Dogs or man’s best friends are one of the most under-appreciated creatures. It has been scientifically proven that the companionship of dogs can get a person out of depression and keep them happier on an average level. Loyal till the day they die, dog are self-less little creatures and some tricks are useful.
In Afghanistan, two dogs had reportedly saved fifty US soldiers. There have been many such similar instances recorded worldwide. There was a story which later had a movie based on it. Where a dog waited for the return of its owner. Who had passed away, till the very day he died himself. Dog are the best pets to have and train some tricks.
They make a wonderful companion when you need one, they can be the ones you share your joy or sorrow with, and they will never abandon you. No matter how you treat them Once you take them in, you then have someone for life.
Not just adults though, it’s a good thing to have pets around children, especially dogs. Apart from protecting the children with their lives, the dogs are friendly and loving and a great influence on babies. As domestic pets, dogs are also incredibly amusing and active.
You can teach dog some tricks and play with them; they can also be trained to do a number of other things.
Hand Shake
One of the easiest and probably the most popular doggie trick is possibly the ‘paw shake’. It’s when your beloved canine extends his paws out as a polite courtesy. It doesn’t usually take dogs more than a few training sessions to master this trick. All you have to do is say, “Shake hands,” and take its paw to shake hands with it. If you do it frequently enough your dog will soon learn the trick. You could place a few treats inside your palm to show it that he or she will be rewarded for his or her behavior and speed things along. After a few times, you could ask it to shake hands and refrain from extending your own hands to see what he or she does. If it extends its paws, it means your dog has successfully learned the trick.
Back up
Not exactly a trick but quite handy to teach your dog, backing up teaches your dog to move away when asked. It can act as a stepping stone to other dog tricks. But, it usually comes in handy when you have a friend or relative over. Who unfortunately is not much of a dog person, or animal person for that matter. It doesn’t take much for your dog to learn this but again. A handful of treats could be used to make things easier and more fun. Once your dog learns to back away when asked, it gets easier to keep it away from breakables. Open doors, dangerous objects and even people.
High five
One of the most amusing and adorable tricks is to teach your dog how to high five. It becomes easier for your dog to learn this trick if he or she is already familiar with hand shaking. Once your dog learns to shake its paws, you can start to hold up your palm so that it faces your dog. Wait for him or her to hit its paw against your hand. Once it does that, make sure you say, “High five,” while doing it so that it understands the request in future. You could give it a treat as a reward for the very first high five you share so that it continues to respond similarly in the future.
Roll over
Another popular trick among dog-lovers, rolling over is one of the funniest things to watch a pet do. Your dog should know how to sit and lie down when asked to by now. As one of the trickier tricks, it might take longer than it took with the rest. But your dog will learn how to roll over soon enough. You can start by making it lie down and then offering it treat and as it moves towards the treat. You begin to move the treat away from it and towards its shoulder. Which will cause him or her to flip over as it tries to grab the treat. You can reward it for the effort it made. It might be a while before your dog rolls over completely, but then it’s worth the wait and patience.
Waving
This is a relatively easy trick for dogs who already know how to ‘paw’ shake and even easier for the ones who know how to ‘paw’ five. It makes for one of the most heart-warming sights when a dog greets you or says goodbye with a wave. All you need to do is, begin with shaking. Then gradually move your hand so that your palm faces your dog. You then hold your hand up and wave, again make sure you say “Wave” as you do it. Your dog will soon follow and try to replicate your actions. You can reward him or her with a treat every time. He gets it right and refrains from giving it a treat every time it doesn’t though. It makes for one of the most heart-warming sights when a dog greets you or says goodbye with a wave.
Speak
It doesn’t sound possible and technically isn’t, but it basically means to teach your dog how to bark more or less as and when necessary. Teaching your dog when to bark can help keep intruders away. If your dog barks excessively sometimes, you can control it. You can start by using a particular game or toy your dog likes to play with. Use so that he can recognize it and understand what’s going to happen. When you’ve done that, you can ask him or her small questions like if it wants to play and wait for it to bark in response. Once you have accomplished this, it becomes much easier to work with other things like, to bark when he or she is hungry or when it wants to go out and the likes.
Play dead
Possibly one of the funniest tricks, and although it sounds morbid, it’s very endearing to watch your beloved canine play dead. It’s not a particularly difficult trick to learn but it does take some effort. Once your dog lies down, you can use the help of a treat to keep him in that position for a few seconds. Make sure your say something like “Play dead” so that your dog can understand that it’s a game and not that you actually want it to just lie there. After a few sessions your dog should be able to fall and be fake dead as soon as you ask him or her to, another trick to impress the family and friends.
Say Please
A dog in itself is an adorable creature, but a dog with manners is very endearing. You don’t have to do much to teach your dog how to say please. All you have to do is hold a treat near your dog, while it’s on its hind legs and sitting and as it reaches for it you say, “Say please.” You have to keep doing it until your dog responds by trying to lift his or her front feet. Even if they are a little up, make sure you reward him or her because it made an effort. Eventually with a little practice, your dog will soon be able to politely ask for whatever it wants.
Fetch
Possibly the most popular dog trick ever, this is one trick almost every dog is familiar with. In fact, there is no special training involved, all you have to do is to throw an object to fetch and your dog will do the rest. You just have to throw the object, say a ball for instance, far enough and your will find it and get it back to you. It’s that simple and more importantly, requires very little effort even on your part. Also, you can reward your dog with a treat every time he or she finds the object and brings it back. Fetching is one game, both dog-lovers and dogs, can never tire of.
Kiss
One of the easiest tricks in the book is to get your dog, affectionate creatures that they are, to give you a kiss. There is actually nothing you have to do except extend your face towards your dog, and as its licking, you have to say something along the lines of, “Give me a kiss.” If your dog doesn’t lick you, you could try smearing some peanut butter on your cheek and ask it to kiss you. As licks the peanut butter off, make sure you reward him and ask him to do it again. After the first few times your dog will get the hang of it and you can get free kisses whenever you want.
