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Ever wonder how people teach their dogs all those snazzy tricks that you see on David Letterman? With a little patience and practice you and your dog can be the life of your next party. Teaching tricks to your dog is fun and intellectually stimulating for your dog.
There are some things to consider before teaching your dog. It is important to recognize the dog’s capabilities. Be realistic. If the dog is a Yorkshire Terrier, it is unlikely that he will be the next champion in a frisbee contest. Some dogs don’t find training interesting and you shouldn’t force the issue. Training should be fun for you and the pooch.
Before you start your training, there are some basics that you need to know about training. Postive reinforcement is effective in training. There are other methods, but positive reinforcement is the easiest to understand and apply. What is meant by positive reinforcement is ignoring the bad and rewarding the good. This technique is amazing (and can work on humans as well as dogs). Once the dog performs the desired behavior, you reward instantly with something he likes. If he doesn’t perform the command, you simply ignore the unwanted behavior and try again. When training dogs, the reinforcement is the most important part. You should find something that the dog likes, food being the most obvious. Maybe train with something that he doesn’t get very often. Cheese, peanut butter, and chicken are good motivators. Training should never become dull or frsutrating. If you see this happening, simply end the training on a good note and take it up at a different time.
The paw trick is a classic trick. It is a fun trick because it is easy to teach and there are many different variations of it. Some breeds have an easier time at this trick than others. To teach paw it is easier if your dog is sitting. Once the dog sits, ask for paw and offer a hand. Once you ask for paw, press your dog’s shoulder with the thumb of your other hand until the paw lifts off the ground. Once the dog has lifted the paw, shake gently and praise and reinforce with a treat. The first time you do this, both of you may look quizzically at each other, but after several repetitions, most dogs catch on rather quickly. If the dog has problems with this trick, you should not move on to any variation of the trick until he has mastered the basic one. Keep the training sessions short and fun. A few times a day for a few minutes is plenty.
Once your dog has completed doing the paw trick on command, you are ready to move to the next step. Teaching high-five is a fun trick. It is simply a variation of giving paw. It is important to remember when you are teaching any new trick, you need to move in small steps. Small steps are building blocks to the bigger behaviors. To teach high five, you start out with giving paw. Hold your hand at the same height in which the dog gives paw. Since a dog learns more on non-verbal cues than verbal, saying high-five will probably result in a quizzical look from your dog, because he is following your hand signals rather than your voice. Because of this, with each command, hold your hand higher until the dog gives paw at a higher level, until the dog is actually giving a high-five. If your dog is having trouble, simply take one step back and practice where the dog had reached before. (As always, it is important to reinforce quickly after each correct behavior.) If you move in small steps with your hand moving to different heights, the dog learns that your hand means give paw no matter where the hand is placed. You can get really advanced with this trick and teach “Give Ten;” this requires the dog giving both paws and resting its weight on its hind legs. You should only move to this step if your dog has mastered the paw trick with each paw and you feel as if your dog is ready.
One of the easiest tricks to teach is “Are you Happy?” When you ask the question, the dog should wag its tail happily. You can teach this behavior just by the tone of your voice. Ask your dog in an excited tone, “Are you happy?”. If he wags his tail, then praise and reinforce. Most people can have this trick down within a few minutes because dogs are very good at picking up on facial expressions and tone of voice.
Having your dog kiss on command is another easy one. You can help this one along by puting a dab of butter or cream cheese on your hands. Simply say “Give me a Kiss” to your dog, and extend your buttered hand to the dog. Once the dog licks your hand, praise and reinforce. Repeating this a couple of times, you can not only have the dog kiss your hand but your face, simply by moving the dab of butter. Once the behavior is learned, you do not have to put butter on the place you want him to kiss. The command will be executed by you saying “Give me a Kiss”, whether you are butter-coated or not.
Teaching your dog to act zany is a fun and favorite trick. You can teach him to chase his tail on command. To teach this you will want to hold your treat at level with the dog’s nose and say “Chase your tail” as you rotate the treat around his body. You do not want to move the treat too fast at first; start out slowly. You will want to reward small steps at first, for example a half spin, then work up to full spins and eventually two or three in a row.
To teach going through a hoop, you first need to buy a hula hoop. Once you have the necessary equipment, you can hold the hoop out in front of you. If your dog seems frightened of the hoop, you can place the hoop on the floor for him to sniff. Praise and reinforce the dog for doing this. Then hold the hoop out to your side with one hand,holding treats through the middle of the hoop with your other hand. Soon the dog will be jumping through the hoop to get the treat and you can eventually eliminate the treat until the end of the exercise. As always, start in small steps: have the hoop on the ground at first, then raise it higher and higher.
Teaching “speak” is noisy but fun, especially when you add variations to it. To start out you should secure your dog to a tree or post. Hold his favorite treat or toy in front of him. Say “speak,” and if your dog barks, praise and reinforce with the object you are holding. Repeat this several times until the dog has learned speak. You can add hand signals once the dog has reliably been barking on cue. Once you have taught the meaning of the word speak, there are many different spins you can put on it. You can teach your dog to bark when holding a match, or even sing for its supper. After you have taken the time to teach such a noisy command, most people teach “Quiet.” This is sometimes easier to teach than “Speak.” If your dog is barking, you say “Quiet” and reward as soon as the dog stops barking. You should reinforce even if he stops barking for a second. Then you can build up to him stopping for longer periods of time.
These are some of the basics of teaching your dog tricks. If you have the patience and time only your dog’s physical limits will stop you. It is important to reward with cheerful praise and food during the training. One of the most common mistakes that people make in training is the timing of the reward. The reward has to be instantaneous with the executed behavior. Dogs live in the moment and will not connect past behaviors with present treats. Many dogs have learned bad behaviors by being reinforced at the wrong time. For example, many people will reinforce a dog when it jumps by yelling at the dog or pushing it down with your hands. The dog takes all in as reinforcement even if you perceive the reinforcement to be negative. So be cautious: if you want your dog to stop doing something it is best to ignore it. Dogs crave attention, and if they do not have it, they will begin to think they are doing something incorrect. Teaching your dog should always be a fun experience. Who knows where you will end up--maybe on late night television!
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