If you have a puppy, you may want to teach him or her tricks. Teaching your dog tricks can make your dog obedient, build your relationship with each other, and help your dog develop mentally. However, training a dog can be challenging if you don’t know what you need to do to teach your dog. Make sure you review this guide and follow the steps in it, so your puppy can learn some tricks.
Buy Dog Treats
If you want to motivate your dog, you need to provide him or her with incentives. Treats are one of the best incentives for dogs since they love to eat delicious food. Many dogs love flavoured meat treats, so you should look into those options. Make sure you purchase bite-sized treats to avoid overfeeding your dog as you train him or her. These can be carried in a small treat bag.
Dog Treat Bag, with Poop Bag Holder, Dog Training Clicker and Collapsible Silicon Dog Water Bowl. Adjustable Belt and Shoulder Strap.
Bounce and Bella Grain-Free Dog Training Treats – 800 Tasty & Healthy Treat Pack – 80% Fresh Poultry Meat, 20% Potato & Sweet Potato – Hypoallergenic Treats for Dogs with Sensitive Stomachs.
While it may seem simple, dog treats are a great way to motivate your dog when it comes to listening and paying attention. Dogs will give you their full attention as long as you have food.
Identify the Tricks
You can’t teach your dog tricks if you don’t figure out what you want to teach him or her. You may want to stick to simple tricks like down or up, but you could also teach your dog roll-over, play dead, and other complicated tricks. If you figure out which ones you want him or her to learn, you can start with the simple ones and work up to the difficult tricks.
You should also teach your dog come and stay. These two tricks will help you to call your dog as needed and prevent him or her from getting into dangerous situations.
Use Motions and Words
Your dog will learn tricks quicker if you include motions alongside your words. For example, if you plan to teach your dog to sit, you should say the word and point to the ground. As you teach your dog different tricks, you will need to think of new commands and associated hand motions. Since dogs react to movement and sound, you can bring both of those senses together to quickly train your puppy.
Make sure you remain consistent with your words and motions. If you change them, you will confuse your dog, which will make the process more time consuming and difficult.
Take It One Trick At a Time
When you train your dog, you should focus on one trick at a time. Just like with changing motions and words, you will confuse your dog if you try to teach him or her multiple tricks. Instead, you should make sure your dog masters the first trick and understands the motions and words associated with it. After that, you can move onto another trick and start the process for that one.
101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog.
You can always practice a previous trick as you teach your dog new ones. You will need to teach him or her one at a time, but you should review previous tricks to make sure your dog remembers them all.
Control Your Emotions
At times, you may become frustrated with your dog. If he or she doesn’t cooperate, you need to make sure you don’t get mad at your dog. Dogs don’t respond or learn when you get angry, so make sure you focus on positive reinforcement. For example, if you yell at your dog, your dog will react with fear and not realize why you are getting mad.
It all comes down to controlling your emotions, remaining calm, and keeping your patience as you train your dog. If you begin to feel upset, you can always take a break and return to the tricks later.
Practice Consistently
Dogs learn through repetition. If you want your dog to remember all the tricks you taught him or her, you need to go over them repeatedly. As you train your dog, you should make it a habit to train him or her each day. Once your dog learns the tricks and remembers them, you can practice every once in a while. If possible, you should practice those tricks at least once a week.
If you don’t continue to practice, your dog may forget some of the tricks. On top of this, your dog will enjoy the training since you will spend time together, and he or she will get treats.
Conclusion
While teaching your dog tricks will take time and effort, you can accomplish this if you keep at it. Remember the tips mentioned throughout this guide. They will help you tackle the common issues owners run into whenever they try to teach their dogs tricks. As you follow this guide, you and your dog will build a stronger relationship, and your dog will enjoy the attention and treats you give to him or her.
