Whether you want to teach your pet 1 trick or 1000 tricks, everyone has to start with the basics. The dog training basics usually are sit, stay, and lay down. I have also found these to be the easiest to teach as well.
A few important tips:
- work on dog training basics only if your pet is calm
- only work on tricks for 10-15 minutes at most
- be positive and try not to become discouraged if it takes more than a few days
- use positive reinforcements (treats, etc) and never use negative (yelling, hitting, punishments)
While dog tricks can be great to impress family and friends, they are also great for other reasons (as mentioned in Dog Training Tricks) such as behavior modification. Behavior modification sort of sounds like brain washing or some type of torture but it’s not, it’s a great way to motivate your pet to do a positive action rather than a negative one.
For long-lasting behavior change you need to do some training, and the best way to teach your dog to stop doing one thing is to teach him/her to start another – something that’s incompatible with the action you don’t like. Here are some examples of what I mean:
If your dog is looking at you, he or she won’t be:
- watching or trying to chase birds, squirrels, blowing leaves, or other dogs
- running away
- sniffing frantically everywhere or grabbing trash/sticks/bottle tops off the ground
- pulling on the leash/lead
- pulling or staring aggressively at other dogs, etc.
- being distracted people
- watching or trying to chase moving vehicles
Play the “pay attention” or “look at me” game with your pet. Each time your looks at you instead of something else they may find desirable, give them a treat or reward. This game can also be a valuable tool when you see something coming that may become a huge distraction or disaster.
If your dog is sitting, he or she isn’t:
- jumping up
- stealing things
- climbing on counters
- climbing on you
- sticking their head into the fridge
- running around like a crazed dog
Teaching your dog to “sit” and “stay” are probably two of the most important tricks you could possibly teach them. They will also help you keep your sanity (ever see a friend with a super hyper dog? Imagine that 24 hours a day).
One last example, if your dog is chewing on a bone or kong, he or she won’t be:
- digging
- chewing
- barking
- jumping the fence
- chasing other animals
- stealing your stuff
- up on counters and kitchen tables
- whining or scratching at something
The best thing that I have ever bought for my 9 month old golden retriever is the large black kong. Stuart (the dog) is a MASSIVE chewer and can finish off just about any toy in 30 minutes… except the black kongs. He plays with that thing for hours and hours. As soon as we introduced it to him we started calling it his “kong”. “Do you like your kong?” “Good kong.” After he associated the word kong with we started telling him to “get your kong.” and if he went over and touched it, he got a treat. After he perfected that, we started putting the kong in his mouth and making him carry it to the next room while saying “bring your kong”, and then rewarding him. Now, after just one week, we tell him “Get your kong and bring it here.” and he’ll run around looking for it and then bring it to us. We usually put a scoop of peanut butter in it for him and he’ll lick that thing to death for about 20-30 minutes.
