Some of our favorite tricks!

I have a meeting this evening with the kennel and obedience club that I belong to, so we just had a short "work" session focusing on some fun tricks. Here are a couple that are great as "crowd pleasers".

"Put your head down" in tandem

"Right paw" and "Left paw"

"Take a bow"

"Cross your paws"

And doubling it up ... "Put your head down" while "Crossing your paws"

Teaching fun little tricks is a great way to bond with your dog! They are fun, quick and rewarding for both of you. Teaching tricks also teaches the dog how to use their brain, differentiate between commands, and think about what they are doing ... all the time while having fun and getting lots of treats. While taking pictures of the various tricks, it also helps the dogs work on their "stays" and "waits", adding duration to a trick by requiring that they hold that position until released rather than just giving one quick movement in order to get a treat.

The boys love playing their trick games, and after a fast and furious session of 10-15 minutes, they are completely tired out mentally. We all know the importance of physical exercise for our dogs, but we can't forget about mental exercise as well. Dogs are very intelligent, and many breeds (herding, working, sporting, guarding, terrier breeds) have been bred for decades, and in some cases centuries, to work and perform a task every day. Our breeds have changed a lot over the years, but that instinct and drive to work is still there. So many small behavioral problems can be solved by simply "working" your dog on a daily basis. It doesn't need to be for hours on end or be something where you have to leave the house. But even working on fun and silly tricks for 10 minutes a couple of times a day can be enough for some dogs. And who knows, you might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it to the extent that you want to pursue an extracurricular activity with your dogs!