Before Getting Started

Congratulations! You and your dog are about to emabark on a ride with some fun tricks. Trick training is a great way to reinforce some vital concepts - confidence, tolerance of frustration, problem solving, and focus which all contribute to a great mental workout that will be fun for both of you. You have access to a variety of cues that incorporate luring and shaping techniques that are rewarding and safe for your dog. After all, trick training should be enjoyable and entertaining for all. You will learn strategies that also acknowledge body awareness, fitness, and good structure and positioning to ensure safety and physical integrity. Plus, if you so choose, you can earn some cool titles and ribbons from AKC with the AKC Trick Dog program.

Most of the time I will be using a verbal marker (Yes and Nice). Sometimes I will also pull out a clicker to use with a dog. You can use verbal markers or a clicker, whatever your preference. The technique is the same. If you do use a clicker, make sure that you “load the clicker” before you begin if the tool is new to your dog.

Before you begin, I want you to take into consideration a couple things:

• Working with a Healthy Dog - these tricks are set up to work with healthy dogs. Use your best judgement when choosing which tricks to teach your dog. If your dog has any injuries or preexhisting conditions, it is best to check with your vertinarian before beginning a new trick.
• Foundations in Basic Obedience Behaviors - some tricks can actually undue efforts with basic obedience cues, especially with puppies and young dogs. Foundation cues like down and sit can fall apart when other tricks become "more fun" for your dog to do. Some tricks can be turned into pushy behaviors by an adolescent dog. There will be certain tricks that I will recommend waiting until your dog has a solid foundation in basic obedience.
• Body Structure and Physical Conditioning - Some tricks may not be suitable for your dog's body type. Breeds that have longer backs or deep chests are more at risk of physical strain with certain tricks. Always consider your dog'sphysical condition, core strength, balance, and other factors that might impact your dog's well-being. I will mention and utilize certain strategies to safely teach positioning, but there night be certain elements of a position your dog may or may not be ready for. This course does not focus on canine conditioning. Always keep your dog's safety in mind and use your best judgement. As with any type of exercise, do a quick warm-up before you begin.

I like to make video with raw dogs - dogs that have not learned the trick yet. Sometimes I switch out dogs at various steps to complete a trick for the sake of time. Certain tricks have steps that will take some practice to get proficient before you want to move on. Every step shows a dog that is at that learning stage of the trick so you can see dog mistakes and how to work through them.

Quick Tips

• Use a Marker. Whether that be a verbal marker or a clicker. Markers not only identify correct behaviors when they happen, but they also can promote drive and energy throughout the learning process.
• Take breaks! Don't expect your dog to learn a trick in one session. It takes time to build the skills and remember the behaviors. This is why the tricks are broken down into steps. This is mental exercise and your dog will get tired!
• Mistakes are no big deal. This is suppose to be fun, so don't come down on mistakes. Simply do a rest and begin again. You will see me reset my dogs in some of the videos. I simply get them to move a bit before we begin again.
• Release and get your dog moving. Your dog is going to need to move in between practice. You will see how I say, "Free" to release my dog and get them moving, taking a quick little break before we resume some practice. Sometimes, to work through frustration or if my dog needs a confidence boost, I mix in simple and fun cues my dog knows well. Other times we take a break and play a fun game of tug or frisbee and relax for a while before revisiting the new trick.
• Use whatever food will work, but it is a substitute for your dog's daily allottment of food. Training is fun, and food is easy to use. But to avoid over-feeding, whatever you use for training is part of your dog's normal amount of food they would eat in a day. I reccommend mixing some high value treats with your dog's daily kibble. If you feed raw, you can use feeding tubes, spoons, or other utensils for the food rewards.
• Keep sessions short and sweet. Stay within your dog's ability to stay focused and have fun. Avoid over-doing it and risking frustration. Stop and take a break while your dog is still having fun!

Shake Paw

This is a very common trick to first teach, as many dogs will easily offer a paw (it is a natural dog behavior). But some dogs do not naturally offer a paw. This video goes through the techniques on how to teach a dog to shake who does not automatically offer a paw.

High Five

The next natural step in tricks is to go from a shake to a high five.

Be careful! Some dogs are good at turning these two behaviors into a pushy or demanding behavior during adolesence.

Touch

This cue is essential for every dog to learn.

People are taught to greet dogs by reaching out a flat hand for the dog to sniff. Even though this is incorrect, as a dog owner, it is imperative to teach our dogs skills to handle the general public. It is also an excellent cue to have, for it is used to teach and support othercues such as loose leash walking and the Come cue.

Touch also builds confidence, focuses a young dog, and will help you in your efforts of teaching bite-inhibition.

Touch can also be used for socialization experiences to get your puppy to turn away from something and break eye-contact, yet be fun and rewarding to create positive associations. It also helps with distractions in public places.

Touch can be a recall (coming to you), and this is one of the ways you will use the cue, inside and outside. Touch is to be used until you formally teach your puppy Come, including outside (Part 2). So, refrain from using the "Come" verbal cue and do Touch first. Make sure that your puppy is proficient with Touch at a distance before you consider moving on to teaching the Come cue. You want to avoid the cue "Come" and have your puppy not respond, risking the reliability of the Come cue right from the start! Touch is used in many contexts, and much easier to fix than Come.

There are two ways to teach touch - a flat hand and a closed fist. I encourage you to teach both ways. The flat hand is helpful for socialization with people. The closed fist is useful when teaching loose leash walking, recalls, and how to handle distractions when out on a walk.

Paws On

This is a confidence, but also so much more!

This is useful for a number of reasons:

• Value of proximity
• Optimism with the environment
• Content with novelty and new things

This is not just a trick! It can be a great converstation starter game for dogs that are nervous or unfocused in new environments. It is also a game that we will use to teach necessary skills for complex tricks in other courses. This game is also great for practicing a release cue.

Paws On Next Step

This is the next step in the game. You will putthe behavior on cue, and then fine tune visual cues as well.

You will continue to build more focus and confidence with different objects, as well, generalizing the behavior so that your dog will put his paws on a variety of objects, building further optimism and confidence, as well as flexibility.

The objects you choose for these games don’t have to be fancy. If you don’t have FitPaws Bones, use objects you find around your house. Dog bowls, books, step stools, (you can see I use a folding stadium chair), etc. all work perfectly for this game.

Paws On Duration

Begin building duration with the front paws on an object. Build skill with focus, patience, stillness… This is going to help when you use this to teach another trick! It is used in one of the Back Up games.

In this stage you also can work good posture and back foot placement.

Paws On Target

Bonus Game

Challenge accepted! Taking the skills learned in the Paws On videos and applying them even further. Can you tell I like mental challenges?

This is not only fun, but very useful for general control. It is wonderful to be able to point to something and have your dog focus on it, and then be able to cue a behavior with the object. Additionally, being able to point somewhere and have your dog go in that direction is very handy - no leash or collar pulling! This is a skill for many canine sports, as well as useful in the home and out and about with your dog.

You will have to work close at first, but over time, begin to cue from farther away.

Need a good rainy day game...? Here ya go!

Speak and Quiet

Teach your dog how to bark on cue, and simultaneously how to be quiet on cue. The speak it a fun “parlor trick” but it is the “Quiet” that can be invaluable for many situations in real-life. Have a good cut-off cue for barking so that is it minimized and learn how to help your dog settle and calm down a bit.

To teach the Speak cue, you will be utilizing the technique called capturing. This is when your dog offers the behavior on his own, and you capture that moment in time to teach the cue. You will need to figure out ways to prompt your dog to be vocal. In the video I teach the verbal cue first. But you could also reverse it and teach the visual cue first.

Novice Level Tricks (AKC Trick Dog Title)

Trick training is fun, but if you so choose, you can also earn titles through the American Kennel Club. I am an AKC Trick Dog Evaluator and will be conducting Trick Dog evaluations throughout the year. Look for dates on my Limiltess Pawsibilities Facebook page. Here is the PDF of the Novice Tricks Checklist.

Because of the current situation, video submissions for titles can now be accepted

Leg Weaves

Super fun! This cue is seen more as a trick than an obedience cue, but there are so many additional benefits to teaching this behavior.

First, it's something fun in proximity. And if you build value in proximity it supports things like recall, loose leash walking, working through distractions, and value in you.

Second, it can build confidence. Working close to you helps to boost those dogs who might be a bit weary around objects, things over their heads, and obstacles.

Additionally, it can also help to settle a dog who might be a bit concerned in new environments and is a good warm up or cool down for situations in the real world.

It is also greatfor having variety when working behavior chains.

SO HAVE FUN and build great concepts along with it! Show your new trick to friends and incorporate it in play or as a behavior in behavior chains once your dog knows it well.

Note the mechanics with the luring. I have experimented with many dogs on the best way to lure and get behavior in order to get good, positive, and reliable results. Your mechanics are important for good flow and building reliability with the behavior, and not always relying on a lure.

Get creative with this game and have fun with it. AKC Trick Dog accepts versions: standing still and your dog weaving through your legs (intermediate), and walking while your dog weeaves through your legs (advanced). Both techniques are taught here.

Wave

I love this one, but to get real good results, you must take the time to build reliability with the cue during the shaping step. Tricks can be “fast-tracked” to a degree. But to really gain reliability and versatility, it takes time. Be patient and have fun with the process! If you want a good wave from a distance, really spend the time to shape the behavior into a solid wave.

Roll Over

Did you know that dogs can be one side dominant? Basically it is similar to being left or right handed. This trick can really show if your dog has a preferred side by having difficulty rolling in one direction or the other. So experiment with your dog when working on the “Getting Behavior” part of the trick to find out which way works best for your dog. I recommend working both sides, like with spinning and wrapping, but for this trick you can teach just one direction. I have included a "troubleshooting" video on how to shape the roll.

This is also another trick that can undo your foundation work with the “Down” cue. When teaching obedience classes, I know when an owner has taught their dog this trick, because the dog has lost the duration portion of the down behavior - the owner cues the down and dog then automatically chains the roll over after. Your tips on how to avoid this:

• Do not Cue a "Down" and then cue a "Roll Over." In the video, roll over includes lying down first, so make sure to follow that little detail.
• Practice "Down" after "Roll Overs." Include some basic obedience cues to make sure your dog is listening and maintaining foundational behaviors.
• Preserve the integrity of your downs - back legs are tucked and the hips and back are in alignment. If your dog starts to hitch the hips off to the side, you can practice your downs on a platform. That allows your dog to practice staying aligned through the spine and keeping the front feet in the same spot and moving the back end down after the front end goes down.

Fitness is a detail in dog training that can easily be overlooked, but it can also make a difference in maintaining good skeletal health and minimizing injury. This can especially be true when teaching tricks that can challenge natural canine movement.

Sit Pretty

This version of Sit Pretty is not for all dogs. I do not recommend this trick for breeds with long spines or certain breeds with deep chests. Many different breeds can do this trick, some do it naturally, while others will need proper conditioning with core strength and balance to hold the position safely.

Your first assignment with this version of Sit Pretty, is to make sure that your dog is in the right physical condition to do this position safely. Your dog will need good balance and core strength. Below is a video with a few exercises, which are also great warm-ups later on, for you to do with your dog to make sure your dog is ready for this trick.

Closing Cabinet Doors and Drawers

It's fun to have a little helper around the house, and these videos will help you to teach your dog how to close a number of different doors and drawers to help you with household chores!

PRERQUISITE SKILL: Touch

It’s in the works!

Intermediate Level Tricks (AKC Trick Dog Title)

Trick training is fun, but if you so choose, you can also earn titles through the American Kennel Club. Here is the PDF of the Intermediate Tricks Checklist.

Take a Bow

This is a fun trick that capitalizes on the natural behavior of the play bow. The video tutorial take you through each step on getting behavior to adding the verbal cue, and in the end coming up with a fun visual cue for the trick.

Make sure that you have a solid foundation in your “Down” obediece cue before starting this trick. It can sometimes “undo” the work you are putting into teaching your dog to lie down. Taking a bow is much more fun!

Wrapping (right and left)

When training dogs with obstacles, people often think of specific equipment - like in agility with tunnels, bars for jumping, weave poles. But as you have seen with the Leg Weaves trick, you can be the obstacle! This trick is another trick that uses you as the obstacle.

Plus, the trick builds value in being close to you which supports many basic training goals like recalls, walking with manners, and focus.

Back Up

This behavior can come in real handy for real-life situations, not just as a trick. It helps your dog learn how to maneuver through tight spaces, obstacles, and crowds.

It teaches back-end awareness which is essential for fitness and can help with movement in the senior years.

There are a few ways to teach your dog to walk backward, and you have below a variety of fun games to play to teach it for versatility as well as practicality.

More videos coming soon!

Advanced Level Tricks (AKC Trick Dog Title)

Trick training is fun, but if you so choose, you can also earn titles through the American Kennel Club. Here is the PDF of the Novice Tricks Checklist.