Have you ever had friends, family or dinner guests over and ended the night with a demonstration of Fido’s awesome sit, down, sta,y and shake skills? Have you ever watched those trick dog commercials or TV shows with the pup that knows how to grab a drink from the fridge and wished that your pooch could perform even half as well?
Tricks are great ways to get in some quality time with your canine companion. In addition to having fun, teaching tricks also requires basic obedience training and helps further your dog’s ability to learn overall, making them both an entertaining and useful companion. One of our favorite tricks involves the look of “shame” a dog will give. A handy behavior to roll out when your spouse asks who ate the last of the mozzarella, training your dog to act ashamed is easier than you think. In fact, we have several different methods to choose from to get your dog up and running.
Teaching your dog any advanced trick will require a solid foundation in basic behaviors in order to set them up for success. Your dog should start with critical manners and behavioral training such as sit, down, and stay, before graduating on to learning fun chores. Just because a behavior is cute or entertaining, though, doesn’t mean it isn’t useful to your dog’s long-term health and well-being. Each task your dog learns teaches them how to build on previous tasks and makes it easier for them to pick up skills later down the line. It’s also important to remember that it’s easier to start dogs out young when it comes to basic behaviors, but that dogs of any age can certainly learn new tricks.
Before you begin teaching your dog how to act ashamed, you are going to need a few basic training items. A flat buckle collar is an essential training tool, no matter the task, as well as a long leash if your dog has a short attention span or if you’ll be practicing in an outdoors area. A treat bag that attaches to your waistband or pocket makes it easy to grab that cookie or treat as a reward for acing a behavior. Treats are an essential part of any positive training regimen. You should gather a selection of treats in varying levels of value. Dry dog cookies, hot dog slices, chunked cheese and cooked steak pieces are a good example of variety that will keep your dog guessing and provide alternating rewards for reinforcing positive behavior.