A close relative of fetch, the catch trick has your dog trying to catch soft objects tossed to them from a close distance. This is fun with small ropes, tennis balls, squeaky toys, and more.