9 Easy Tricks to Teach Your Dog
Whether your dog’s a growing pup, a newly rescued pooch or an established member of the family, teaching some basic dog tricks is a brilliant way to encourage bonding, provide mental stimulation and keep them learning.
Not sure where to start? We’ve put together a helpful guide on getting started with dog tricks, including the top nine easy tricks to teach your dog.
The best way to teach basic dog tricks
Before diving straight into teaching your dog tricks, preparation is key. Here’s our step-by-step guide to teaching your dog the basics…
Pick a time and a place – Training little and often is best. Pick a time when your dog’s not too tired and you can avoid distractions like dinnertime. A few 5-minute sessions spread throughout the day is perfect, but see what works best for your dog!
Keep it positive – Positive reinforcement is key for teaching all dog tricks – so plentiful praise and a portion of tempting treats is vital. Tiny Friends Farm Danny Dog and Dolly Dog treats are easy-to-feed baked treats made with natural ingredients. With delicious chicken, peanut butter or garden veg, they are the perfect pick to motivate your pooch.
It’s all about the reward – The key to teaching basic dog tricks is to reward your dog each time they do the right thing. Initially they may only do part of it, or may only do it briefly, so patience is important.
Break down each skill as we’ve done below and build up slowly to performing the full trick. Once you’ve mastered the basics you can work up to teaching them combinations and more advanced tricks – the sky is the limit.
Remember, if your dog starts to go wrong, don’t get frustrated – just take a break and go back a step with the training. They’ll get there eventually!
Top easy tricks to teach your dog
Sit – We’ve started off with a classic, but it’s top of the list for a reason. This basic dog trick is a great way to ease your pet into their training – and it’s not just for fun! A reliable sit command can help to focus your dog and avoid unwanted or dangerous behaviours too. If your dog already knows how to sit, let’s move on to trick number two…
Stay – While many dogs know how to sit briefly for a treat, being able to ask your dog to stay in one spot is a much bigger test. Again, this isn’t just a cute command, it can also help to keep your dog out of risky situations.
This is one trick where it’s especially important to build up the duration slowly. If your dog starts to fail, make the wait for a treat shorter again. A release word can also be helpful to signal to your dog when they’ve successfully ‘completed’ the trick.
Think your dog’s a pro? Try placing a treat in front of them and asking them to stay. This is a true test of their training!
Paw Shake – Got the basics down? Time to move on to some more fun dog tricks.
If your dog is a natural ‘pawer’, this one should be easy to get – the trick will be to stop them pawing for treats!
If they’re not, start off by rewarding them for lifting a paw, before building up to a full shake. You can also lure them into a handshake by holding a treat in a closed hand – try it out and see what works for your pup.
Wave – This one is a pretty natural progression from a paw shake – just reward them for lifting their paw without the shake. Pretty soon your dog will be waving all your friends and relatives hello and goodbye.
Lie Down – This is a great basic dog trick for all pet pooches. It’s not just the base for tricks like rolling over, but also a useful trick to help keep your dog safe and calm in busy situations.
The best way to teach this trick is to use a treat as a lure, moving it slowly down from face level to the ground. You may have to try a few times for them to catch on, especially if they’re in an excitable mood!
Roll Over – While it might seem easy, working out how to teach your dog to roll over can take some trial and error. Some dogs require more encouragement than others, even if they’re already happy to lie down when asked.
To start to teach your dog to roll over, you’ll want them to lie down. You can then move a treat in an arc from their nose to their shoulder. This first part is key – if you can get them to roll onto their side, you can then continue luring their nose with the treat until they get their first roll.
Spin – This fun trick’s bound to be a favourite. Just like you’d teach your dog to roll over, you can start out by luring your dog with a treat.
Want to step it up? Try teaching your dog to ‘go around’ and circle you for a tasty treat.
Speak – While barking isn’t always an ideal behaviour, a bark on command can be a fun way to bond with your dog. You’ll need to start with a cue you know will trigger a bark, then give your command just before the cue, rewarding when you get a single bark.
If your dog’s a little too keen to speak, you might want to pair this trick with a ‘quiet’ command.
Nose – This last trick isn’t just cute, it’s also a great way to train recall. Offer your hand to your dog and reward them when they touch their nose to your hand – it’s as simple as that. Over time you can build up the distance they move towards you and practise with distractions around.
Pairing this trick with a particularly tasty treat can make sure your dog will focus on finding your hand even on the most exciting walk.
Get started on these easy tricks to teach your dog
Whichever basic dog trick you choose to start with, there’s one thing your dog will need in order to learn any of them: motivation. That’s where picking the perfect treat comes in.
Using high quality, high value treats based on natural ingredients can help to keep your dog motivated, happy and healthy. Supreme’s range of Dolly Dog and Danny Dog oven-baked treats are perfectly pocket-sized, packed with essential nutrients and free from artificial flavourings and colourings.
Whether your dog prefers our Danny Dog Doggy Donuts with tasty chicken or our Dolly Dog Crunchy Cookies with peanut butter, we’ve got something to suit even the fussiest furry friend. Try them out today and find the perfect treat for your dog’s training journey.
