Dear Miss Behavin’: My dog, Smith, learned his basic obedience commands much faster than expected! What are some other things I can teach him now that we’ve got the basics down?
After mastering the basics, teaching tricks is a great way to continue building Smith’s vocabulary. You can use the commands he already knows as foundations for simple and fun party tricks.
The “sit” command can be a starting point for teaching Smith to “sit pretty” or “beg” by holding a treat at his nose and raising it up just enough that he lifts his front paws off the ground, but his rear stays seated. Working up to a sustained “sit pretty” can take time as this trick requires strong core and back muscles.
A dog who knows how to lay down on command can easily be caught to crawl or rollover from this position. From a “down” teach “crawl” by holding a treat at your dog’s nose and slowly moving it forward along the ground. This usually encourages them to reach forward and scoot towards the treat in an army crawl. Use a treat to teach your dog to roll over as well, by starting the treat at Smith’s nose and moving it towards his shoulder blades, encouraging him to roll onto one side. Keep luring him with the treat until he has completed the roll! This can be harder to learn for some dogs, and some prefer to learn this on a soft surface like carpet as opposed to hard floors.
If you have taught Smith to stand on queue, use this as a starting point to teach him “spin.” Teach him to spin in both directions, and give each direction it’s own name, like “spin” and “turn” for circling left and then right. After running Smith through his new tricks for your friends, have him take a bow with his elbows on the ground and rear end in the air. No doubt everyone will love watching his new repertoire!