Dog Training 101: 4 Impressive Tricks to Teach Your Furkid
Tricks to knock the socks off your furiends
Dog tricks can keep your furkid mentally stimulated and physically fit. However, forget basic dog commands such as “sit”, “down”, and “stay”. While you can get your local vet in Singapore to recommend you a dog trainer, with enough patience, you can teach your furiend the following 4 tricks to bust out at your next pawty!
1. Open the Door
Be it the refrigerator or bedroom door, get creative and train your dog to open doors. While you’re at it, teach your furkid to fetch you a soda for added fun and convenience! To do so, tie a cloth around the refrigerator handle to let your dog tug on it. Use the “open” and “close” command, and reward whenever appropriate – with a treat or praise.
2. Object Names
Source: @matej_priborsky
Does your furkid get excited before a walk? Since it can understand the signs of a day out, why not train it to recognise object names too?
To start with, say, an apple, hold it in one hand and leave the other empty. Each time you say “apple” and your dog nudges the right hand, reward it with a treat. As time goes by, your pet should be able to identify the object, amongst others, by name.
Before you begin, however, get ready those treats from your nearest pet shop in Singapore. As your furkid makes progress, it’s going to finish all the treats in no time at all!
3. Ring the Doorbell
For pet owners who housetrained your pet to do its business outside, train your dog to be able to ring a bell to notify you of its needs!
Since unfamiliarity with something other than its favourite toy – in this case, the bell – can cause unnecessary stress to your pet, do keep your furkid is in its comfort zone. Here’s how to get started: take your dog’s paw in your hand before resting it on the doorbell, and make sure to smear some of its favourite food should it still be fearful or restless.
As soon as your dog is accustomed to the doorbell, bring on the trick so you’ll know when it’s time for some doggy business!
4. Clean Up
Source: fourseasonsforpaws
While every dog has the one favourite toy it can’t seem to let go of, your furkid may be one of the precious few to have a bunch of toys. For busy pawrents, it is always a hassle to come home to a mess on the floor that you have to clean up after a long day at work.
One way to make things easier for yourself is to instil good habits in your furkid as you would your child! To encourage your dog to put its toys away, begin by pointing to a toy and saying “pick”, and pointing to the storage basket and saying “drop”. Repeat the exercise and once your pet is used to the routine, you can even combine the commands into a simple and effective “let’s clean up”!
