For the most part dogs are excited to do what their owners want and try their best to please when it comes to receiving a reward for doing so. These are dog attributes that need to be exploited when it comes time to teach them tricks. It's important to use their natural predilections. By building on these natural 'dog' charateristics and behaviors in association with rewards to develop pet tricks, the operation becomes easier than trying to teach a trick from scratch.
Make a note of what your dog does for his own amusement. Does he spring into the air pursuing butterflies? Does he like to turn in circles chasing his tail? If some kind of spontaneous behavior can be turned into an entertaining trick, that will quicken the training process. Be at the ready to use a consistent hand cue and vocal command when this behavior is shown and then follow with an immediate reward.
It's important to not feed your dog an excessive number of treats. If you feed them too many you risk them either becoming sick, obese, or immune to the treat if you know what I'm saying. Treats will be good in the beginning, but you need to slowly wean your dog off of these treats so that he or she will do the tricks after seeing your hand signal or receiving the verbal command.
Many dogs get the knack readily after a few repeats and a verbal praise or treat reward. This usually makes training the "down", "come", "sit" and other rudimentary commands quite straightforward. When you want to train for something a bit more elaborate it can be as simple as amplifying these rudimentary commands and behaviors. As an example, the "down" command can be the start for teaching "play dead".
Another way to get your dog's focus when working on some tricks is to use a favorite plaything. Using a chew toy or a ball your dog likes to play with, just beyond his reach, rapidly move it up and down motivating him to jump whilst giving him the "jump" verbal command. After repeating until he correlates the command and hand signal with the act of jumping, dispense with the toy and use just your hand and the vocal command.
Capitalize on your dog's keen sense of smell... his ability to recognize smells close by and at long distance is fascinating. This incredible capacity can be used in teaching assorted types of "hide-and-seek" tricks and games. Again, using a favorite tug toy or chew ball, conceal it under a box or other object. Start-off close by and slowly lengthen the distance or increase the difficulty in stages, for instance placing the box in another room or up on a table.
What about giving you five? That's a great trick for a dog, and it's actually pretty easy. Most dogs have a tendency to give you their paw immediately, and you can show them your hand or "paw", and then say 'high five' as they give you theirs. After a while this will become second nature to them, but at first you will need to reinforce this behavior using a treat.
Very often the dog will present you his paw straightaway. With some dogs you will help them get the idea by lifting their paw while using the vocal command. Always remember to praise even if you have to elevate his paw into position, then put the paw back down and repeat.
When a trick has been learned it's usually no trouble to augment it. "Give me five" can smoothly be expanded into "sit up" by continuing to lift the paw so that the other one will automatically lift up. By then haging on to both feet so that the dog is in a "sit up" position, verbalizing the command and rewarding with praise or a treat, he will, with repetition, connect the dots.
Needless to say there are many different types of training. Much of it is for behavior modification, safety, appropriate social behavior, and so forth. Developing tricks is for you and your dog's pleasure, recreation, and to help strengthen the bond between you.
Make a note of what your dog does for his own amusement. Does he spring into the air pursuing butterflies? Does he like to turn in circles chasing his tail? If some kind of spontaneous behavior can be turned into an entertaining trick, that will quicken the training process. Be at the ready to use a consistent hand cue and vocal command when this behavior is shown and then follow with an immediate reward.
It's important to not feed your dog an excessive number of treats. If you feed them too many you risk them either becoming sick, obese, or immune to the treat if you know what I'm saying. Treats will be good in the beginning, but you need to slowly wean your dog off of these treats so that he or she will do the tricks after seeing your hand signal or receiving the verbal command.
Many dogs get the knack readily after a few repeats and a verbal praise or treat reward. This usually makes training the "down", "come", "sit" and other rudimentary commands quite straightforward. When you want to train for something a bit more elaborate it can be as simple as amplifying these rudimentary commands and behaviors. As an example, the "down" command can be the start for teaching "play dead".
Another way to get your dog's focus when working on some tricks is to use a favorite plaything. Using a chew toy or a ball your dog likes to play with, just beyond his reach, rapidly move it up and down motivating him to jump whilst giving him the "jump" verbal command. After repeating until he correlates the command and hand signal with the act of jumping, dispense with the toy and use just your hand and the vocal command.
Capitalize on your dog's keen sense of smell... his ability to recognize smells close by and at long distance is fascinating. This incredible capacity can be used in teaching assorted types of "hide-and-seek" tricks and games. Again, using a favorite tug toy or chew ball, conceal it under a box or other object. Start-off close by and slowly lengthen the distance or increase the difficulty in stages, for instance placing the box in another room or up on a table.
What about giving you five? That's a great trick for a dog, and it's actually pretty easy. Most dogs have a tendency to give you their paw immediately, and you can show them your hand or "paw", and then say 'high five' as they give you theirs. After a while this will become second nature to them, but at first you will need to reinforce this behavior using a treat.
Very often the dog will present you his paw straightaway. With some dogs you will help them get the idea by lifting their paw while using the vocal command. Always remember to praise even if you have to elevate his paw into position, then put the paw back down and repeat.
When a trick has been learned it's usually no trouble to augment it. "Give me five" can smoothly be expanded into "sit up" by continuing to lift the paw so that the other one will automatically lift up. By then haging on to both feet so that the dog is in a "sit up" position, verbalizing the command and rewarding with praise or a treat, he will, with repetition, connect the dots.
Needless to say there are many different types of training. Much of it is for behavior modification, safety, appropriate social behavior, and so forth. Developing tricks is for you and your dog's pleasure, recreation, and to help strengthen the bond between you.
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