CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction

Page 3

Do's and Don'ts

Page 4

Using treats for training

Page 5

A word on clickers

Page 5

A last word

Page 32

THE TRICKS: 1. Shake Hands

Page 6

2. Shake the Head 'No'

Page 7

3. Yawn

Page 7

4. Crawl

Page 8

5. 'Speak' and 'Quiet'

Page 9

6. Fetch

Page 10

7. Beg

Page 11

8. Wave

Page 12

9. Turn Around

Page 13

10. Take a Bow

Page 14

11. Roll-over

Page 15

12. Sit Up

Page 16

13. Go to your Bed/Spot

Page 17

14. Play Dead

Page 18

15. Which One?

Page 20

16. Fetch a Beer

Page 21

17. Cross your Paws

Page 24

18. Cover your Eyes

Page 26

19. Shut the Door

Page 28

20. Teaching your Dog to Read!

Page 30

Introduction Have you seen the incredible dance routines of Ashleigh and her dog Pudsey - winners of Britain’s Got Talent 2012 and now big in the U.S.A too? Or maybe you’ve watched a YouTube video of someone's dog doing all these amazing tricks and thought, “I wish I could teach my dog to do tricks like that!” Well, now you can! Teaching your dog tricks, takes time and effort but the benefits for both of you are enormous. As well as being able to amaze your friends with your dog’s intelligence (as well of course, as your ability as a top dog trainer!), teaching your dog tricks helps you bond with your pet in many ways. Below are some of the reasons why it’s a great idea to start teaching your dog some tricks today: Alleviate boredom and destructive behaviour – Training your dog to do tricks will allow him to constructively release his energy. If your dog is focused and occupied, he* is not destroying the sofa or eating your shoes or phone charger for example! Help keep your dog’s mind sharp – like humans, it’s good for dogs to keep their minds active and responsive. Learning and performing tricks will help to do this. Create a better bond – You and your dog become a team. Teaching your dog tricks will allow a two-way communication between you and him. You will both understand each other better; your dog will look up to you and listen to you, instead of using destructive behaviour to get your attention. Better Behaviour – Your dog will be easier to control during vet check-ups, making yours and your vet’s lives easier. Give your dog a hobby – For those rainy days when you can’t go for long walks, it’s a great way to pass the time. Dogs need hobbies as well as humans! *For ease of reference, I have referred to your dog throughout this guide as 'he'. Of course these tricks work just as well with female as well as male dogs!

Dos and Don’ts DO keep your training sessions quick; 10-15 minutes at the most. Your dog can get bored and/or tired by hearing the same command over and over again and repeating the same action. The key is little and often – daily if possible. DO, where at all possible, make sure that your training sessions are done without outside distractions. Turn the TV and radio off and, when you are starting to teach a trick, just have you and your dog in the room. DO use the same command throughout your dog's training; don't chop and change. Even a slight difference e.g. ‘turn’ and ‘turn around’ can be very confusing for your dog, so be consistent. DO give your dog lots of treats and praise when he gets it right. However don’t overdo the treats once your dog has learnt the trick. Gradually phase out the treats so that you are just using the commands, hand gestures (if appropriate) and praise. DON’T try and teach your dog a trick that might interfere with a health problem he has. For example, if your dog has back problems, then a trick such as rolling over might be too difficult. If you have any doubts at all don’t do it or check with your vet first. DON’T force your dog to do tricks he really doesn’t want to do; respect his limitations. And don’t punish your dog for not doing a trick correctly; just keep working on it. Always remember that tricks are for the enjoyment of both of you and it’s not a race to finish each trick. DON’T talk too much during the training sessions, otherwise your voice will begin to have no effect and it all becomes a confusing babble of noise to your dog. Just try to stick to the command word/s and “good boy” or “good girl”. DON’T think your dog is too old for tricks. If he's healthy and doesn’t have any mobility problems, he'll be fine. It's often easier to teach an older dog as a new puppy has a lot of other training to take on board such as toilet training and basic obedience training. Wait until he's mastered that before you try to teach him any of these tricks.

Using Treats for Training Most pet shops sell a large variety of training treats. Some cater towards your dog’s exceptional sense of smell and others, such as dog chocolate drops, are more geared towards his taste. However, it is not necessary to buy pet shop treats; you can also use cheese, ham, sausage, leftover meat and carrot for example. The important thing to remember is that you only need to give your dog a tiny amount at a time to keep him motivated, just a taste to keep him wanting more. During the teaching of these tricks you will be rewarding your dog frequently. If you are constantly giving him large treats you will a) be stopping the lesson frequently whilst your dog is munching on the treat and b) probably causing your dog to put on weight! Work out the value of treats to your dog. If, for example, his absolute favourite is ham, save this treat for when he needs extra motivating or when he finally masters the complete trick. Start with lower value rewards at the beginning of the training session when your dog is more motivated and work up to higher value rewards if his interest wanes a bit. And finally, please remember; never give human chocolate to your dog as it is poisonous to them.

A Word on Clickers Many experienced dog trainers use a clicker to teach tricks and obedience training. Dogs understand information by using their sense of smell and hearing so this is the main reason why clicker training is so effective. If you have used a clicker before then you will be able to apply what you know to these tricks and incorporate a clicker easily into them. If you have never used a clicker before or don’t even know what one is, don’t worry! For the purpose of this guide, I have assumed no knowledge of a clicker and all the tricks are taught without using one. However, clickers are a great thing to know about so there will be a guide about them coming soon. OK, so now let's learn some tricks! When you see this symbol, please make sure to always read the extra tips.

1. Shake Hands (a)

Firstly your dog should start

off in a sitting position. Say, "Shake hands," and pick up his paw with your hand. Hold his paw and say "Good dog!” then give him a treat and let go of his paw. Do this a few times every day. (b)

After a while, say, "Shake

hands," but don't take his paw. See if he raises his paw by himself. Initially your dog will probably just sit motionless unsure of what to do, so keep showing him what to do by saying, "Shake hands," and gently push or prod his leg forwards until it rests in your hand. When he has done this, praise him and/or treat him so that he knows he has done what you want him to do. (c)

Practice this trick several times; praising after each successful result and gradually

reducing the amount of prompting with your hand until you can just say “shake hands” and your dog lifts his paw. Always use the same hand and lift the same paw of your dog. Some people use their right hand to lift the dog’s left paw but if you want to make it seem more ‘human’ use your right hand and the dog’s right paw. However, whatever you do, don’t chop and change. Otherwise, your dog will get really confused!

2. Shake the head: ‘No’ Before you can start teaching this trick to your dog, you need to find something which will make him shake his head naturally. Some things which may help are blowing gently on the ear or tickling it with a feather.Once you have found whatever does the trick, you will then have to decide on which verbal and non-verbal cue you want to use. You can use the phrase “shake your head” or just “head” along with shrugging your shoulders for example. (a) Again your dog should start in a sitting position when first teaching him this trick. As in the shaking hands trick, use both cues together (the command and action) along with with the prod (tickling his ear, etc) in an effort to stimulate your dog to shake his head. Once he does, reward him and praise him, even if it is just a small movement. (b) Gradually reduce the amount of prodding so that all that are needed are the verbal and non-verbal cues (e.g. the command and shoulder shrugging).

3. Yawn This is a trick that you have to wait for your dog to perform before you can teach it to him. So, you need to wait for him to actually yawn and then capture that behaviour. You'll have to be patient and keep a watch on your dog. If your dog yawns a lot, you'll be able to teach him this trick more quickly! Every time your dog does yawn, you can say “yawn” or, even better, “are you sleepy?” Praise your dog a lot and treat him generously to let him know he is doing something wonderful. After some practice sessions, your dog will yawn whenever you give him the command you’ve decided on, e.g. are you sleepy? This trick can be followed by the “go to your spot/bed” trick (No.13) when your dog is tired and needs some rest.

4. Crawl For this trick, your dog needs to start in a lying down position or in the “down” position. At the beginning, this is best taught to him with you sat on the floor too. You can crouch down if you want to but unless you have very strong leg muscles , you might get a bit tired! (a) Start by holding a treat in your hand and moving it along the ground whilst luring your dog along the floor. While you are doing this, keep repeating the command “crawl”. Get your dog to crawl along the floor after the treat, giving him lots of praise and rewarding him with a treat every few seconds. (b) Next, use your finger rather than the treat to guide him along the floor. Still repeating the “crawl” command and each time giving him lots of praise and of course the treat when he does it! (c) Next, try getting your dog to crawl along the floor without using the treat or your finger but just by using the command “crawl”. Remember, be patient; this is quite a difficult trick for your dog so it could take quite a few practices before you get to this point! And of course when he does do the full trick, reward him with his top treat! (d) If your dog gets confused at any step, just go back to that step and practice it over and over until your dog learns it.

5. Speak and Quiet It is easier to teach the “quiet” command if you have taught the “speak” command first.

“Speak” (a) Hold a treat in front of your dog until he barks from excitement (or frustration!). When he does so, immediately say “speak”, praise him and give him a treat. Be careful to only say “speak” whilst he is actually barking - not after. (b) Do this 3 or 4 times. Hold the treat in front of you and say “speak”. When your dog barks, praise him and give him the treat. If you are unable to make you dog bark by holding out a treat in front of him,

choose a game that your dog loves to play with a toy. Then get him excited by saying, "Let's play! Want to play?" and show him the ball or toy. Jump and act silly so he barks and then say, "Good dog, speak!" Then play the game as his reward for learning "Speak".

“Quiet” (c) Once your dog knows the speak command, hold the treat in front of you and when your dog is barking say “quiet.” As soon as he stops, give him the treat and praise him. (d) Only reward the dog when he is quiet. If he starts to bark, repeat the “quiet” command until he stops and only then give him the treat. Repeat this process several times giving lots of praise throughout As you teach your dog the “quiet” command , you can gradually increase the quiet time from a few seconds to five seconds or more. Then, when he understands the trick, make a game of it. Tell him to "speak” several times, then "quiet”, then "speak" again. Not only is this a great trick but very useful for times when you actually need or want your dog to stop barking for example when the phone rings or if someone comes to the door!

6. Fetch Although you may think this one doesn't really count as a trick, your dog really needs to know this command before he can be taught some of the more advanced tricks that appear later in this guide. Plus, it's a really important trick to master as it means a lot less work for you when you’re out on walks - as you don’t have to run around picking up balls! Usually dogs love chasing balls but if your pet is a little reluctant, you can guide him a little to perform the trick. (a) Take a small ball that your dog can easily hold in his mouth like a tennis ball (or a smaller, rubber ball if that is too big), cut a slit in it and put a couple of treats inside. Show your dog that there are treats in there, and give him one. (b) Then, throw the ball just a little distance away from him and call out ‘fetch’ for your dog to go after it. When your dog goes to get the ball, encourage him to bring it back to you to get another treat. When he returns, do not take the ball away from him immediately -he may not be willing to give it to you anyway! instead bribe him with a treat to drop the ball. At the beginning, even a step towards you should be rewarded. (c) Keep practising, until you gradually increase the distance that you throw the ball and the distance your dog will bring it back to you.

You don't have to put treats in the ball unless your dog shows no intention of wanting to run after the ball at all. The most important thing, is that he gets lots of treats and praise for showing any signs of bringing it back to you or 'fetching' it. If your dog does not make any moves to go after the ball, run with him to get it, then give him a treat. Soon, your dog will learn to go after the ball itself because he wants the treat! When your dog has learnt the “fetch” command, try this trick with other safe objects and toys , so he doesn’t just associate the trick with the ball.

7. Beg It is best to start teaching this trick with your dog sitting in the corner of the room. His back should be against the wall and you should be standing in front of him. This is quite a hard trick for most dogs and starting with the wall behind them will help develop their balance and confidence. (a) Hold a treat just above your dog's head and tell him to “say please”, enticing him to reach his front paws up for the food. As soon as he does, give him the treat and lots of praise. (b) Repeat the above action and command ('say please') several times. When he takes the food give him lots of praise; each time slowly encouraging him to reach higher and waiting a little longer before giving him the treat. (c) Once he has mastered the trick in the corner of the room, you can then start to gradually move away from the wall so your dog is practising the trick with no back support. You must expect at this stage that he will seem to go backwards in his learning. This is to be expected so don’t get frustrated; he needs to build up his balance and skills.

Whilst you are encouraging the dog to reach up for the treat it is important to make sure that he is keeping his haunches on the ground. You can achieve this by moving the food back over his head slightly, making him shift his weight back onto his haunches and teaching him to keep his balance.As I mentioned before, this is quite a difficult trick for your dog, so please be kind to him and only practise it for 5 minutes at a time. You can of course choose a different command to 'say please' but obviously stick to the same one throughout.

8. Wave For this trick, your dog first needs to master the Shaking Hands trick (see trick No. 1). When you are sure your dog will respond to the “shake hands” command, you can then proceed with teaching this trick. (a) Extend your hand in front of your dog as if to shake his paw. Call out “shake hands” for him to lift his paw from the ground. When the dog lifts his paw, do not accept it but pull back your hand slightly and move it slightly higher so that he continues to reach for it. Call out ‘wave’ and give him a treat at that moment. (b) Repeat this step as many times as necessary until your dog learns the command word and trick. As always, accompany the lesson with repeated praise and treats when he gets it right. (c) You may have to tease him a little with your hand so he thinks you are going to shake hands with him. Waving your hand a little may help to get his paw into a waving motion as well. (d) Once the dog has mastered the trick, you can ask him to wave at your friends or neighbours to test his response. You can even get him to wave at the postman, which would certainly make a nice change for him or her I’m sure! Continuously practice the command with him and keep treating and praising him for his response.

At first your dog may not lift his paw very high or not hold it there at all but keep dropping it back down again. However, once he realizes that you're going to give him a treat if he holds it up there, he’ll get it after a while! As always, be patient with your dog and remember with training: little and often is best.

9. Turn Around I think this is one of the simplest tricks to teach and if you haven’t taught your dog any tricks yet this could be the first, or one of the first, you teach him. (a) To teach the trick, you need to hold out a treat for your dog to see but make sure not to give it to him yet. Then lead your dog’s nose around to the left (clockwise) with the treat so he walks in a circle. When he comes back to you praise him and give him the treat. (b) After you have practised this a few times (with breaks in between so your dog doesn’t get dizzy!) and your dog is confident with this step, then hold the treat in front of you so that the dog can see it and say “turn around” but don’t lead the nose. See if he is ready to turn around by himself and get the treat. (c) Once your dog has mastered turning clockwise you can then teach him to turn anticlockwise if you like. You use exactly the same technique but a different command for example “twirl” or alternatively, use “turn right” (instead of turn around) and “turn left” (instead of twirl). The important thing is to decide on one command for each direction and stick to it. Also, make sure your dog has really learnt one direction well before teaching him the second one and don’t keep turning him round and round as he will get dizzy!

10. Take a Bow Method 1 The first method is to capture the behaviour you want naturally. Wait until you see your dog take a big stretch with his head down low (it will nearly always be after waking up) and when he is doing so, say “take a bow”. Keep repeating this every time your dog stretches and give him lots of praise. Eventually, you will be able to give the command “take a bow” and your dog will do the action. Once he does, you know what to do, praise him loads and give him a treat. This method is the simpler method but, depending on the dog, could take quite a while before he catches on, so here is another method which you can use or switch to if necessary...

Method 2 (a) With your dog in a standing position take a treat and hold it just above the floor or on the floor under your dog’s nose. You want to lure your dog’s head down but keep his haunches up. (b) If he tries to lie down, (which he probably will do) then slip one hand under his stomach to keep his rear end up, whilst luring his head down with the treat with your other hand (If you have a particularly big dog, you may need someone else to help you here.) (c) Hold him in that position and say, "take a bow." Keep the treat right by his nose, but don't feed him it yet. Stay there for just a second, release him, and then feed the treat. (d) Gradually extend the time he is bowing by a few more seconds (e) Finally, he should be able to do the trick just by you issuing the command.

11. Roll-over Method 1 (a) Start with your dog lying on his side, then, using a treat to lure him, move your hand above the dog’s head and round to the other side. Your dog should turn his neck and body to follow the treat. (b) Each time you get your dog to move from side to side, you should say ‘roll over’ to get your dog accustomed to the command and, as always, keep praising and petting him throughout the exercise. Make sure he gets up on his four legs after each roll.

Method 2 (a) Alternatively, you can start with your dog lying on his stomach and then come and kneel or crouch beside him. (b) Using a treat, hold it by his nose, and then move it around and behind him, so that he has to lie on his side and then roll over. (c) As always, repeat the command “roll-over” as he is actually doing the action and give him the treat and praise when he is done and back on his feet. Make sure you only do this exercise on a soft surface e.g. carpet or grass to prevent damaging your dog’s back.

Also, being on their back is a very submissive and vulnerable position for any dog and, whilst there are lots of dogs that are perfectly happy with it, there are quite a few that aren’t. If your dog is not happy doing this trick, then don’t force him.

12. Sit Up The sit up trick is a good trick to teach your dog as it can provide the groundwork for many other dog tricks. To train your dog to sit up, prepare some treats so they are nearby and put your dog on his haunches in the corner of a room like you did for trick number five. This is so he won't be able to fall backwards or sideways, nor lose his balance. (a) At the beginning, prevent him falling forwards by holding one hand under his chin and, with the other hand, hold a treat above his nose. Keep repeating the command “sit up.” Do not make him sit up too long at any one time, but repeat the lesson frequently and reward him with lots of praise and treats. During his first lesson he will need a lot of help from you to stop him falling forward. (b) After a while, he will depend less and less upon your hand to keep him in position and you can gradually reduce the assistance you give him. (c) Eventually, you will only have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from his neck or chin, just in case he pitches forward and finally, you can withdraw this hand entirely and simply hold the treat just above the level of his head. (d) Once the above stages have been mastered, he should be able to sit up well after you set him up; then you can gradually progress to setting him up against the wall, so that only his back is supported. (e) After he has mastered that (and this will be after several weeks of practice), he can then progress to chair legs, cushions or other objects that give him less and less support, until finally he learns to keep his balance and sit up without anything to lean against. Obviously, throughout the training you have consistently repeated the command “sit up” so that by the end of your training, you should be able to show your dog a treat, give him the command and he will sit up completely unaided!

13. Go to your Bed/Spot This trick is necessary to get your dog to unwind and have some time alone to himself (and also when you might want some privacy or time alone too!). It will allow your dog to get away from all the attention and relax his tired muscles. You can start teaching him the command by first preparing a comfortable spot for him. It can be his dog bed or a rug. (a) Now say “go to your bed” (or spot/basket if that is the word you have chosen but stick with the same word) and lead your dog to his area. Make him sit there for a while. When he is calm and still, praise and treat him before releasing him. (b) Gradually increase the staying time for your dog, praising and treating him after each time. You can encourage him by giving him a juicy bone to enjoy while he relaxes there. (c) Soon your dog will be accustomed to his bed and your will not need to lead him there at all. After your dog has learnt the trick, he will go there on command but he will also go there by himself when he feels the need to relax and rest.

14. Play Dead The “bang” trick is a fantastic trick to watch and probably the one that will most impress your friends and, if you’re single and down the park, it might even get you a date if you’re really lucky! Again this is a trick which has a verbal and a non-verbal cue. If you can teach your dog to do this properly then, when you raise your fingers to form the shape of a gun and say the word “bang”, he will fall to the ground and remain perfectly still until you give him the cue to move. (a) Firstly, you need to get your dog in the lying down position. If he knows the “down” command then use that, once he is in position praise him and give him a treat. (b) If he doesn’t know the “down” command, gradually lure him into the lying down position, praise him and give him a treat. (IMPORTANT: If your dog doesn’t know the “down” command, don’t choose now to teach him; wait for another time when you’re not teaching him a trick. Also, if you’re dog is already lying down you can start from there but don’t give him a treat until he has finished the treat.) (c) Once your dog is happy lying down, you then gently roll him over on his side keeping his head on the floor, encourage him to stay there for a few seconds then praise and reward him. (d) Keep practising, gradually extending the time that he lies there (obviously don’t leave him lying there for ages!) and introduce a word or phrase such as “OK” or “wake up” which signals he can now get up, praise him lots and give him a treat.

Continued on next page ….

(e) Now start to introduce the word “bang” and the finger gun. First of all use them when your dog is already lying down and say them just before you tell him to get up and praise him etc. (f) Then gradually move it forward so you are using it just as your dog begins to lie

down. (g) Finally, you obviously want to be able to do it before your dog lies down! This trick is evidently more difficult for you and your dog to learn than some others and, depending on your dog, may take up to ten short sessions to learn. However, when he has mastered it, I guarantee it will be worth the effort!

15. Which One? This trick will train your dog to pick out which hand of yours is holding the treat. It’s best to use a fresh treat for this trick such as cheese, sausage, ham etc. rather than a dried treat as your dog will be able to smell this more easily. Also, to start with, it’s a good idea to wear gloves as you might get a bit scratched! (a) Let your dog know that you have some treats, take a treat in one hand and then close both fists and hold them in front of you about six inches apart. (b) Now ask your dog “which one?” Initially, your dog will try to pry with his mouth at the fist holding the treat. Do not open your hand but keep waiting until he uses his paws instead of his mouth. He should do so, if you wait long enough! (c) As soon as he uses his paw (whether it’s the correct hand or not) give him the treat and lots of praise. Keep practising this trick with your dog, only rewarding when he uses his paw not his mouth, remembering to consistently use the command “which one?” throughout. (d) Next, do the same as above but only reward him when he chooses the hand with the treat in (which most of the time he should be choosing anyway)

If your dog does not use his paws and continues to pry with his mouth at the correct hand, let him do it. Your friends will still be amazed by this wonderful trick.

16. Fetch a Beer An advanced but really impressive trick is to teach your dog to go to the fridge, open the door, get out a beer and bring you your drink! To do this trick, it is best if your dog already knows the “Fetch” command (see trick No.6 ) and he also obviously needs to be big enough to reach the lowest shelf of your fridge door. Before you start teaching this trick to your dog, it’s a good idea to buy some foam beer holders as there is a good chance that a few bottles may be dropped at the beginning. Also, it might be a good idea to use empty beer bottles initially, so you don’t waste good beer!

Stage 1: (c) Firstly, hold a beer bottle in front of you, say “fetch a beer” and try to encourage your dog to take it. It will probably take him a while to understand what you want him to do, but when he does take the bottle in his mouth, praise him loads and reward him. (Don’t worry if he only opens his mouth slightly at this stage, as long as there is some contact with his mouth and the bottle that’s ok). Repeat this a few times until he understands what you want and is responding to your command correctly. (d) Next, put the bottle on a low ledge or step and repeat the same command “fetch a beer”. If your dog doesn’t respond, you may have to lift the bottle up or tap it a few times until he gets the idea. Repeat until he is picking up the bottle every time you give the command. Be patient, just this stage may take a few sessions for your dog to master.

Continued on next page ….

Stage 2: (c) Now you need to actually put the beer in your fridge. Obviously, make sure it’s on a low shelf where your dog can reach it. At this stage you are leaving the fridge door

open. (d) Now tell your dog to “fetch a beer” and encourage him to get a beer out of the fridge for you. At this point in the training, don’t stand too far away from the fridge so as to lessen the chance of breakages and to make it easier for your dog. At the beginning, you may have to lift the beer slightly off the shelf and tap it like you did in stage one until your dog gets the message. (e) Keep repeating this stage, until every time you give the command your dog goes to the fridge and gets out a beer. When he does give him lots of reward and praise.

As before, please be patient! Expect breakages and don’t expect too much from your dog. This is an advanced trick and it’s going to take lots of practice. Don’t tire your dog out or keep going until he’s really bored. Keep the training sessions short and fun.

Stage 3: (f) Your dog is now ready to learn the final part of the trick, which is opening the fridge door! Before you start you will need to get a piece of material or a rope, which will be able to be tied to the fridge door. For this example I will talk about a rope but either is fine. (g) First get your dog interested in the rope by playing a game of tug or similar with it.

Continued on next page ….

(h) Tie the rope to the fridge door and, still keeping it in the spirit of a game, try and encourage your dog to pull on it. If he pulls on the rope (even if he doesn’t manage to open the door), praise him but don’t reward him at this stage. (i) Continue to do this until he manages to open the door. As soon as he does so, say the command “fetch a beer”, praise him and reward him. You then need to repeat this stage over and over until he is really confident with it. As mentioned before, this trick is a complicated one for your dog and it is going to take him quite a long time to learn it. If at any step of the process he becomes confused, go back to the previous step and make sure he is confident with that before you proceed to the next. Remember, practice makes perfect, and it will all be worth it to see the looks on your friends’ faces when your dog is bringing you a beer on command!

17. Cross your Paws This trick works well if you want to show your family and friends what a sophisticated dog you have. The “cross your paws” trick is advanced, and your dog may take a while to learn it. Your dog needs to be in the “down” position for this trick. (a) Firstly, you need to teach your dog to touch an object with his paw. Choose something like a china cup, which is quite heavy - the object shouldn’t be able to be pushed over by the dog so that he can reach the treat himself. Hide a treat under it and let your dog see you do it. (b) Give your dog the treat when he tries to scratch the object away to get at it. At this point he can use either paw. (c) When your dog is confident with the above step, next do the same thing but only give him the treat if he touches the object (e.g. cup) with his right paw. (d) Next place the object next to your dog’s left leg so that he has to cross his right paw over his left paw to touch the object and to get the treat. (e) Once your dog has mastered step d, swap the object for something smaller like a piece of paper, keep practising with this smaller object and if at any point your dog gets confused then go back to step c. (f) Finally, you remove the piece of paper and point to the part of the floor where it was, to indicate what you want him to do.

Continued on next page ….

(g) Once you have perfected the right paw, you can then do the left. Once you have done both of them, you can then put them together! There are different ways to do this: some people use a treat and get their dog to follow that with their paws, some advanced dog trainers map out what they want their dog to do with their feet. They do this by standing facing their dogs and get their dog to mirror with his paws what they’re doing with their feet e.g. when the trainer crosses her left leg in front of her right her dog crosses his right paw in front of his left and vice versa. As I mentioned before this is an advanced trick and some really experienced dog trainers can struggle with training their dogs to achieve it. Sometimes they can get part of the way but not all of the way. It really depends on the dog. What some have found helpful is to have a different object for when they are teaching their dog to cross their right paw over than for the left paw e.g. a cup for the right paw and a saucer for the left paw. Sounds strange I know but this often works!

18. Cover your Eyes This can also be quite a difficult trick for your dog to learn but well worth the effort if he can, as it looks so cute! There are several different methods that can be used to teach this to your dog. Here are two; it’s just a case of finding what works best for your dog.

Method 1 This is the easiest and kindest method so try this one first. Your dog needs to be in the ‘down’ position for this trick’ (a) Firstly, support your dog’s face with one hand and gently tickle his muzzle with the other hand. You can do this by gently rubbing your hand over his muzzle quickly and roughing it up a bit. Do not pinch or be overly rough with him. Be gentle. This sensation should make his nose tickle and make him want to swipe at his face. (b) Let his head go and allow him to cover his muzzle. As soon as his paw touches his muzzle, even if it’s just for a split second, praise and reward him. At the beginning he isn’t going to hold his paw there but he’ll just swipe at it. (c) Once your dog begins to understand that he’s being rewarded for covering his muzzle with his paw you can begin to slowly extend the time he stays in that position. As soon as he paws at his muzzle tell him to “stay”. Only ask him to stay in that position for a few seconds at a time and give him loads of treats and praise when he does. (d) Gradually build up the amount of time he stays in this position over the course of a few weeks. Once he is beginning to hold this position for longer periods of time, than slowly begin phasing out tickling his nose altogether and add the command “cover” or “cover your eyes”. Continued on next page ….

Method 2 (a) As in method 1 your dog should also be in the ‘down’ position for this trick’ Place a piece of sticky tape on your dog’s muzzle (you may have to experiment with putting it in slightly different positions) and when your dog tries to swipe it away with his paw praise him and treat him. (b) Again gradually build up the amount of time he has his paws on his muzzle using the word “stay” and giving him lots of praise and treats. (c) As in method 1, gradually phase in the command “cover” or “cover your eyes” and phase out the sticky tape altogether. If neither of these techniques work then you could try spraying water very gently on his eyes with a spray bottle. Another option is if your dog has a halti collar or head collar you can put something soft like a leaf or a piece of grass in the headband, which may annoy him and he could try and swipe out the way. However, if your dog has never worn a head collar, or does not like wearing a head collar normally do not use one on him for the purposes of this trick; he needs to be introduced to waring one very gradually and to build up a positive association with it!

19. Shut the Door! Although this trick can be taught to all dog breeds you obviously need to consider the size of your dog and how heavy or large your door is. A small toy breed is not going to be able to open a heavy oak door for example! For teaching this trick, you need a door which swings open easily and you need to create a makeshift hook of some sort on the door. Your dog needs to just reach it by standing on his hind legs and resting his front paws on the door. If the door handle is at this height, then you’re in luck, if not, you need to stick on or hammer in a hook. It’s no good if your dog can reach the treat without going up on his hind legs as then he won’t push the door at all! (a) Open the door a few inches, place a small treat on the hook and make sure your dog sees it, then say "shut the door." When he reaches for the treat your dog will place his paws on the door and this should close it. Closing the door will mean the treat falls to the floor, he should then be allowed to eat it and be given lots of praise. (b) After he has done this a few times you can then make it more difficult by placing the treat in position while he is in another room. Then, you should call him in and say "shut the door," directing him towards it if necessary. If he does not move towards it, show him the treat and encourage him to get it. In time he will understand the order and will close any door that is shown to him. (c) Finally, you need to teach him to close the door without there being any reward in sight. However, after he shuts it in response to your command “shut the door” you then give him his treat. In the first lessons you don’t need to worry about having the door closed tight, but as he gets better at the trick, insist that its closed properly before any reward is given (again depending on the weight of the door and if it’s within the dogs capabilities.) Continued on next page ….

TIP: Open the Door Your dog can easily be taught to open swinging doors, but opening fastened doors is much more difficult, and is really only possible with doors that have very simple latches.

To teach a dog to open a swinging door, bring him over to the door and push it open at the bottom. Do this a few times a day for several days, then go through the door, closing it after you, and leave your dog on the other side. Then call him and he will soon learn to push the door open in order to reach you.

To teach a dog to open a latch, hold the dog up to it, push it back with his paw and say "open door" to associate this trick with this command. Continue to give him practice in this way until he pushes it back without your assistance.

20. Teaching your Dog to Read! OK, I'll admit it...you won’t be able to teach your dog to read a book like the dog on the cover of this guide! However, you will be able to teach him to recognise a few words and it’s not as complicated for him to learn as you might think. First of all, you will need to make some flash cards. Use a big piece of paper or card (A3 size is best) and write on it the first word you want to teach your dog in large, clear, capital letters e.g. SIT or DOWN. It must be a command that your dog already knows. (a) With your dog standing in front of you, hold the card in one hand behind your back and a treat in your other hand. (b) Show your dog the card with word on it and then a split second after he sees the card SAY the word which is written on it. Your dog should SEE the card first but don’t wait too long before SAYING the word. It is also best not to look at your dog but to look down at the card. (c) Hold the card very still and make sure your fingers aren’t covering the word at all. Then wait... (d) When your dog performs the action you are looking for, say “good boy!” hide the card behind your back and then give him his treat and lots of praise. (e) Repeat steps 1 to 3 four more times.

If your dog doesn’t perform the action, then repeat the command a few more times whilst holding the card until he does it (but try not to give any eye contact).

Continued on next page ….

(f) On the fifth repeat, if your dog is responding well to your verbal command, you can now try holding the card without saying the word. However, if your dog gets confused, you may have to continue with saying the word for a bit longer. (g) Keep practising for a few minutes each day, until your dog is just responding to the word on the card alone. Once he is, you can move on to other words. This is one of the best tricks you can teach your dog; it’s fun to do and when you have built up to a few words and people see it, they think it’s one impressive dog trick!

A Last Word I really hope you enjoy teaching your dog(s) these tricks and remember with training, little and often is best. Also, please be patient as all dogs learn at different paces. One of my dogs, Sweep (on the right in photo below) learns really fast but the other one (Toby) is much slower and a lot more stubborn. He usually has to be bribed with his favourite treat -ham- before he'll attempt anything! Also, remember to look out for the first of your training guides, which will arrive in your inbox next week. Week one is all about how to stop unwanted barking, a big problem for a lot of dog owners. Until then, have fun with your dog and good luck with your training! Best wishes, Laura.