Fun things you can teach your pet

When you are looking to interact with your pet in other ways, you can teach them fun tricks or games as well. Pets learn faster if they are having fun and it keeps them from getting bored wth the same old obedience routines. Often, if you identify what your pet already has an aptitude for, you can develop on that. Does your pet use his/her eyes or his/her nose more? And when I say PET I mean that cats can often learn to do many of these things too, it just usually takes more time and practice to convince a cat that this really IS fun! Below are some ideas to get you started:


Names of family members/pets: "Where's ________? Go find ________!"

Find it - teach a "sit" and "wait" while you go hide the item, then come back and release with, "OK! Go Find _____!" Start with the item close - even in the same room, and help her.

Find a person - teach a "sit" and "wait" while someone hides, and release with, "OK! Go find ______!" Or, if the person you want your dog to find is YOU, then, after you have hidden, call your dog! (your dog may need help in "waiting", at first, with another person holding her.

Hide & Seek

Catch - start with popcorn first, because it is light

Frisbee - start with dog close, first

Pick up your toys (and put them away!)

Walk between legs while you are walking (weaving in and out) - just one of the many Freestyle moves you can teach your dog!

Jump through a hula-hoop

Tricks: Give me 5
            roll over
            sit up
           play dead ("bang!")
           treat on nose
           speak
           high 5
"Touch" - teach touch with his nose. "Touch" the palm of my hand, "touch" the tip of a stick - this is the start of "target training".

You can make obstacles and create an "agility" course with things found around most homes: broomstick on the rungs of 2 chairs to create a jump, weave in and out of dowels stuck in the ground (about 18" apart) or ski poles, pause "box" with an old rug, jump through an old tire (the original agility tire jump!), kids' play tunnels can be found at toy stores...

Unroll a small rug. Roll it up and put a soft treat in the last couple of *rolls*. as your pet gets better at unrolling the blanket or rug to find the treat. Bury it deeper into the rolls until your pet can completely unroll the blanket or rug. They *find* their own reward by unrolling it!

Wave *bye bye*. Once you have taught your pet to "shake hands", you can utilize that for teaching them this trick. Hold a treat where they can see it and move your OTHER hand in a waving motion in front of their body. They will see this as *shake* and give you their foot. Keep waving your hand up and down until their foot follows your hand, then tell them GOOD BOY (or girl) and give them the treat. After practicing this several times they shyoudl start to *wave* their foot for you when given the command WAVE BYE BYE.