Last Updated on November, 2024
We’ve all seen adorable and obedient dogs. They spin, roll over, whisper, and play cool tricks with their owners.
But did you know that your dog can master all these impressive tricks too?
Maybe you’ve already tried teaching your pup new tricks to no avail. But don’t give up so fast. Consistent training, plenty of patience, and lots of love can produce amazing results.
We’ll share with you 15 superb dog tricks to teach your dog.
And don’t worry.. you don’t have to be a professional trainer to teach these dog tricks. All you need is some time, yummy treats and a bit of patience.
So keep reading to find out the best dog tricks to teach your pup.
Quick Summary
The 15 Cool Dog Tricks that you can teach, such as Shake Hands, Touch, Open A Door, Fetch, Spin, Roll Over, Stand Up, Play Dead, Crawl, Bark On Command, Whisper, Balance A Treat On Your Dog’s Nose, Find An Object/Person, Limp & Peek-A-Boo
Consistent training, patience, and love can produce amazing results when teaching new tricks to puppies.
Brain Training for Dogs is a popular online training program that uses positive reinforcement to fix behavior issues and teach new tricks.
Table of Contents
- 15 Tricks to Teach Your Dog
- Benefits of Dog Training and Trick Training
- Brain Training For Dogs, You Know it, Right?
- FAQs
- Conclusion
15 Tricks to Teach Your Dog
1. Shake Hands
Shaking hands is one of the easiest tricks to teach your dog. If you are looking for a simple trick to get started, this is the one!
How to Teach Your Pup to Shake Paws?
- Make your dog sit down in front of you.
- Have a small treat in your hand and close your fist. Hold out your other hand to your dog and encourage your dog to give out his paw.
- You can gently raise your dog’s paw for the first couple of rounds and then hand him the treat.
- Now move on to lightly touching your dog’s paw so that your dog understands that he needs to lift his paw.
- Once your dog raises his paw, open your fist and give him the treat.
- Add a verbal command like “shake hands”, or “shake paws.”
- Once your dog is familiar with the trick, cut out the treats and use only the verbal command. Don’t forget to praise your dog whenever he gives out his paw.
Check out this video to learn more:
2. Touch
Touch is another easy dog trick. This trick teaches your dog to be gentle. He will learn to greet strangers appropriately. Your dog will know how to respond when someone approaches them with an outstretched hand.
How to Teach Your Dog to Touch Trick?
- Put out your hand and say touch. The idea is for your dog to touch your palm with his nose. If he touches your palm, reward him with a treat. Also, use words like “yes” and ” good boy” to tell your dog that he’s doing the right thing.
- Keep repeating until your dog constantly touches your hand on command.
- Once your dog is confident with touching, practice without a treat, so every time he gets the trick right, only praise him with a few words and a pat.
Check out this video on teaching your dog touch trick:
3. Open A Door
Opening a door is an impressive and rewarding trick. Imagine if you can get your dog to open any door you want.
However, opening a door is not natural dog behavior, so some dogs will find it rather difficult.
How to Teach Your Dog to Open A Door?
- Take a rope toy your dog is familiar with and attach it to a door handle. The door must open when you tug on the toy.
- Ask your dog to tug on the toy. Say “open” as a verbal cue.
- Praise and reward your dog when the door opens.
Opening the door is a helpful trick for dog owners. Service Dogs are usually trained to open a variety of door handles. You must ensure that the area outside the door is safe for your pup. You don’t want him to open the door and walk onto a busy road.
Here’s how you can teach your dog to open a door:
4. Fetch
Fetch is among the easy, basic tricks. It’s an all-in-one dog trick that exercises and trains your pup simultaneously. It’s one of the easiest tricks to teach since most dogs have an instinct to fetch.
Although most dogs will run after an object to fetch it, not all dogs are willing to bring it back. This is where training comes into play. With persistence, you can make even the most stubborn pups fetch anything for you.
Playing fetch is also a good workout for your dog. A few minutes of fetch will tire out your pup for the day.
Fetch is also a way to reinforce basic commands like “come”, and “drop it.”
How to Teach Your Dog to Fetch?
- Pick your dog’s favorite toy, a tennis ball, or a frisbee.
- Throw the toy a short distance away.
- If your dog doesn’t immediately run after the toy, point at it and encourage your dog.
- Once your dog picks up the toy, call him back towards you. Ask him to “come,” and lure him with a treat if he doesn’t listen.
- The next step is to ask your dog to drop the toy. This is much easier if your dog knows the “drop it” command. If not, this is the perfect moment to spend time on a bit of training.
- Hold out your hand with your palm facing upwards, and ask your dog to drop it. If your dog has trouble understanding, gently hold the toy with your hand and say, “drop it .”Do not tug or pull the toy. Wait until your dog realizes he has to let go of the toy. You can also give your dog a treat to make him drop the toy
- Continue to practice until your dog can successfully run after, bring and drop an item.
Check out this video and train your dog to play fetch:
5. Spin
Spinning is a great trick. And a good exercise. It improves flexibility and agility.
But teaching your dog to spin can be tricky, and the key here is to keep practicing.
How to Teach Your Dog to Spin?
- Start by making a wide circle on air with a treat and make your dog follow the treat.
- Give your dog the treat once he completes a whole circle. Keep practicing by tightening the circle.
- Say “spin” as the verbal cue.
- After your dog understands the command, make a complete circle in the air without a treat, and praise your pup when he spins.
Check out this video to learn more about the spin trick:
6. Roll Over
Roll over is a perfect new trick for a dog who has already mastered the basic commands. Most dogs love rolling over and would love to do it on command.
It’s also a trick that some pups catch up quickly but seems unnatural to other dogs. Luckily, any dog can learn to roll over if you reward them with yummy treats and train correctly.
Roll over is among the easy tricks to teach. However, your dog must know commands like “lay down” and “sit.”
How to Teach Your Dog to Roll Over?
- Make your dog lie down.
- Then kneel in front of your dog with a small treat.
- Hold the treat to the side of your dog’s head, near his nose. Now move the treat from the nose to the shoulder.
- Your dog will try to follow the treat by rolling flat. Reward him with a treat every time he rolls and lays flat on his side.
- Once your pup learns to roll to the side, move the treat from his shoulder area to the backbone. The idea is to get your dog to roll on his back.
- Keep moving the treat until your dog rolls completely to the other side. Praise and reward your dog when he completes a roll.
- Once your pup is confident with rolling with the treat, add the command rollover.
- Keep practicing until your dog knows the cue to roll over without being lured by a treat.
Check out this video on teaching your dog to roll over:
7. Stand Up
Stand up is another easy trick, and most pups learn it pretty fast. Basically, your dog will have to stand up on his hind legs on command. Teaching your dog to stand up is pretty easy; you only need a few yummy treats, and a bit of time.
How to Teach Your Dog to Stand Up?
- Hold a treat near your dog’s nose, and then move the treat up and away from your dog.
- Your dog will stand up to reach the treat. Praise your dog when he stands up and give him the treat.
- After practicing a few times, add the cue “stand up.”
- When your dog constantly stands up on his hind legs for a treat, ask your dog to stand up with an empty hand. Praise your dog when he follows the command.
- With good practice, you can get your dog into a standing position on verbal commands alone.
Here’s how you can teach your dog to stand up:
8. Play Dead
Play Dead is one of the most famous dog tricks among canine actors. Fortunately, your dog doesn’t have to be a talented actor to master this fun trick. With the proper training, your dog will become an expert at playing dead.
This dog trick is easy to teach if your pup has mastered the rollover trick.
How to Teach Your Dog to Play Dead?
- Make your dog lie down. Now lure him into rolling onto his back with a treat.
- Give your dog the treat once he’s lying on his back. Add a cue like “play dead .” If you want things to be a bit more dramatic, use the word “Bang” with a handgun signal.
- Practice a few more times, and then wait a few seconds before giving your dog the treat. Use a release word like “yes” or “OK” before giving the treat. This way, your dog knows it’s time to get up.
Check out this video to learn more:
9. Crawl
Crawling is a very impressive dog trick. Crawling is an excellent way to strengthen muscles and is part of many dog training courses.
This is a bit harder than other dog tricks. So it’s better suited for dogs who have already mastered easy tricks like fetch, stand, etc. If your dog is already familiar with the other tricks, crawling is not that hard to master.
Your dog must also know the “down” command before teaching him to crawl. If your dog is unfamiliar with this command, he will naturally get up and walk toward the treat.
How to Teach Your Dog to Crawl?
- Make your dog lie down on the floor.
- Now place a treat on the floor in front of him, and drag it on the floor. Your dog will try to stand up to get the treat, but encourage him to lie on the floor.
- Reward your dog when he moves towards you without getting up. The best way is to take it step by step and reward your dog for every correct step. This will let him know he’s on the right track.
- Keep practicing regularly. Eventually, your dog can crawl a few steps for a treat.
Check out this video on teaching your dog to crawl:
10. Bark On Command
Bark on command is a handy trick for many different things. This trick also makes your dog think and makes him smarter. The problem is you cannot make your dog do this trick unless they want to.
A great way to teach the bark on command trick is to let your dog know you have a yummy treat in your hand. And let him have a little taste. You can use bits of chicken, dog biscuits, or any other treat your dog enjoys.
How to Teach Your Dog to Bark on Command?
- Keep a dog treat in your hand, but don’t let your dog get it. Naturally, your dog will get a bit frustrated and bark.
- Let your dog enjoy the treat once he barks. Use the command “bark” to guide your pup.
The key to this trick is getting your dog interested in the treat. So always use a good treat. Another vital thing to remember is never encourage your dog to jump onto your hand to get the treat. If your dog keeps jumping on you, stop playing until he has calmed down.
Teaching the bark on command is a convenient trick. However, it takes some time to train because your dog must think and figure out the correct way to get the treat. Sometimes it’ll take about 5 minutes before your dog learns that all he has to do is bark. So be patient.
Check out this video to find out more:
11. Whisper
Whispering is a very useful trick. It’ll be easier to teach this after your dog learns to bark-on-command.
Whispering is a good way for your dog to get your attention when he wants to go out to pee or when you have a visitor. It teaches your dog to communicate without loud barks. So if you have a loud, noisy dog, this trick will come in handy.
There are a few different ways to teach your dog to whisper. Here’s the easiest way to teach your dog to whisper.
How to Teach Your Dog to Whisper?
- Get your dog into a sitting position.
- Now hold out a dog treat in your hand and say “whisper .” Your dog will naturally bark to get the treat.
- Give your pup the treat as soon as he barks. Praise him with words like “good whisper.”
- Now try to control the volume of your dog’s barks. The easiest way to do this is to hand out treats only when your dog’s barks are low in volume. Your pup will soon learn that only soft barks will earn him treats.
- Keep practicing these steps; very soon, your dog will be an expert at whispering.
Here’s how to teach your dog to whisper:
12. Balance A Treat On Your Dog’s Nose
Balancing a treat on the nose is another challenging trick to teach. Mainly because self-control is the most demanding training aspect for most dogs, a dog that can control himself near food is indeed a well-rounded dog.
Food is always tempting, and when it’s placed on your dog’s nose, his first instinct would be to eat it. Only a dog who has mastered self-control can ignore food when it’s right on his nose!
This superb trick teaches your pup self-control and is a people pleaser.
Because dogs are easily distracted, practice this trick in a quiet place where you have your dog’s full attention.
How to Teach Your Pup to Balance a Treat on His Nose?
- Get your dog into a sitting position.
- Hold a treat in your hand in front of your dog.
- Gently place the treat on the flat part of your pup’s nose.
- Say “okay” and let your dog enjoy the treat.
- Keep repeating the same steps, but increase the time between keeping the treat on his nose and saying okay.
- Practice regularly. Don’t expect your dog to balance the treat for more than a few seconds during the first training sessions. It may take weeks before your dog masters this trick. So use positive reinforcement, and always be patient with your dog.
Here’s how you can teach your dog to balance a treat:
13. Find An Object/Person
Finding or seeking is a very stimulating trick. Dogs are naturally talented at sniffing and finding things. This trick will enhance your dog’s ability to smell and hear.
It’s a pretty handy trick to teach. You can train your dog to find and retrieve his toys or even your misplaced socks.
Some dog breeds learn to find faster than others. But any dog can learn to find it with enough practice.
Teaching this trick to young pups is hard because they are easily distracted. Adult dogs who know basic commands like “stay” and the name of their favorite toys will catch up faster.
How to Teach Your Dog to Find An Object/Person?
- Pick your dog’s favorite toy. You can play with the toy for a while to gain his interest.
- Ask your dog to stay and move to the other side of the room with the toy. If your dog has trouble waiting, you could use the help of a family member or a friend to restrain him. Alternatively, you can leash your pup or crate him.
- Keep the toy in plain sight but away from your dog.
- Release your dog and say, “Go find .”If your dog already knows the name of his toy, you can say, “Go find (toy name).” Use a cheerful voice to command your dog. This will keep him excited to play.
- If your dog seems confused, point at the toy and encourage him to retrieve it.
- Once your dog retrieves the toy, praise him and hand him a treat.
- Practice a few times until your dog understands the command.
- Now, hide the toy behind a couch or under a rug and ask your dog to find it.
You can also teach your dog to find people or objects based on scent alone. For this method, you must use an object with your scent, like a worn t-shirt or a sock. Let your dog sniff the object and then practice using the same method as above.
Check out this video to learn more.
14. Limp
Limping is an amusing trick for younger dogs and puppies. It’s best not to teach limping to older dogs. Older dogs may have sore muscles and joint problems, and limping can only make things worse.
Also, this is a bit of a challenging dog trick. Your pup can take a few weeks to learn it. Most dogs learn to limp within 3 weeks of ongoing training, although some pups catch up a bit faster.
Your dog must understand the “limp” command and learn to balance himself on 3 legs. So be patient and keep practicing!
How to Teach Your Dog to Limp?
- Have your dog stand up in front of you.
- Say “limp, ” gently lift your dog’s front paw, and lower it back down.
- Praise your dog and give him him a treat.
- Practice many times with the cue and treats.
- Now lightly touch your dog’s paw while saying “limp,” but don’t lift it off the ground if your dog raises the paw even slightly; praise and reward him.
- Once your dog is comfortable with lifting his paw, you can move on to adding a forward movement. Walk a few feet away from your dog and reward your dog when he moves even one step forward.
Check out this video to find out more:
15. Peek-A-Boo!
Peek-A-Boo is a cute and cool trick. Teaching your dog to play peek-a-boo is not only super fun and adorable, but it’s also easy.
Basically, your dog must cover his eyes with his paws when you say Peek-A-Boo.
There are quite a few different ways to teach your dog Peek-A-Boo. The easiest way is to use scotch tape and yummy treats.
How to Teach Your Dog Peek-A-Boo?
- Get your dog to sit before you.
- Place a tiny bit of tape on top of your dog’s forehead.
- Your dog will try to remove the tape with his paw. Once he moves his paw to the nose, reward him with a treat.
- Keep practicing, and then add the cue Peek-A-Boo.
- Now remove the tape and use only the verbal cue.
Check out this video on the Peek-A-Boo trick:
Benefits of Dog Training and Trick Training
Trick training is both physically and mentally enriching for your dog. Constant dog training also improves your training skills and helps you develop a strong bond with your dog.
Improves physical and mental health: Trick training engages your dog physically and mentally. Tricks like spin and crawl improve agility and stamina, while tricks like balancing a treat are mentally stimulating.
Boosts confidence: Regular training will make your pup more confident. He will be more comfortable learning and interacting with other dogs and people.
Way to use excess energy: When high-energy dogs get bored, they can be pretty destructive. Trick training is an excellent solution to control energetic dogs. With training, your dog will learn to channel his energy into learning new tricks and reinforcing good behavior.
Strengthens your bond with your dog: A few minutes of daily trick training is a fun and enjoyable way to spend time with your dog. It will build up trust and make you and your dog closer than ever.
Brain Training For Dogs, You Know it, Right?
We can’t talk about dog training and dog tricks without talking about brain training for dogs.
If you haven’t already heard about it, now’s the right time to check it out.
Brain Training for Dogs (BT4D) is a popular online training suitable for training any dog.
BT4D aims to fix behavior issues like chewing, barking, digging, whining, impulse control, and many more. BT4D uses positive reinforcement and complements the learning process with fun games and tricks.
When you buy BT4D, you will also get access to free trick training videos. These videos will guide you through teaching your dog some simple yet fun tricks.
Here are some fun tricks covered in BT4D:
- Take a bow
- Cover his eyes
- Shake hands
- Dance howl
- Play dead
- Roll over
FAQs
Conclusion
Some dog tricks may be challenging for your pup, but they are achievable with patience, time, and practice.
The key to a great trick training session is to keep it fun and short. Breaking down the training into a few steps is the way to go.
Start training with easy dog tricks like shaking hands, touching, and standing up. Once your dog is an expert on simple tricks, move on to advanced tricks like rolling over and crawling.
After your dog learns all the fun tricks like opening a door, and fetching you can get really creative with and combine the tricks. With enough practice, your dog may even be able to fetch you a drink from the fridge!
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