Dog Training Tricks: Top Tricks and Tips for All Skill Levels

Teaching a dog a new trick encourages mental stimulation, allowing it to bond with its owner. Trick training can build trust, reduce boredom, and enhance obedience.

As a pet-care professional, your main goal is to foster happy, healthy relationships between your clients and their furry friends. Sometimes, this means treating medical issues, and other times, this means offering guidance on dog training, tricks, and helping owners achieve the desired behavior in their dogs.

Preparing for Training Success

Dog owners must prepare for training sessions before diving into any fun tricks. Encourage them to watch a few training videos to get an idea of how to conduct their sessions appropriately and in a way that fits their schedules.

The tools needed for most popular dog tricks include treats, clickers, and a quiet space to ensure that the dog (and trainer!) can focus. A high-value treat can encourage better engagement and help maintain the dog’s attention for a bit longer.

Short training sessions typically work best as dogs learn better in lower-stress environments and do not have the longest attention spans. Owners should try a few repetitions of the command over the course of five to 10 minutes or until the dog stops cooperating. They can pick back up later in the day to progress the skill until the dog fully understands.

Positive reinforcement strategies always work best when teaching a dog tricks. Owners should reward the dog’s behavior with a treat and never punish the dog for failing to learn new commands. Because the sessions often involve lots of treat giving, we recommend teaching before meals, as the dog will be more eager for its treat.

Building Training Foundations

A dog trick cannot be learned instantly. Even the easiest tricks require consistency and patience. Owners should choose short, frequent sessions over longer, sporadic ones so their dogs can effectively build up the routines and motions.

Before trying a difficult trick, dog owners should build a solid foundation so they can effectively communicate with their pup. The seven most important dog commands are “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “no,” “down,” “off,” and “heel.” These basic building blocks can aid throughout the learning process.

If an owner hasn’t taught these basic commands yet, you can offer guidance on how to do so with our tips on beginner learning below. Before getting into complex dog tricks, owners might also consider teaching the 1-2-3 method in dog training. This involves teaching a dog a verbal command so that it grows accustomed to listening to its owner in distracting situations, which can help during learning sessions.

Dog Training for Beginners

Dog training for beginners involves introducing simple yet fun commands that most dogs can quickly learn and enjoy. Some of these are core commands that act as building blocks for more complex routines, while others are just easy tricks dog owners can teach their furry friends to show off. In just a few steps, dogs can learn to shake paws, bark on command, and more.

Key Commands for Starters

When owners are ready to teach beginner commands, here are some basic ones to begin with:

• “Sit pretty”: “Sit pretty,” or just “sit,” is one of the most basic commands and is an important dog trick that teaches the pet when to control its excitement. To teach this trick, dog owners should use the correct hand signal, moving their hand to hold the treat downward. They might need to position their dog in a sit position the first few times and then reward the dog each time it sits with a treat until the dog learns the verbal cue or hand signal.
• “Shake hands”: This social trick usually starts in the sit position. It helps build the dog’s confidence and can be fun to show off. To start shaking hands, the owner might need to pick up the dog’s paw and then reward it with a treat until the dog learns to offer its paw on its own.
• “Spin”: To teach dogs to spin, owners should lure the dog in one direction with a treat. The spin is an important precursor to other directional commands, so it’s crucial to nail this fun move before moving on to certain other tricks. Once the dog turns with the owner’s closed hand, the owner can try to teach it with a verbal cue or add distractions.
• “Speak”: The “speak” and “quiet” commands can help dog owners control excessive barking. Owners can encourage speaking on command by letting the dog bark naturally at first and rewarding it with a treat afterward; then, they can continue barking training.
• “Roll over”: Dogs must learn to sit and lay down before they can roll over. Rolling over is a cute trick that works similarly to spin, but the dog will do it lying down. Owners will teach the trick by following most of the same commands and tips.

Intermediate Dog Tricks

With intermediate dog training, tricks move beyond the basics and into a more challenging zone that involves the dog’s focus and balance. To teach intermediate commands, owners must use concise instructions and be able to troubleshoot when pets face difficulties, which will be common. Popular intermediate commands include “high-five” and “take a bow.”

When dog owners teach a trick like “high-five” or “take a bow,” they’re simply instructing the dog to shake or lie down, but in a slightly more refined way. With “high-five,” for example, the pet lifts its paws a bit higher and may do so with just a verbal command. With “take a bow,” the dog should leave its rear end slightly raised in the air, with its hind legs squatting as it “bows down.”

Tricks With Practical Benefits and Keeping Treats Near the Dog’s Nose

When dog owners teach an intermediate trick, not only are they reinforcing healthy behavior, but they can also reap practical benefits. The following commands can teach pets useful spacial awareness:

• “Back Up”: “Back up” teaches pets to move their rear end, which can be helpful with a dog standing close to doors or other dogs. Owners can gradually teach this trick by manually moving their pet in a straight line backward, encouraging the dog to walk in the desired direction, and rewarding it with a treat.
• “Crawl”: Crawling can be useful for dogs learning agility skills. To teach this skill, owners should tell the dog to lie down and then keep a treat close to the dog’s nose. Slowly moving the treat away gradually teaches the dog to crawl toward the treat, but one must keep the dog close by.

Advanced Dog Training Tips

Advanced tricks require higher levels of patience and practice with dog training tips. Popular advanced commands include “weave between the legs,” “roll in a blanket,” and “stand on hind legs.” To successfully teach these commands, dog owners should have already nailed basic cues like “stay,” “come,” “down,” “walk,” “stand,” “paw,” etc.

An advanced trick usually requires multiple cues broken down. For example, the “weave between the legs” trick might first involve teaching the dog to walk through the owner’s legs while they stand shoulder-width apart. Then, the dog might weave around one leg as it follows the treat in the owner’s hand.

Show-Stopping Tricks

When owners ask about the coolest trick to teach a dog or the hardest commands to teach their pets, you can recommend the following:

• “Weave between the legs”: As noted above, this trick involves using treats or toys to lure the dog through and around each of the owner’s legs. It is popular for show routines, though it typically does not work with a verbal cue.
• “Play dead”: The “play dead” trick involves cueing the dog to lie down on command, typically with a verbal cue like “bang!” This trick is fun and a crowd-pleaser that owners can show off to friends. Owners simply need to follow similar steps as when they trained their dog to lie down, but they should introduce the new verbal and hand cues so the dog knows when to play dead.

When owners nail the process for teaching a dog an advanced trick, they can mimic these steps for just about any command. Dogs love treats and engaging in mental stimulation. Whether an owner wants to teach their pet to stand on its hind legs with paws in the air or simply wants to enforce the stop command, the above tips should go a long way.

Training Tips for Successful Dog Trick Mastery

Teaching a dog any new command takes time, patience, and troubleshooting. When dog training, tricks, and results aren’t easy, owners should consider adjusting the environment to eliminate distractions or changing the type of treat they’re giving as a reward. One dog might respond well to a treat, while another may simply want its favorite toy.

Owners should break complex commands into smaller actions to help the dog understand the trick better. For example, “paw” can be simple enough to learn but “weave between the legs” typically requires multiple stages. The dog can also respond better when the owner combines consistent hand signals with verbal commands, as this sharpens the dog’s focus and responses in noisier environments.

Adapting Training for Different Dog Personalities

Owners should always customize training to their pet’s personality. A high-energy dog might prefer active rewards and plenty of short sessions, while more reserved, shy dogs may require gentler encouragement. Owners know their pets best, so they should always follow their animals’ comfort and avoid pushing past their limits. Learning should be a positive, fun experience.

Any aged dog can learn new tricks can learn new tricks, but owners should adapt to their mobility needs and attention span. An older dog might need shorter sessions, a specialized treat, and rest between activities.

Younger pups might have a more malleable brain, but they have a much shorter attention span and a lot of energy to expend. Because of this, puppies require a great deal of patience when learning any new trick.

Integrating Training Into Everyday Life

Incorporating learning sessions into a dog’s routine is the best way to help it learn. A strong dog training plan encourages positive habits. Owners can include short sessions in daily routines, such as before meals or during toy time.

Once a dog successfully learns a new trick, owners should continue practicing it so the dog doesn’t forget it. Owners can have the dog show off its new trick to reinforce obedience during family gatherings or outings. To encourage continual progress, the dog should still be rewarded with a treat, pet, or toy for successful behavior.

Expanding on Dog Tricks With Complex Routines

As owners teach their dogs more commands, they can begin combining them to create “dance” sequences. For example, a routine might feature a “spin,” “leg weave,” and “bow.” The entire family can get involved in dog routines, with each member practicing one trick with the pet.

Continue Fostering Client Success at Your Veterinary Practice

Dog training, tricks, and commands encourage healthy mental engagement and skill building for dogs while fostering bonding between them and their owners. As you encourage this excellent practice at your vet facility, consider leveraging Weave’s tools for veterinary practices to conveniently engage with dog clients. We can help you send tips and reminders to clients regarding their dog training classes, strengthening your client-practice relationship.

Discover how Weave can elevate your client engagement. Get a demo today!