With the Richmond summer heat rising, we will be spending more time inside with the heavenly AC. Sometimes our pets can get bored just laying around, so we have compiled a list of tricks you can teach your furry friends to keep their minds busy! Mental stimulation is just as important as physical activity for our pets. Trick training allows us to build a bond with our furry family members as well. We hope you have so much fun learning new tricks together!
Trick Idea #1: Down
An oldie but a goodie, “down” is an easy trick to start out with and get your dog’s brain moving. If your dog is food motivated, use their favorite high value treat to lure their nose down near the ground. If they do not like food much, you can try their favorite toy or just use verbal praise and cues such as the word “yes” when they do something you like. It can help to have them sit first. Reward any movement toward laying down including moving head down or putting front legs on the ground. Don’t expect your pup to lay down immediately, but do praise any progress! It helps to use simple words that your dog understands like “yes” and “good”. If you speak too much, you could overload them while they’re trying to figure out the trick. Once your dog lays down all the way, reward with lots of praise and a jackpot of treats! The last step is naming the trick with “down”. Once they are voluntarily laying down for the treat, then start naming the trick down and your dog will eventually associate the action with the verbal cue!
Trick Idea #2: Shake
“Shake” or “paw” is a hallmark dog trick that everyone loves! It is an amazing trick to have friends and family members use to connect with your fur baby, and it comes in handy with desensitizing them to the grooming experience, or wiping their paws after a muddy walk. Start by having your pup sit in front of you. There are many ways to teach this trick, so it’s important to listen to your dog and see what feels natural to them. Sometimes tickling the back of their foot can trigger them to lift their paw. Once they lift their paw off the ground for any reason, praise with “yes” and a treat. Other times, you can hold a treat in a closed fist and your dog may paw at your hand. Reward this, too! Eventually, you will name the trick “shake” or “paw” once the dog is voluntarily giving you their paw. As an added challenge, try teaching your dog their right paw from left paw with cues such as “switch” or “other paw.” This is such a fun one to work through with your furry best friend!
Trick Idea #3: Spin
The most challenging trick we’ve listed so far is “spin.” This is another trick you will use a treat to lure your dog into place with. Get a high value treat and have your dog follow it with their nose. You can do this in any direction to teach your pup that they will get rewarded if they follow the treat. Next, you will do this in a circular motion slowly! You will eventually increase the speed of the circular motion until your pup no longer needs to follow the treat directly with their snout. Eventually, you may be able to phase the treat out all together and name the trick “spin!” As an added challenge, try teaching your dog to spin in different directions with cues such as “other way.”
Trick Idea #4: Touch
Touch is the most versatile trick we’ve included in this post. It can be used for all sorts of cool stuff like turning on lights or guiding your dog through your legs or obstacles! It is also a great alternative behavior to ask for out on walks to aid in teaching loose leash walking or counter-condition leash reactivity. You will first hold a treat in your hand with your thumb and index finger and have your other three fingers held up and together. Your dog will most likely sniff the treat, and you can shape this into the dog touching your hand for the treat. Praise throughout this process and reward with a treat whenever your dog goes near or touches your hand. After a while, you may hold the treat in a pouch or your other hand while you hold the original hand out for your dog to touch. Eventually, you guessed it, you will name this trick “touch!” You can then transfer this cue to other objects besides your hand such as light switches and their bed.
Trick Idea #5: Sit (for cats too!)
Sit is the most basic trick for our doggy pals, but what about our feline friends? Cats are also incredibly intelligent animals, and if you find something that motivates them enough they might be willing to learn a few tricks as well! If your cat loves treats, find a high value one such as wet food, tuna fish, or Churru squeeze pouches. You can put the treat in front of your cat’s nose and guide them backwards slowly. After rewarding this behavior for some time, you can begin naming it “sit!” Some cats can even learn to high five and shake as well! It’s all about finding something they really want, whether it be a high value treat or toy!
We hope these tricks have given you some ideas on how to build your bond with your pet and work them mentally so that they don’t get too bored while beating the heat this summer! We are here for any of your dog walking needs as well! Contact us today!