5 cute and useful tricks to train your dog
Trick training is an amazing way to keep your dog’s brain active, entertain them when you can’t walk them and build your bond with your dog. And as a bonus you can show off how cute and clever your dog is to all your friends. There are an almost endless list of tricks you could teach your dog so you’ll always find a trick that suits you and your dog’s skills and personalities.
While trick training can just be for fun (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that), some tricks can teach your dog useful skills to make both of your lives easier. There are 5 super cute and super useful tricks that are also super easy to teach. So if you’re keen to teach your dog some tricks these would be great ones to start with…
1. Paw
Paw is the first trick most people teach their dog because it’s adorable. But it can also be very useful for keeping your dog’s paws healthy. Getting your dog to put their paw on your hand means you can look at and feel those paws. You can easily trim your dog’s nails and any excess fur around their toes when their paw is in your hand. And you’ll be able to feel between their toes to check if they’ve got any grass seeds, stones or sticks stuck and remove them.
2. Spin
Watching your dog spinning in a circle is so cute. But spin is also super useful to help you keep your dog and your home clean. No-one likes muddy pawprints over their house. Luckily you can train your dog to wipe their own feet. When you come home from a muddy walk (or after you’ve given your dog a bath), put down a towel in front of your dog and ask them to spin on it. Your dog gets to have fun practising their trick, their paws get wiped down and you get clean floors with no stress. Win-win.
3. Touch
Touch is when your dog touches their nose to your hand and it’s one of my favourite tricks for teaching recall. Some dogs think ‘come’ means ‘come and stand 5 metres away from me’ which isn’t super helpful when you need to get your dog back on their lead. But if your dog is pressing their nose against your hand they have to be close enough that you could hold onto their collar or harness and clip their lead on. Moving your hand around so your dog has to find it to touch can be a really fun game - especially if you hold your hand higher so your dog jumps up to touch it. Touch is also a great way to move your dog away from something without having to pick them up or drag them on their lead. You could use touch to ask your dog to get off the sofa or to step away from the hob while someone’s cooking.
4. Middle
Middle is another great trick for recall. Your dog stands or sits between your legs which again, is super useful for getting your dog close enough to put their lead on. You can also throw a treat forward for your dog to chase when they get to middle, which turns the trick into a fun recall game. Middle’s also an awesome trick for keeping dogs safe in busy situations. You could ask your dog to go to middle and wait there while a person, dog, bike or car passes you or when you’re on a bus or train so they’re out of the way and don’t get stepped on.
5. Chin target
One of the most adorable things you can teach your dog is to put their chin on a box, a chair or your thigh. But a chin target can also be really useful when grooming your dog or checking them over to make sure they’re healthy. You can teach your dog to put their chin on something and stand still to say they’re consenting to any handling. And if they lift their chin off the object they’re communicating to you they’re feeling a bit stressed and need a break. Consent-based grooming and handling is really important for reducing your dog’s stress during these procedures. And ultimately will make it easier for you to groom them and check them over - improving your dog’s health and welfare.
Need more support with your dog’s trick training?
You can get personalised support to teach your dog lots of cute (and sometimes useful) tricks with the Your Happy Trickster 1-2-1 trick training programme.