I’ve been on a kick about tricks lately, mostly because my dogs are the kind that the only trick they can do is lay on the couch and sleep. You know the type. So, here’s my list of what I wish my dogs would do.
10. Go to bed. My dogs think mi casa, su casa. I tried to go to bed last night, but Cooper and Kayla were both sprawled all over my side of the bed, and they would NOT move. I ended up having to lay down on Cooper before he even realized I was there. He moved over about 1/3 of an inch.
9. Bow. This is a fun one because it imitates the bow that dogs do when they want to play. When your dog puts the front half of his body down on the ground, with his butt in the air, tell him “good bow!” and give him a treat. He will soon learn how to bow on command!
8. Walk backwards. This is another one my dogs have trouble with. When they are in my way, they have the attitude that this is THEIR space, and I can’t have it! I would love for them to learn to back off!
7. Belly crawl. This is really cute, but it’s also a sign of submission, so I know at least 3 of my dogs will never do it. My beagle already has it down pat. She is incredibly submissive to the other dogs – probably because she is about 1/4 of their size. Anyways, when she wants a bath, she belly crawls up to the Golden Retriever, who will lick her all over.
6. Play dead. If you didn’t see the YouTube clip, you have to check it out.
5. Spin around. Have you ever seen a dog spin in circles? It’s so cute!
4. Speak. OK, my dogs have the barking thing down pat, but I can’t get them to do it on command. Maybe the better trick for my dogs would be “shut up!”
3. Beg. Most dogs will do this naturally, anytime they see food. Again, I wonder if the better trick would be to make them stop!
2. Roll over. Dogs don’t usually like to be on their backs, other than when they are getting a belly rub, so this is a tough one to teach. My dogs are so ungainly, it’s tough to get all their legs organized enough to do this!
1. Shake hands. This is actually one my dogs do accomplish, if sporadically. We teach this using dog cookies, but with four of them in the room, they’re too worried about someone else getting their treat to concentrate.
What tricks does your dog do? What do you wish he could do?
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
i love the article.. There are many choices when it comes to rewarding your dog with a treat for obeying your commands, and these treats make a big difference in your dog’s attitude towards you in learning new tricks, and why wouldn’t they? To get anything in life you have to give something back and dogs are no different, you help them and they’ll help you. Simple.
Hehehe…
Nice writings man… I also do the same with my dog ! Amazing creature !
I love the article! I have a shiba inu who constantly wants to high five….seriously every minute. Whatever I’m doing it doesn’t matter. If I’m reading a book, eating ,or on the web, It’s her opportunity to show off her skills. She looks at me with those big brown eyes , lifts up her paw and forget it.
Zsun – Good one! I laughed so hard!
Pookie – I had a cat that once brought me a grasshopper with the same look on her face. I was sitting on the porch reading, and she kept trying to get my attention, but when she opened her mouth to meow at me, she dropped the grasshopper!
We used to have this pit/lab and he hunted squirrels, or tried, and then one time we were hiking and had him running loose on the mountain with us when all of a sudden he sees a squirrel and runs after it and we ignored this because he wasn’t the most speedy or graceful creature but apparently this squirrel was even more disadvantaged than he was because next thing we know the running and barking had stopped and we look over and he’s just standing there with thte squirrel in his mouth looking around like What do I do now??
So even the seemingly most unlikely hunters may surprise you, although vultures are a little big for a beagle!
I swear my Beagle, hunts VULTURES! She goes out doors in the middle of my big back yard, and lays there, until the VULTURES, start circling lower,and lower, then she gets up to come in and cool off. After a hard days effort ,to play with the wild life! Tough LIFE!
P.S. Has NOT caught one YET! Not a this rate!