To effectively teach your dog tricks, even simple ones, you will need some small reward treats, a quiet and suitable training area, and keep the sessions to 10-15 minutes to prevent boredom.
Remember to praise your dog generously and give a treat when they do something right, but be careful not to get them too excited or they might lose focus.
To teach your dog to give you their paw, start by having them sit. As you say the word “paw,” take their paw in your hand and give them a treat. Repeat this process, but after a few times, don’t take their paw as quickly.
Say the word “paw,” count to one, then take their paw. You should notice that they start raising their paw as you say the word. If they don’t, go back to saying the word and doing the action at the same time. Repeat this a few more times and then slow down your response.
After 2 or 3 sessions, most dogs will pick up this trick quite easily.
For the high five trick, it builds upon the paw trick. Hold a treat in your hand and raise it slightly higher than you would for the paw trick.
Your dog will think you want them to do the paw trick and will reach for the treat with their paw, just as you taught them earlier. As they reach up, say “high five” and give them the treat.
Once your dog has mastered the paw trick, this one should be easy to learn, and with just a few sessions, they will be doing it with a hand signal instead of voice control.
To teach your dog to jump through a hoop, it’s important to be realistic and not set the hoop too high to avoid any injuries.
Sit your dog on one side of a hula hoop and get their attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop. Hold a treat in your hand and give the command to release them from the sit.
At first, your dog may try to go around or under the hoop. If this happens, start again. Your dog wants the treat, and they will soon learn that going around or under doesn’t get it. They will start going through it, and when they do, say “hoopla” and give them the treat.
With time, they will be jumping through the hoop on command. Start with the hoop closer to the ground if you have a smaller dog, so they simply go through it, and gradually raise it as they get used to the trick.
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