It's vital to teach your dog the basic commands such as stay, sit, and heel, in order to train him to be well-mannered, and also to keep him safe. However, your pet is capable of learning to do so much more, and learning new tricks is not only fun for him, but it will keep him mentally sharp.
When you're ready to begin providing additional training, patience is the key. Remember, your dog loves you and wants to please you, so acknowledge his achievements when he does what he's told. In fact, training your dog is similar to training a child, the idea is to make it fun, break it down into parts, do it frequently, but for short periods of time, and then reward him for the job well done. You can use these same techniques over and over to teach him to do all kinds of awesome tricks.
High Five - Gently raise his paw with your hand, then reward him by saying "good" or "yes". Soon he'll anticipate what you want and start lifting it himself. Next step, begin to reward him only when he lifts his paw higher, and so on. Finally, add in the cue word “high five”, so he will perform on demand.
Wave Hello and Goodbye - Place your hand in front of your dog and ask for his paw. Give him the verbal reward immediately after he gives you his paw. Next step, instruct him to sit and stay, then take a pace back, before putting your hand toward him again. For any motion of his paw towards you, verbally reward him. Finally, add in the cue word "wave".
Play Dead - Use the “down” command and then gently roll him onto his side and add the command "lay". Hold a treat by his nose and draw it from his nose to his shoulder. As he follows the treat, he should roll onto his back. Add the verbal cue word "play dead".
Once you've mastered these few simple tricks, you'll have the confidence to know you can teach your dog many more. Of course, you'll want to reward your dog by giving him only the best quality, natural chew. At Nature Gnaws, our chews are made from 100% grass-fed, free-range, all-natural beef, completely free of hormone injections or genetic modification, and with no added flavors or preservatives - because nothing is too good for our dogs.
For more information, please visit www.naturegnaws.com today.
