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An Owner’s Manual for:FIVE T RIC KSYO U ’ L L WA N T TO S H OW O F Fby theA M E R I CAN K E N N E L C LU B
ABOUT THIS SERIESAt the AKC, we know better than anyone that your dog can’t be treated likea car or an appliance, but we’ve namedthis series “An Owner’s Manual” because sometimes you probably wishyour lovable companions came withone.These concise guides give you the tools,tips, and direction to be a responsibleand confident dog owner who bringsout the best in your dog. Give them atest drive!AKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 2
Puppy, adolescent, adult, or senior: No matter his age,almost any dog can learn to do at least a few tricks.Whether or not the tricks become crowd-pleasers tobe proud of, the training sessions alone are a greatway to bond and have a good time together. Butremember to cut the session short before your doggets tired, and always make it a happy, positiveexperience! Otherwise, he’ll associate trick trainingwith frustration rather than fun.The five tricks below assume that your dog has already mastered basic commands such as “sit,” “stay,”“down,” and “come.” If he hasn’t, check out our“Five Basic Commands.” Lobke Peers/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 3
BEFORE THE FIVE TRICKS, KNOW THE FIVE RULES1. First make sure that your dog is in good physicalshape and has no issues that would cause him to beinjured before attempting to train any new tricks. Ifyou’re unsure, consult with your vet.2. To get the most out of your sessions,make sure your dog hasn’t just eatenbefore training. That way, he’ll be moreinto you and the training treats. Fornon–food motivated dogs, use a toythat only shows up during trainingsessions.3. Be fast! Reward immediately when the dog does whatyou’re looking for. If you’retoo slow, you’ll miss the opportunity to “mark” thecorrect behavior.4. Wait to use a cue word until your dog is doing theexact behavior you want. Otherwise you’ll be confusing your dog as to what the command actually means.Until that point, use a marker word such as“Yes” to mean “You did itright and food iscoming.”5. Reps count.When teaching a dog anew trick, do 5–10 repsbefore moving to the nextprogression. cynoclub/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 4
Ready, Set, Tricks SIT UPAlso known as “Beg” or “Sit Pretty,” this trick requiresthe dog to balance in a sitting position, with his frontfeet off the ground. Start by sitting in a chair with thedog between your legs, facing away from you (if youhave a little dog, sit on the floor). This helps the dogfeel comfortable elevating himself without the fearof falling over backwards. Ask him to sit, then hold atreat a few inches above his nose. In order for him toreach the treat, he has to raise his front paws off theground while maintaining his sitting position.Getty Images/iStockphoto GlobalP/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 5
Gradually raise your hand higher untilhis front feet are high enough off thefloor without him coming off his sit.As training progresses, ask for a longer duration of this behavior beforerewarding, and when it looks the wayyou want it to, name it “Sit Pretty.”Once he’s confident with the exercise,transfer the behavior from betweenyour legs to a corner, against the wall.Eventually he will be able to do thiswithout any support at all.AKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 6
REACH UPAfter your dog is able to “Sit Pretty,” lure him intostanding on his back legs for the next trick, “ReachUp.” You can use the same system you used for theoriginal trick, but slowly raise your hand higher sothat the dog stands. Once he’s correctly doing thetrick, name the command “Reach Up” or anothername.Getty Images/iStockphoto Paffy69/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 7
SPIN (BOTH WAYS)Using a food- or toy lure, incrementally teachyour dog to do a 360-degree spin. While somedogs may easily follow a (slow) treat or toy lurecompletely around the first time you attempt this,most will need to be incrementally rewardedin order to complete the trick. For example, if youwere training a dog who’s reluctant to spin to theright, the reward points would be:1. Turns head to look at treat/toy by hisright shoulder2. Turns head to look at treat/toy by his right hip3. Turns head to look at treat/toy by his left hip (this isthe point that he most likely makes the turn)4. Reward when turn is complete. Photodisc/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 8
CRAWLAlso known as “Army Crawl,” this is afairly simple trick to teach. Lure your doginto a down position with a treat, and oncehe’s down, slide the treat away from him aninch at a time. Reward every time he crawlsforward. If your dog stands up, lure him backdown and try again. As always, name it whileyour dog is doing the behavior. Fly dragonfly/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 9
SPEAKTo teach your dog to teach on command, start bygetting the dog super cranked up (for example, running around with him until he’s really excited). Thenshow—don’t give—him a high-value reward and waitfor him to become vocal. Normally it doesn’t takelong, because once they offer you lots of behaviorsthat you keep ignoring (down, spin, sit) they’ll usuallywhine or bark in frustration. The first time you mark(“Yes!”) and feed, they look so surprised! Then you’llsee the light go on, and the consistent barking behavior usually occurs in no time. Remember to give it aname (“speak,” “tell me,” or similar) after you like whatyou’re hearing. Fur-Fetched/ThinkstockAKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 10
LIFE OF THE PARTYOur dogs love to please us, and mostof all, to be with us. Teaching andshowing off the tricks he’s learnedwill be satisfying for both of you.Adapted from akc family dog’s“Training & Behavior” column byKathy Santo.AKC OWNE R’ S MANUA LFive Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off 11
TH E AM ER ICAN KE NNE L C LUBWHO AND WHAT WE ARE:The AKC is a not-for-profit organization and the largestpurebred dog registry in the world. We are thesports-governing body for over 22,000 dog events a year,including conformation (dog shows) and exciting sports likeagility, obedience, rally, tracking, lure coursing, earthdog,herding trials, among others.
TH E AM ER ICAN KE NNE L C LUBBut the AKC is so much more! Here are just some of the ways we support and enrich the lives of dogs—purebreds andmixed-breeds alike—and their families. We:nCreated the AKC Humane Fund, which supports breeddonated over 24 million to the CHF. (The AKC is the onlyrescue activities, assists shelters that permit domestic-abuseregistry that incorporates health-screening results into its per-victims to bring their pets, and educates dog lovers about re-manent dog records.)sponsible dog ownership.nnOffer the Canine Good Citizen program: A 10-step testthat certifies dogs who have good manners at home and inConduct thousands of kennel inspections annually to mon-itor care and conditions at kennels across the country andensure the integrity of the AKC registry.their community. Over 725,000 dogs across the United StatesOffer the largest, most comprehensive set of DNA programshave become Canine Good Citizens , and 42 states have passednresolutions recognizing the program’s merit and importance.for parentage verification and genetic identity to ensure reliable registration records.nFounded AKC Reunite, which has brought more than 400,000lost pets back together with their owners.nSupport one of the world’s largest collections of dog-relatedfine art and artifacts at the AKC Museum of the Dog, and wenCreated the AKC Canine Health Foundation, which fundsresearch projects and clinical studies. Since 1995 the AKC hashave the world’s largest dog library at AKC headquarters inNew York, both of which are open to the public.
TH E AM ER ICAN KE NNE L C LUBTHANK YOU FOR READING!We hope this information was valuable to you in helping your puppy live a long, healthy, happy life. Below, find additionalbooks in our Owner’s Manual series designed to strengthen the bond between you and your furry family member.5 TRICKS TOSHOW OFFCANINE BODYLANGUAGECANINE GOODCITIZENAGILITY FORBEGINNERSPUPPY NUTRITIONHOW TO CRATETRAIN YOUR DOGFIRST AIDFOR DOGSSELECTING A PUPPY5 BASIC COMMANDSLIFE WITH ASENIOR DOGWHY DOES MY DOGDO THAT?RESPONSIBLE DOGOWNER TIPSWHAT’S HE THINKING?PUPPYSOCIALIZATION
make sure your dog hasn’t just eaten before training. That way, he’ll be more into you and the training treats. For non–food motivated dogs, use a toy that only shows up during training sessions. 3. Be fast! Reward immediate-ly when the dog does what you’re looking for. If you’re too slow,
