6 Fun Dog Tricks to Teach Your Puppy or Dog

Dog Tricks to Teach By Angad Kapoor  |Published July 15, 2019

Are you one of those lucky people who are the prideful owner of a cute, little puppy? Do you aim to increase their adoration by teaching them a few tricks making them good performers as well? 

But to teach them some advanced level tricks, your dog first needs to know the basic commands like ‘sit’, ‘come’, and ‘down’.

Apart from these, I believe your pet dog should also have received some basic “Brain Training” and played some mind tricking games so he is more intelligent than other dogs. 

If not, grab the Brain Training for Dogs e-book, as it has been responsible for thousands of dog owners experiencing increased intelligence level in their dogs. You can go through the latest review of Brain Training for Dogs from a female dog owner.

Is your dog already a master of these basics? Perfect! Now let’s start teaching some tricks suited for small dogs.

Dog Tricks to Teach Your Small Dogs

1. Shake hands

I don’t think there is something as charming as a small dog behaving like a professional on duty. Undoubtedly, that’s why, dogs shaking hands is the most classic, timeless trick you can teach your little baby. Best of all, it's one of the easiest dog tricks to teach.  So, let's see how to go about it, huh?

Steps:

1. Command him to sit
   
   
2. Gently lift his paw and say ‘shake’, most of the dogs, raise their paws in response to your touch, but if your dog doesn’t belong to that ‘some’ category, then being a little patient will take you a long way
   
   
3. As soon as you have the paw in hand, give it a shake
   
   
4. When he responds, then encourage him further by giving him rewards 
   
   
5. Keep repeating this exercise until your dog gets in the habit of doing it himself.
   
   
6. If your dog is a fast learner, even then keep practising this trick with him otherwise he will forget it sooner then you realise.

2. Fetch

Getting bored? Then play catch with your little friend. And why just when you are getting bored? A dog who knows how to play catch can be very handy. Don’t want to get up to get that remote? Need a beverage from the refrigerator?

Ask your little doggie to do it for you.

However, fetching is more complicated than shaking hands so you need to be patient until he gets the hang of the game.  As dog tricks to teach, this one requires more time and you'll want to reward "baby steps."

Many small dogs love to play fetch and will catch on quickly.  Those that have a strong prey drive are the best suited for the game.  Other breeds, however, can learn and totally enjoy a game of fetch, but they may require more time to understand what you are asking them to do.

Steps:

1. Use a toy or a stick as the object, but keep the objects light, something your dog can lift
   
   
2. Let him play with the stick for a little while, let his interest peak
   
   
3. Right when you think his entire attention is on that stick, take it away from him and toss it away. This should be enough to encourage your dog to fetch it for you
   
   
4. However, if he doesn’t get the hang of it, then get the stick yourself and entice him while doing it

Dogs rarely take long to figure out what you are trying to make him do, so this should be easy for you. However, before starting the game, make sure that your dog is in the mood for some playful activities.

3. Dance Moves

You won’t be the first person in the world if you want to teach your dog some dancing skills. In fact, dance skills are one of the most favourite dog tricks ever! There are many versions of doggie dance, let's see the easiest one here and then if your dog loves to dance, the sky's the limit.

Did you know that dancing dogs have become a real canine sport?  Call it musical freestyle or canine freestyle, of all the dog tricks to teach, this one could make your dog a star.

Okay, so buckle up guys, today we are teaching ‘back it up’ to your little boy/girl. 

Steps

1. To start it, start moving towards your dog, this will force him to move backwards, but if he doesn’t move backwards, feel free to step on his paws (lightly),
2. Practice the steps with the dog, now while playing music.

Soon, he is going to get hang of what you are trying to make him do. And practice this dance daily to make him a pro.

4. Playing Dead

Little dogs are dramatic creatures, and playing dead is one trick that can satisfy his need to drama around. Plus, of the dog tricks to teach in this post, it is easier to master this trick as compared to all the others. So, let's have a look at what your dog will do.

Steps

1. Start by commanding him to get in the ‘down’ position.
2. Offer your dog a Treat he can’t resist.
3. Move the treat around his nose in such a manner that he starts rolling on the floor.
4. If he rolls, reward that behavior with a “Yes” or a Clicker if you use.
5. You need to be very patient and need to reward him from time to time to encourage him.

When he does master this trick, add a verbal queue to it, something like ‘play dead’ or use any hand signal to make your dog recognize this command.

5.High-five

Why should you be the only one going around giving high-fives to your friends? Your dog should be able to do that too. And we only know there is no other gesture cooler than a high-five, right? Right.

This trick is easier to teach if your dog already knows, "give paw."

So, let’s begin making your dog cooler, follow these steps:

Steps

1. Take him to a quiet place and make him sit
2. Use treats to make this process easier for him and you, stand in front of him and keep a treat hidden in your hand and some in your pockets
3. Now hold your fist in front of him until he paws at it, and give him a treat when he does paw at it
4. Keep repeating this process until he readily paws at you every time you show him your fist
5. Now, reinforce this behaviour, so as soon as his paw contacts your fist, call out ‘high five’

When everything goes well, give him some treats and complement the treats with praise.

6. Balancing Act

Who doesn’t love a nicely done balancing act? But it adds to the fun and entertainment when those tricks are performed on the back of their owner. And that’s what this point teaches because your little dogs can be very good at it.

Steps

1. To start this, you need to sit down and make sure your back faces the dog, make sure you have some treats in your hands to encourage your dog
2. Now dangle his favourite toy on your back and lure him to climb on your back, he would want to climb on your back as high as he can to grab that toy
3. As soon as his paws touch your back, give him a reward and tell him he is doing good

Now, we are making it advanced.

1. Go onto all fours and keep encouraging him to climb on your back using the treats
2. As soon as he is in the position you want him to be, command him to stay where he is.

This will take a lot of practice and your dog will want to jump off your back again and again, so remember to be patient with him. This is a difficult trick, but if your dog can learn it then there is nothing like it.

Conclusion (Dog Tricks to Teach)

This is just the beginning, but every dog must start somewhere.  There are many tricks you can teach that can be add-ons to those described above. 

Remember, the key to any training is to keep it positive and fun.  Choose treats your dog will love and reward often at first. Finally, some dogs learn quickly while others take time and patience.  Two qualities of dog owner-trainers are persistence and patience. Always stop the training sessions when either you or your dog needs a break.

Author Bio (Dog Tricks to Teach)

I am Angad Kapoor and I am an I.T. student who loves dogs and is obsessed with them. I have trained many dogs around my place and I really feel happy and satisfied when I spend time with pet dogs, especially training them. Please visit me at Little Paws Training.