Helpful Dog's Tricks

Most people will train some obedience and manners into their dogs, and sometimes a cute trick or two. That is a great thing for a dog, but how about a trick that is useful for the home; even better.

There are many tricks out there, it’s about finding one that the dog can physically do and that you would like them to do. Personally I don’t want to teach my dogs to open the cabinets for me because I think they would get into trouble but closing them would be a good ‘trick’. This is really an easy trick as all you have to do is get them to target a nose touch or paw touch to the vertical surface of the cabinet.

You can also get your dog to put away their toys, you most likely have to back-chain this behavior by starting with dropping a toy in the box. After you get them to do that have them get a toy and bring it to the box to drop; lastly they have to find the toys to bring to the box. This would be broken into many steps but can be easily trained on a motivated dog.

You can also have your dog find your items, from car keys to tissues. Each item requires a cue and training on how to pick up and get to you (sometimes the box of tissues are better than one). Or if they don’t fetch well, perhaps just a marker of a point or bark that it’s right there. Most dogs love finding people, so start naming them and have your dog search for their favorite people and you can send messages on their collars or have them hold a note.

With any trick it doesn’t just have to be cute it can be useful too. Look up more online or check out what service dog do and see if you can get your dog to that high of a degree. Enjoy the little things inside that work your dog's mind as well as body!

Winter blues

Remember during the winter your dog still needs some stimulation to keep from getting on your nerves. These should be both exercise and mental actives to do with your dog during the cold season. If you still walk your dog outside, make sure to rinse their feet off when you come home, between the pads can collect ice or chemical salt and the pads can become dry too. If it’s cold for you it might be too cold to them, watch for winter warnings before long periods outside.

Mekos loves to shove his whole head in the snow to sniff.

If you don’t like walking outside and your dog likes fetch try playing up and down stairs in your home, this way the dog has to work harder to get that ball or toy and back to you. My dogs will also do tricks or obedience between each throw, so making your dog do something to get what they want is never a bad idea. Although they might be a little excited at first you can get them to think while they are excited that’s even better.

Play hide and seek with your dog by putting them on a stay and calling them once you’ve hidden in a different room, or if you have many people tell them to ‘find mommy’ or ‘find daddy’ and see if they can make it to the correct people. Remember to play or treat them once they found you so that they will be reinforced for the behavior.

Mekos's first winter, he loved to find anything buried in the snow.

I also like to train a hard trick that can be done inside. This can be something useful as ‘Put away your toys’ or as cute as ‘break dance’. Find a trick online and think of a way to break it down and make many simple steps that you can work on bit by bit before adding them all together. Remember though only try tricks that your dog is capable of doing; you can’t teach a cow to climb a tree nor can you expect your dog to open or pick up something they can’t lift.