Easy Dog Tricks for Beginners

Owning a dog is a lot of fun. Dogs are loyal, protective and incredibly affectionate. Teaching a dog to do tricks is another enjoyable element of being a dog owner. At the same time it is a fantastic way to offer your dog some mental stimulation. For first time dog owners, teaching tricks may seem challenging. Just getting them to eat, toilet in the right place and respond to calls are your priority. However, some tricks are actually easier to teach than you might think.

When you think of easy dog tricks for beginners, teaching them to sit is the first that comes to mind. It is the perfect place to start and simple to learn. First, take a treat and hold it near your standing dog’s nose. Without moving the treat away from your dog’s nose, move your hand over their head, prompting them to raise their head and follow. Naturally, he will assume a seated position and once they do, give praise and feed the treat.

Repeat this regularly and begin adding the word ‘sit’ as he goes to sit. Timing is very important to ensure that the dog associates the word ‘sit’ with the right movement. Keep repeating this action on a regular basis and it won’t be long before your dog puts two and two together.

Dogs are often extremely affectionate and it is one of the joys of being a dog owner. Teaching a dog to kiss is not only enjoyable but also one of the most useful dog tricks. To do this you need a tasty dog treat and a small amount of patience. You simply take the treat, place it on your cheek and command your dog to take the treat, using the word ‘kiss’. The dog will soon learn to show affection on cue, with the added benefit of decreased unwanted licking.

Moving on to the high five. This is one of many funny dog tricks you can teach your dog. As with most tricks, it starts with you holding a treat out in front of your sitting dog. Let the dog approach your hand and smell the treat. Once they realise it is there they should start licking and pushing their nose towards you to try and free it from your grasp.

As with teaching them to shake your paws, they should eventually raise their paw at it. When they do this, praise your dog and give them the treat. Repeat this cycle and begin to add the command “high five” as she is doing the action with her paw. After a few more repetitions of this, begin opening the palm of your hand to meet her paw. Soon enough you will have a high fiving dog.

Let’s move on to one of the more unique dog tricks- army crawling. Start this by kneeling by your dog with your treats close. Move the treat towards your dog and encourage them to creep forward by gradually moving the treat away from them. Make sure that for each success, you praise and reward.  You might find that at some points your dog stands up. If this happens, encourage them back down and again reward them for success.

So, you have taught your dog to crawl along the floor following your hand. The next step is to teach them to do it without the treat being in your hand. Place your treats on a table and guide your dog along the ground using your finger towards it. Reward the dog once they begin to crawl across the floor and continue to practice.

The final step  to army crawling is to add the verbal command and hand signal. Repeat the previous step but this time as you point to the ground to encourage your dog to crawl, add your command. Again, praise your dog for success and encourage them enthusiastically. At the same time as adding the verbal command, you can also add a hand signal. You should now have an army crawling dog.

Back to one of the easy dog tricks for beginners- teaching them to roll over. Use your treat to get your dog into the down position. You now need to kneel beside your dog holding a treat to the side of their head close to the nose.

You now have your dogs undivided attention…well the treat does! Simply move your hand from his nose towards your dog’s shoulder. This should result in the dog rolling flat on to his side. Continue this until the dog is lying flat. They should roll naturally as you continue to do this. Once they are on their back, continue all the way round so that he rolls through on to the other side. Once successful, reward the dog.

As you repeat this, and your dog completes the roll successfully on a consistent basis, you can add your command in. You will need to reduce your hand motion while doing this so that the dog performs the roll based on the command only. Continue rewarding your dog for success and it shouldn’t take long for your dog to master this trick.

These are just some of the easy dog tricks for beginners to teach their dogs. In the long term they are great exercise for your dogs and can help with overall obedience. They are also incredibly good fun for you to have with your dog and they will love you for it. One final tip when teaching your dogs these tricks. It always helps to ensure that the dogs enjoy the food and treats that they are getting as rewards. For tasty food that your dog is bound to love, why not try Encore dog food?