Quick tips to easily train a dog.

How to easily train your dog to do simple tricks.

By GbMcSnacky

               Dogs, they say its man’s best friend. But if you have ever owned one you can understand that sometimes they can be a little difficult to train. Whether it be trying to get them to sit, speak, stay, or simply to just lie down. These simple tasks can seem to be harder than Chinese algebra to dogs if not done properly. I will outline in this blog the tips and tricks that I have learned over the years that have worked best for me.

               First we need to discuss your mannerisms in how you approach the dog. Dogs are naturally followers. They love order and direction. So if you give the dog the freedom to do whatever it wants you give it the freedom to not listen to you. Also if there are multiple owners in the house you need to establish witch one is dominant. The most dominant of the owners is the one the dog will most likely listen to. So to start off have the most dominant owner be the one to give direction and orders. After the dog has learned from him/her the other owners in the house will be able to direct the dog to do the tricks asked of it. Also you don’t want to confuse it by having more than one owner shout out orders at a time.

               Second, before we get into the tricks we need to discuss if there are multiple dogs in the house. I found it to be more beneficial that if there is more than one dog in the house you may want to segregate one to work with at a time.  In my experiences having one dog get all the tricks you want them to learn down, and then doing them in front of the other dog with praise. The other dog will want that praise also and begin learning the trick as well. Don’t be afraid to praise your dog with a treat or two. But don’t over treat them; if you do they will always assume there will be more treats coming. Instead a simple good boy or good girl will do.

Ok let’s get on to the tricks I have learned to get my dogs to do the simple trick of lying down. This is a training method is called the lead method. It’s a method that works with all the simple physical tricks you want your dog to do. For example; sit, stay, come, lie down, and roll over.

·        Make sure the dog is in a familiar place and a comfortable place to them. You don’t want them exploring around and excited by the new things.

·        As before make sure the most dominant of the owners is giving the commands. Also make sure only one owner is giving the commands.

·        Have a treat ready and show it to your dog.

·        To achieve this all you do is simply place the treat in your hand after showing it to the dog. Grasp it with your fingers wrapped around so he/she can smell it but not get to it.

·        Now with the treat grasped tightly move your hand in the direction you want the dog to go. So if you want him/her to sit. Simply place your hand a little over their head. Make sure to verbally express your desired command.

·        Now from the sitting position to get your dog to lie down. Still with treat in hand, take your hand and slowly move your hand to the ground or floor. Make sure that you go slowly enough so that your dog can follow along.  After they have performed the trick make sure to praise them with the treat and a good dog.

·        Make sure to repeat this process over a few days. After that you can slowly wean them off the follow and they will start to associate the trick with the verbal command.

There you have it. And in my opinion that it is the easiest way to train a dog how to sit and lie down. Also if you want from the lie down position you can keep the treat in your hand and slowly bring it around its head so it can follow along and perform the roll over trick.

Well I hope this has helped you in your endeavors of training your dog. Coming from an owner of a red nosed pit-bull and a mixed St. Bernard and husky, I know it has worked wonders for my little fur babies.