Be it a small puppy or an adult senior dog, it is never too late to teach your canine new tricks. Dogs are generally quick learners, and teaching them a new trick or two is fun for both you and your furry pal. Not only do you get to teach your buddy new tricks, but you also get to spend some much-needed quality time with each other. How cool is that?

Teaching Dogs New Tricks

There are quite a few tricks you can teach your mate, and we have listed down the common ones that every dog should learn and know about. So let’s get straight at it!

How to Shake Hands

Teaching your furry buddy to shake hands is a simple and very impressive-to-look trick. To teach your dog this trick, follow these steps:

  1. Begin by holding a tasty dog treat in your enclosed hand.
  2. Call your dog towards your enclosed hand and make him know that you have a treat.
  3. Allow him to act on his instinct by throwing his paw at your hand while you raise your hand higher and higher (not too high).
  4. As soon as your dog raises its paw to a significant height, utter the word “yes” and give him the treat.
  5. Keep repeating this for days or weeks until he masters it to perfection.
  6. Once he gets the hang of it, do the same but this time with nothing in your palm.
  7. Do this more often until your buddy gets accustomed to your empty hand.
  8. After a few good tries, add a verbal cue “shake” before letting out your empty palm.
  9. Keep repeating this until your pal gives his paw for a handshake when you call out the word “shake”.

How to Roll Over

To master the roll over trick, it is essential to keep repeating the steps mentioned below.

  1. Begin by commanding your pal to lay flat on the floor (this is easy when your buddy is well-acquainted with the ‘down’ command). If not, then try doing the same by luring him with a dog treat.
  2. Once laid down, offer a treat near the nose without letting it go while you move your hand to the side over his shoulder so that your mate has to raise his head and shift onto his side to retrieve the treat.
  3. As soon as your buddy does that, release the treat from your hand.
  4. Immediately do the same thing again and encourage your fur buddy to shift his weight all the way back over.
  5. Continue to practice this with your mate until he manages to roll over smoothly.
  6. Once your Fido masters it, add the “roll over” command and let him get accustomed to the words.

How to Spin In a Circle

The spinning in a circle dog trick might seem a trick only to be taught by a professional dog trainer, but in reality, it is quite simple to teach. Follow the steps below.

  1. Grab a treat in your hand and hold the same near your buddy’s nose without giving it to him.
  2. Entice your pal to move in a circle by moving your hand (in which the dog treat is) in that circular fashion.
  3. Say “yes” when your canine completes a circle and toss the treat to him.
  4. Continue this by practising regularly and make sure you spin in the same circular direction.
  5. Once he gets the hang of it, try the same without a treat in your hand. If successful, then give him a treat. If not, keep trying.
  6. Once your buddy gets the hang of it, add the verbal cue “circle spin” or “spin” before giving the hand signal.
  7. With loads of practice, your furry buddy will manage to perform a spin by just the verbal cue.

How to Crawl

The crawl trick can come in handy in the near future and is a trick that most dog parents are teaching their fur buddies these days. The steps involved in this trick are as follows:

  1. Take a chair and command your dog to pass through it by luring him with a dog treat.
  2. Once successful, add an additional chair and repeat the same steps.
  3. Keep adding chairs and gradually place the treat further than the previous one so that your buddy can learn to crawl through the so-called chair tunnel to earn his reward.
  4. Repeat this so that your pal gets well-versed with it.
  5. Feed him treats when he practices well to boost his confidence.

How to Take a Bow

Last but not the least, a very good trick to teach your fur baby is the bow trick. Here are the steps for it!

  1. Ensure your mate is standing in an upright position. If not, command him to stand up (if he knows the stand up command, it will be easier).
  2. Take a treat and hold it above his nose and slowly move it down, enticing him to bend his front legs with his back legs remaining just as it is.
  3. It might be tricky for some dogs, so place your other hand underneath his stomach while enticing him with the treat.
  4. Keep him in the bow and then use that very treat to lure him to stand up again.
  5. When he follows instructions correctly, say “yes” so that he understands.
  6. Keep practising this on a regular basis, and once he gets it right, add the verbal cue “take a bow” before every practice.

As you all know, dogs generally grasp things quickly. So teaching them all these tricks is very much possible. And a dog who masters all these tricks is a smart dog. So what are you waiting for? Teach your dog these new tricks today!