How To Teach Your Dog Tricks

Teaching tricks is one of the best parts of living with a dog. There is no reason to stop at sit, down, and stay when your dog is perfectly capable of learning spin, peekaboo, and roll over.

Why tricks are worth your time

Tricks look like entertainment. They are actually useful.

• They give your dog a job. A hobby, essentially. Most dogs find trick work more fun than straight obedience, and the benefits are close to identical.
• They build the relationship. You and your dog are solving something together, which is different from you asking and your dog complying.
• They redirect energy. A dog with nothing to do finds something to do, and it is usually destructive. Trick sessions are a productive place to put that drive.
• They teach your dog that communication pays. A dog who learns that offering behavior and checking in with you leads to good things becomes easier in every other context.

Every dog can learn tricks if he is motivated and willing to work for you. For most dogs the real reward is not the treat. It is that you are clearly pleased with them.

Spin

Spin is a great starting trick because it also teaches your dog left and right. Once he spins one direction reliably, you can teach a reverse the other way.

Use food to lure your dog into a circle. Start by asking for a small turn to the side and build toward a full rotation. The key detail is that the lure should stay glued to your dog's nose. Hold it out too far in front and he loses the thread and gives up on the turn.

Roll over

Roll over is a classic and it is more demanding than it looks. Dogs do not always want to expose their belly, so some take a while to commit.

1. Keep your dog's nose on the lure. Draw it toward his shoulder blade in the direction you want him to roll, so he naturally shifts and flops onto his side. Mark that with a clear yes and pay him.
2. Once he is comfortable shifting onto his side, lure a little further to expose the belly, and eventually all the way over. Reward every step of progress, not just the finished trick.

Play dead

This one asks for more. Your dog has to stand, drop, and get back up on cue, so it takes luring, bridging, and real practice.

Start by luring your dog to lift his front paws off the ground into a sitting-up position, sometimes called sit pretty. Then, from a down, lure him onto his side or his back to expose the belly. Mark it with a yes and reward immediately. Once he understands the movement, add your cue word, and add a clear release word so he knows when the trick is over and he can get up.

Five things that make tricks stick

1. Teach in small steps. If your dog is stuck, break the trick into smaller pieces and teach those. In training we call this bridging. Each small step builds on the last, and the whole thing clicks once the pieces come together.
2. Use the obedience you already have. Everyday commands are bridges too. A dog who already knows down has a real head start on roll over.
3. Pay well for new work. Use high value food when you are asking for something unfamiliar. Over time you want verbal praise to carry the behavior, but food is how you get the learning started. It works as a lure first and a reward second.
4. Mark the moment. A verbal marker like yes, or a training clicker, tells your dog exactly which split second earned the reward. Without it you are asking him to guess.
5. Keep it light. Tricks should not feel like work for either of you. Praise generously and stop while your dog still wants more.

Timing is the whole game

Reward immediately, verbally or with food, the instant your dog does what you asked. Wait even a couple of seconds and he loses the connection between the behavior and the payment. This is the single most common reason trick training stalls.

Dogs come with quirks and personalities of their own, and those quirks are often the best source of new tricks. If your dog already does something funny on his own, put a word on it and you have a trick. If you would rather learn this alongside other owners and get eyes on your timing, our group classes give you hands-on coaching while your dog works around other dogs, which is exactly where most home training falls apart.

More tricks to work on

• Shake or high five
• Speak
• Peekaboo
• Bow
• Back up
• Crawl
• Leg weaves
• Jump through a hoop
• Be shy

Teach slowly, keep it positive, and enjoy it. If you want help, call us at 480-595-6700. We train dogs 20 weeks and older at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek campuses.