How to Train a Pekingese Easy Dog Tricks

How to Train a Pekingese Easy Dog Tricks
Easy difficulty iconEasy
Time icon1-6 Days
Fun training category iconFun

Introduction

With such an adorable face and plenty of personality, your Pekingese deserves some of the spotlight! If you take some time to train your Pekingese some easy dog tricks, you will find that she is the star of the show everywhere you go. Plus, you will enjoy the benefits of spending time working with your dog to strengthen your bond and give her the building blocks to learn other behaviors.

However, as you may already know, these independent dogs can be a little tricky to train. No one really knows if this breed tends to be stubborn and willful because they are smarter than the average dog, or if they are just plain independent. Either way, it will take some patience and consistency to teach her new tricks. The best strategy? Keep things fun and rewarding.  

This guide will give you some basic training tips along with specific instructions on how to teach 3 cute and easy tricks: 'Spin', 'Play Dead' and 'Sass'. Our methods focus on using rewards as a way to motivate your Pekingese to learn. 

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Defining Tasks

Some tips to make sure your Pekingese will stay tuned to learn these easy dog tricks:

Keep your sessions very short. 

If your dog gets bored before you are done training, then she will be less interested in paying attention for the next session. 10-20 minutes is a good starting point.

Use high-value food motivators. 

To really keep his interest, use food that he really likes. It is okay to just use his regular kibble (taking some of his daily rations for the purpose) but be sure to add something extra tasty like tiny bits of cheese or hot dog to keep him engaged.

Success is your job. 

Your Pekingese already knows she is the bomb. If your training sessions feel like the praise and reward she knows she deserves, then she will look forward to training time. Make sure to set the bar for rewards at a level that results in quick rewards, moving it towards your end goal only as she is ready. 

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Getting Started

A few training basics will help you prepare to train tricks--or anything else, for that matter!

Consider a clicker. 

You may have seen this small and inexpensive piece of gear at the pet store. A clicker makes a sharp sound when squeezed. The purpose is to mark behavior you like the instant it occurs, followed, when you can, by a pea-sized food reward. It helps make quick work of training behaviors, particularly those centered on body movements such as the easy tricks in this guide. If you do not have a clicker, use a special sound such as a whistle to “mark” the right behavior the instant it happens and always follow up with a treat.

Fade food rewards after behavior is learned

It is a myth about positive training methods that your dog will be dependent on food motivators for life. In fact, once your girl learns a trick and has it down pat, you can switch to nonfood motivators like praise, access to a favorite toy, or playful petting. Every now and then, surprise her with a big food reward for a trick well done and you will find she continues to perform at her best. 

Start in a low distraction space. 

It is always best to get a behavior just where you want it when your dog is not distracted by other smells, sounds, people or dogs. After she has the basics down, be sure to practice her tricks in new places and around unfamiliar faces to fully ingrain the behaviors.  

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The Spin Method

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1

Lure

With a small piece of food between your fingers, tempt your dog. Once she knows you have it, lead her nose around in a circle.

2

Reward

When she gets to a full circle, click (or make your marking sound) then give her the reward. Repeat 5 times.

3

Fade the lure

Do the same motion, but without the treat in your fingers. She will probably still follow you around in the circle. Click/treat for success. Repeat 5 times.

4

Repeat

Continue to repeat the above step but try to abbreviate the motion each repetition. Over the course of the next 20 repeats or so (over the course of a few training sessions) you want to abbreviate your hand motion until it is just a finger going around in a circle.

5

Add verbal cue

You can add any verbal cue you want, just wait until he is giving you the trick you want from the hand signal. Simply start saying the cue at the same time as you give the hand signal. Soon your Pekingese will do the trick on either command.

The Play Dead Method

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Starting position

Start with your Pekingese in the 'down' position. Hold a treat in your left hand while making the gun hand signal with your right.

2

Bang!

Say “Bang!” (or whatever you want your verbal command to be) and then gently push her onto her side with your right finger. As soon as she yields, even a little bit, click/reward.

3

Repeat

Repeat the last step 10-20 times. Over the course of the repetitions, move your left hand farther away until you are reaching for the reward only after you get the behavior.

4

Hand signal

In addition, try to make your right hand signal “smaller” as soon as your pup seems to get the idea and starts to volunteer the behavior.

5

Practice

Practice this trick over the course of several sessions, 10-20 repetitions each. As your dog expects to get a reward, start adding a pause before rewarding, letting her give you even more of a “belly up” look before click/treating. This is called “raising your criteria” and will begin to “shape” the behavior to the final look you want.

The Sass Method

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Trigger the bark

There are few tricks cuter than teaching your Pekingese this easy trick--to speak on command. Before you get started, pay attention to ways that you might trigger her to bark. If there are known triggers for a bark, take advantage of those to get the bark on command.

2

Reward

Do what it takes to get your Pekingese to bark – usually you can get a bark by getting excited or barking at her. Once she barks, click/reward.

3

Repeat

Quickly repeat the trigger to try to get another bark. Immediately click/reward and repeat 10 times.

4

Add the verbal cue

Add the verbal cue with the trigger so that she will bark after the cue. “Are you sassy?” is an example of one possible cue to consider.

5

On command

Once you have the bark on command stop rewarding any barks that were not asked for.

Written by Sharon Elber

Veterinary reviewed by:

Published: 03/15/2018, edited: 01/08/2021

Training Questions

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Training Questions and Answers

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Chico

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Pekingese

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2 Months

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Question

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How am I supposed to tell him where is his personal bathroom

June 17, 2020

Chico's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1133 Dog owners recommended

Hello Zaitoon, You will need to take pup to the potty every hour while he is still learning. Tell pup to "Go Potty" and walk him around his potty area slowly on leash to help him focus - the movement should help get things going to. If he goes potty, praise him and give a treat. Repeat this every hour. When his bladder is not completely empty, he does not go potty when you take him out, or you cannot supervise pup, crate him. If he is crated because he didn't go potty when you took him, bring him out of the crate after 30 minutes and take him back to his potty area to try again. Repeat the crating and potty trips, until he goes potty - at which point you can give 45 minutes of freedom while his bladder is empty. Check out the Crate Training method linked below for more details on outdoor potty training. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Check out the Crate Training or Exercise Pen methods for potty training with an indoor potty - like a litter box, grass pad, or pee pad: https://wagwalking.com/training/litter-box-train-a-chihuahua-puppy Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 18, 2020

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Lolly Lolly

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Peckinese

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4 Years

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Question

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My Lolly Lolly barks too much. What can I do? I understand that she will bark but is there a command I can give that signals her to QUIT the greeting/guarding/playful barking to just 4/5 barks? Kindest Regards, Rachel Claudia Mc

April 13, 2020

Lolly Lolly's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1133 Dog owners recommended

Hello Claudi, Check out the article linked below. Follow the Quiet method - for stopping barking, and the Desensitization method - for decreasing overall barking toward certain things she is hyper aware of in general. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark If pup is struggling with barking overall, checkout Kikopup on YouTube. She has a number of barking videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlZmJlllP7Y&list=PLXtcKXk-QWojGYcl1NCg5UA5geEnmpx4a Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

April 13, 2020


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