Top 5 Easiest Dog Tricks!

Everyone has their own top 5 dog tricks but what are the top 5, easiest dog tricks. These tricks are the easiest to teach any dog regardless of age, size, and breed. People may say “my dog is un-trainable”; We say that’s not quite true.

You just need to find the best way to work with your dog and go from there; the best way to encourage dogs to enjoy training sessions is teaching these tricks. It’s fun, gets their minds working and builds a stronger bond between the owner and canine; give it ago, you will be surprised with what your dog will be able to accomplish with just some fun!

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1. Shaking paw

This is probably one of the first tricks I have ever taught any dog; and who doesn’t want to shake their dog’s paw!

It’s a simple step by step procedure:

First, when your dog’s sitting. Pick up their paw in your hand and as you do say out loud your cue for this trick; it can be “paw” or “shake” – a simple one word cue.

Second, once you have completed the “picking up the paw”. Give it a small shake while saying your cue, then let it go and reward; do this a few times.

Third, we want to see if your dog has made the connection between “picking up the paw” and your cue; to do so- gently tap the back of your dog’s paw and see if they lift it slightly; If your dog picks up his paw, shake it while saying your cue and give your dog a reward immediately afterwards.

Fourth, continue the third procedure while slowly providing less and less guidance i.e. “picking up the paw”. Soon you should be able to hold your hand out low whilst saying your cue and your dog will offer you his paw; some dogs take longer than others so all you need then is a bit of patience.

Just keep your steps small, so that it is easy for your dog to achieve; remember, finish on a positive note. And that’s it, too easy!

2. Wave

This one is really easy; it is just a continuation of the shaking paw trick.

Start off offering your hand out as if to shake your dog’s paw, but do not use your word cue for shaking the paw. As he brings out his paw to be shake, move your hand away and do a small “wave” while saying your cue “wave”. Once done give your dog a reward immediately afterwards and continue to practice.

As you progress with practicing this trick your dog will gradually become more confident in moving his paw in a ‘wave’ shape and you should start being able to making a ‘wave’ movement with your hand, instead of offering to shake and then moving to a wave. This one should be easier for your dog to pick up. To see how well he has picked it up, do a small wave with the cue and he should lift up his paw and put it back down.

Remember to keep the sessions short and finish on a positive note!

3. Spin

Now this one can be a lot of fun. Out of my two, I had one do it as part of his behavior who’s behaviour I trained to associate with a cue. My other dog had it taught to her, now they both do it!

To start with, using a lure (a lure can be a yummy treat, toy or something they will happy follow) have them in the standing positing, then using the lure have their head follow it to their bum and move in a tight circle while using the cue “spin”. On the completion of a full circle, give your dog a reward immediately afterwards and continue to practice.

Once you feel your dog is making progress, it is time to start removing the lure. To do so practice the trick a couple of times in a row with while every now and then removing the lure.

Once they start picking this up start asking for it without the lure, use the cue as well as your hand to guide them to complete the circle; remember to reward your dog on the completion of the circle without the use of a lure.

The next step is gradually removing your hand guide. Do this by making circle motions above your dog’s head with your hand, each circuit with your hand gradually further away from your dog. Remember to use your cue ‘spin’ each time you signal the trick with your hand.

If your dog is struggling, take a few steps back as they may not be at the stage to complete the trick without the lure, or without your hand guiding them, but they will get there! Remember to be patient, keep the sessions small and finish on a positive note.

4. Crawl

Who wouldn’t want their dog to commando crawl on command!

To begin with have your dog in the drop position, using a lure (a lure can be a yummy treat, toy or something they will happily follow) and with your hand placed on your dog’s shoulders move the lure forward along the ground a small distance until they make a low forward motion, say the cue ‘crawl’ and reward immediately afterwards and continue to practice.

You will find your dog is going to want to stand to follow the lure which is why you place your hand on the shoulder for guidance. Not too hard, you will need to just practice your dog making a forward motion along the ground without getting up before taking the next step.

Remember baby steps, rewarding steps in the right direction, keeping the session short and finishing on a positive note. They will naturally want to stand up to follow the treat so just be patient, they will get there!

Once you successfully have them moving all four legs while staying low to the ground, gradually start reducing the need for your hand on the shoulders. First off start by reducing the pressure but still have it ready if they go to stand; shortly you should be able to start to remove the hand completely.

Then it’s time to remove the lure and use hand and cue only; to do so, every second or third time ask for the trick along with the cue and reward your dog for completing it without the lure. Keep practicing while slowly removing the lure more and more, and there you go, your dog can now crawl on cue. To make things interesting start increasing the distance asked to crawl.

If your dog is struggling, take a few steps back as they may not be at the stage to complete the trick without the lure or without your hand guiding them, but they will get there! Remember to be patient, keep the sessions small and finish on a positive note.

5. Roll over

This is a fun one!

To begin with have your dog in a drop again and using a lure (a lure can be a yummy treat, toy or something they will happy follow) guide his head to his shoulders; this is this first baby step of this trick, you may need to use a hand on their shoulders if they want to stand up. Continue to do this until they start laying on their side to follow the lure. Once they get to this stage you are half way there!

Again continue using the lure to direct their head, while using your hand to keep them from getting up because they feel that their head needs to go past their shoulder. They should start moving their body with their head and start making the motion to lie on their back.

The next step is to then have their body continue to rotate until it is laying on their opposite side. Once they have picked this up the hard part is done and now to move on practicing this motion with a cue.

Yes I left the cue to the last part of the teaching this trick as there are many steps and you do not want to start cueing early and confuse your dog; as your dog progresses start removing the lure and introduce the cue “over” or “roll over” with your hand still being a guide for them to follow. Gradually remove your guiding hand.

You will soon be able to start asking for your dog to perform the trick on cue without any guidance.

Remember always reward the baby steps regardless of how small they are, little progress is better than none. Keep the sessions short and always finish on a positive note!