How to train your dog in specific tricks

Dogs are mostly playful creatures and love to have fun with their owners. To train your dog new tricks now and then helps in their mental, physical and emotional development. Training your dog in newer tricks stimulates their brain and is a great way to bond with your pet. It is often easier to teach tricks if your dog, or for that matter, any pet has got its basic, obedience training. A dog which readily follows obedience commands like “sit,” “stand”, “stay,” and “down” is easier to coach in more complex tricks.

General rules for training your dog in specific tricks

• Training sessions should always be coupled with playtime so that the dog learns to associate learning new tricks with having fun.
• Never extend the training sessions for more than 10 minutes or your dog can end up feeling extremely bored by them.
• Train your dog twice a day in new tricks till he masters them.
• Never use harsh physical gestures or force while training your dog as it might perceive it negatively.
• You must be in a good state of mind while training your pet so that you can appreciate your dog enthusiastically.
• Control your temper and do not feel frustrated if the dog does not perform in the first few days. Anything that moves in the Quit training for the moment if you feel frustrated.

The basics of training your dog in specific tricks

• Use the dog’s favourite treats as a positive reinforcement when the dog performs well.
• Your dog must have received basic obedience training.
• Break the trick into small and easy to follow steps.
• Praise the dog and pamper him wholeheartedly when he performs.
• Use clear and specific commands while teaching a new trick.
• Do not hold or restrict any part of the dog’s body in to force it to learn a new trick.
• The treats can eventually be withdrawn once the dog learns the trick.

Teach your dog to roll over

• Ask your dog to settle in the basic, “down” position.
• Put some of your favourite treats in your palm.
• Slowly, take your palm behind your dog’s neck.
• The aim here is to make your dog bend his neck to smell or grab the treats.
• As soon as the dog’s head reaches back to sniff the treat, gently roll it over.
• When your dog follows the treat and rolls over, give it to your dog and praise it.
• Repeat the process a couple of times and say the command “roll” as the dog rolls over.
• Train for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. Eventually, your pet dog would understand that the “roll” command and the process of rolling over are linked.
• In the upcoming days, when your dog learns the roll command, you can avoid treating it every time but do appreciate it each time.

This is one trick that talks about the basic steps of teaching new things to your dog. For the sake of example, let us talk about one more trick…

Train your dog to give paw/ shake a hand

It is a common behaviour in dogs to use their paw when picking something with their mouth.

• To start with, take a handful of treats in your closed, left fist and gently place your fist on your dog’s nose so that it can smell the treats.
• The dog would try to grab the treats from your hand with his mouth. Look out for any paw moment at this point. Even a little movement of the paw towards your hand should be considered as a positive development.
• Gently touch the paw of your dog at this point with your outstretched right hand and say “shake”. This way the dog gets to relate that getting the treats out of your left hand is somehow related to his paw movement and touching your outstretched hand.
• Repeat this practice a couple of times and loudly say the word “shake” when he touches your outstretched hand with his paw. Also, treat him instantly with your other hand.
• With enough repetitions, the dog would automatically shake hands with you on hearing “shake” even without the lure of treats.

Conclusion

Finally, I would like to say that it is very important to keep the basic, training rules and steps in mind and be patient with your pet! Have you taught any fun tricks to your dog? Do you find it entertaining to train your dog? Do tell us in the comments section below!

Uttpal K

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