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Tricks to Teach Your Dog

A dog is a wonderful companion, no matter what the circumstances, but sometimes it’s fun to have a dog that you can play with and show off to your friends. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a professional trainer working with the circus to teach your dog to do some neat tricks. With a bit of patience and perseverance you can teach your dog anything you want it to know.

One of the most entertaining ways to pass the time with your dog is to teach it to catch. Ideally, you would be able to do this with a ball or a Frisbee. In the beginning, however, unless your dog has an innate sense of play that tells it precisely what it is supposed to do with said ball or Frisbee it is going to be better to start with something nearer and dearer to its heart: food.

A dog knows that food belongs in its mouth, so to teach your dog to catch gather together a collection of his favorite treats and call him over to you. Say “Catch” as you toss the treat into the dog’s mouth. Start with small, easy tosses over very short distances and praise him lavishly when he succeeds. If he simply does not seem to be getting it try gently nudging his mouth open with the treat while saying “Catch”. Sooner or later he’ll catch on (if your dog happens to be a slow learner it might be wise to invest in low calorie treats!). You can then graduate to other items.

Teaching a dog to roll over is another fun way to pass the time. It’s amazing how entertaining it can be to see a dog taking a roll in the grass! Teaching your dog to roll over is simple, but it is going to require teaching your dog to perform the trick in parts. First, teach them “Down”, encouraging them to lie down on their stomachs from a sitting position. Then teach them “Over”, holding the treat out to the right or left while gently nudging on the opposite shoulder to encourage them to lie on their side. Repeat this process to encourage the dog onto its back, opposite side and, finally, back onto its stomach. You can make up your own commands for these movements, although the last one should be the actual words “Roll Over”. Eventually, begin to blend these commands until the dog can do them all together.

Teaching a dog to shake is another simple but entertaining trick; there is nothing like showing off your pet’s good manners to inspire a sense of ownerly pride. First, tell your dog to “Sit” (this is essential before you can teach your dog to shake). Then kneel before him and lift one of his front paws, saying “Shake”. Then reward him. Soon he will start lifting his paw to the word shake.

There are a number of other tricks you can teach your dog; these are just a few to get you started. Remember, all you have to do is have a little bit of patience and you can teach our dog to do anything.

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