Tricks help your dog to learn. If your dog can learn tricks, then it can learn obedience and good manners. Go ahead…have some fun and teach your dog a new trick!

The best way to teach your dog a trick, is to make it fun. Use praise and small treats to reward your dog.
Practice new tricks only a few minutes at a time. You never want your dog to get bored when learning new things.

Shake Hands
Start by having your dog sit. Say, “Shake hands,” and take his paw with your hand. Hold his paw and say, “Good dog!” Let go of his paw. Do this a few times every day.
TIP:
After a while, say, “Shake hands,” but don’t take his paw. See if he raises his paw by himself. If not, keep showing him what to do by saying, “Shake hands,” and taking his paw with your hand. Your dog is not slow; he is just learning!

Turn Around or Turn Left
Start by having your dog stand up facing you. Let your dog see a treat in your hand. Stand still and say, “Turn around”. Lead the dog’s nose around to the left (clockwise) with the treat so he walks in a circle. When he comes back to where he’s facing you again, say, “Good dog!” and give him the treat.
TIP:
After some practice, hold the treat in front of you so your dog can see it and say, “Turn around,” but don’t lead his nose. See if he is ready to turn around by himself and get the treat. Pretty soon, he will turn around faster than you can say ‘Lassie!”
If you choose to use the words, “Turn Left”, use them all the time. Don’t use “Turn around” sometimes, and “Turn Left” other times. Be consistent.

Twirl or Turn Right
“Twirl” is the same trick as “Turn Around” (see above), but this time your dog turns to the right (counterclockwise), instead of to the left.
Start by having your dog stand up facing you. Stand still and say, “Twirl”. Lead the dog’s nose around to the right with the treat so he walks in a circle. When he comes back to where he’s facing you again, say, “Good dog!” and give him the treat.
If you choose to use the words, “Turn Right”, use them all the time. Don’t use “Twirl” sometimes, and “Turn Right” other times. Be consistent.

TIP:
After your dog has learned “Turn Around” (or Turn Left) and “Twirl” (or Turn Right), you can put them together and have your dog look really smart. First have your dog “Turn Around” (turn to the left), and then say “Twirl” (turn to the right). Be careful, though, don’t get your dog dizzy!
Be sure to teach Turn Around and Twirl separately. Wait until your dog has learned the first one very well.

Crawl
Start by having your dog lie down. Hold a treat just in front of his nose and say, “Crawl.” If he starts to stand up, say, “No, down…crawl.” Pull the treat away, keeping it low, near the ground and say, “Craaawl.” When your dog moves even an inch or two without standing up, praise him and say, “Good dog! Craaawl.”

TIP:
Your dog must know ‘Down’ ‘ before he can learn this trick.

Speak
Choose a game that your dog loves to play, like catch with a ball, or hide and seek 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”.

TIP:
You can’t make a dog bark, but you can get him happy and excited so he wants to bark. After a while, your dog will bark when you say, “Speak.”
Caution! If you have a dog that already causes trouble because of his barking, you might not want to encourage this behavior. If you decide it’s ok to teach it, be sure to teach “Quiet”, too.

Take a Nap
Have your dog lie down on his tummy. As you gently roll him over on his side, say, “Take a nap.” While he is lying on his side, keeping his head on the floor, say, “Take a nap.” Don’t give him a treat. Encourage him to stay there for a couple of seconds. Then say, “Ok” or “Wake up!”, let him stand up, and give him his reward.

TIP:
You can use the treat to lure your dog into a lying down position. Don’t give your a dog a reward while he is lying down. Give him a treat after he has completed the trick.

Fetch is a game we take for granted. Yet fetch is the most perfect of all dog games. It’s easy to learn. It’s easy to do. Fetch is great exercise for your dog (even exercise for you, if you walk or jog to a park to play). Most important, fetch is all about give and take (quite literally); you and your pup are working in tandem.

You know the drill: You throw the ball, your dog brings it back. You throw the ball, your dog brings it back. You throw the ball… But what do you do when your dog seems completely unfamiliar with the game of fetch, when all those other dogs seem to know instinctively how to play?

Although some breeds do have a natural instinct to play fetch—especially retrievers bred through the ages to fetch things, and herding dogs who have a sharp eye for objects wandering away from the flock—not every dog comes pre-programmed with this behavior. Why, some dogs seem to be thinking, would you throw something across the yard just so I have to run all the way over there and get it? And if I do, will you promise not to do that again?

But playing fetch can be fun for you and training your dog. It’s also a great way for dogs to get their important daily dose of exercise.

Assess your dog’s Fetch I.Q.

Find a toy he really likes. Wave it in front of his face to get his interest. Toss it a few feet away and say, “Fetch!”  What does he do?

If he runs to the toy, picks it up, and brings it back, congratulations. Your dog knows how to fetch. Go play!

If your dog doesn’t seem to have any fetch instinct, the first step is to teach him that he’ll be rewarded for paying attention to the object you want him to fetch. (For this guide, we’ll say you’re teaching him with a ball. It may be another toy or a retrieving dummy.) Stock up on your dog’s favorite treats. Hold the ball out to your dog. If he sniffs it, praise him and give him a treat. Repeat this several times. Then, put the ball on the floor and say “Fetch.”  If your dog sniffs it or picks it up, praise him and give him a treat. Keep practicing until he understands that he has to sniff or pick up the ball to get the treat.

Now it’s time to teach your dog to pick up the ball. Wave the ball around in the air to make it more enticing. As soon as he takes it in his mouth, praise him. If he won’t take the ball, try smearing it with a little peanut butter or meat paste. When he reliably takes the ball in his mouth.

Now, you need to motivate your dog to give back the ball. Get your dog to take the ball. Praise him, then offer a treat. He’ll have to drop the ball to get the treat, so be sure you are there to take it. Praise him. Practice this a few times. When he reliably takes the toy then drops it for the treat.
If your dog isn’t very interested in treats, you can also use two balls and entice him to drop one ball for the other.

Now you are ready to try a small-scale fetch. Show your dog the ball. Toss the ball a few feet away from you and say “Fetch!” If he doesn’t go to the ball, try throwing it closer, or handing it to him again. When he does go to the ball, call him back to you, treat in hand, and trade treat for toy. Repeat, throwing the ball a little bit farther each time. Before you know it, you and your dog are playing fetch…just like all those other dogs!

Every dog is different, motivated by different things and tempted by different variations of the game, but for many dogs, there will be a point during this dog training exercise when they suddenly understand what playing fetch is all about. At this point, the game is its own reward and you can save the treats for teaching your dog the rules for the next fun game.

What are the benefits?

When you acquire a new puppy, what you do, or don’t do, can make a huge difference in the way the puppy turns out. Confident and happy adult dogs don’t just happen but are the product of good decisions and correct treatment from birth. When pups are young, they learn so much and what is learned has a lasting impact. Though the pup has a fairly short attention span, what things he learns are learned permanently and resistant to change. They learn to be submissive to your leadership and begin to learn what behaviors are acceptable.

What to do?

The puppy is dependent upon the correct environment and influences for its development. If the pup cries outside the bedroom for attention at night, whether in a crate or not, give it some attention, as you would a small child. Don’t ignore its cries. The pup is just upset from the separation of the door. You don’t have to pick it up or pet it, just let it know you are there for it and everything’s okay. The less attention you give a pup growing up the needier it becomes when mature the more attention you can give a pup as it is growing up, the more independent it will become.

You must help the puppy to make the transition into the human environment. To become acceptable companions, they need to interact with you, your family, and other people and dogs. Try to expose your puppy to a variety of new environments and situations.

Deny benefits such as a treat as a consequence for any deliberate misbehavior. What he does now is what he will likely do later. So, don’t allow your puppy to do things which will be unacceptable when he becomes a dog.

What not to do?

Physical punishment teaches a dog nothing, except how to avoid the punishment. It is far more effective, to teach the pup what to do rather than punish it for something it has done. Yelling and making constant threats about it is not an effective way of going about an issue.

Some dog owners believe that puppies outgrow their problems. The truth is, they actually grow into them. Little problems grow up to be big bad habits if they are not addressed. And then of course, the problems are much more difficult to resolve.

What’s this rivalry all about?

Dogs that haven’t been raised with cats usually see them not as friends, but as prey. Cats that are unfamiliar with dogs are usually afraid and intimidated by them. They are two different animals with two different distinctive personalities. Be aware that nature designed canines to be predators.

How do you make a proper introduction?

Feed both your dog and the cat before the introduction. They’ll be less territorial on a full stomach. Keep a firm grip on your dog’s leash, which will provide him with a sense of security and im sure will make the cat feel much better about the situation. If your dog seems aggressive, immediately remove the cat and try again later. You don’t want to force the situation by pushing them together before your dog is ready. Small treats increase your dog’s motivation to perform, which will be necessary in the presence of such a strong distraction as a new cat. Take a few minutes every day to give your dog this carefully supervised attention.

Will it be safe to leave them alone together?

Some dogs learn quicker than others. It may take your dog weeks maybe even months to become trustworthy around cats. Until you’re sure the dog will remember his training, never leave them alone together until you are certain that they are comfortable with each other. If you walk away while they are still investigating each other, you may regret what you find when you return.

What if the cat is the instigator?

Cats will generally rotate their schedules to accommodate the presence of a dog. If the cat teases your dog as the dog goes by, allow your dog to chase the cat around a bit. Learning is most definitely a two-way street. The cat needs to learn not to provoke the dog, just as the dog needs to learn not to provoke the cat. It may be necessary to give separate attention to each of them.

The Bottom Line:

Make your life less stressful and plan carefully when looking for a new cat to get along with your dog. Your best shot at them coexisting is to get your dog and cat when they’re both young. When they grow up together from the get go, they are much more likely to get along, and they may even become close pals.