Rascals Top 5 Dog Tricks For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/

Train your dog to bark on command. Teaching your dog to bark on command, using “bark” or “speak” can be a great way to teach him when NOT to bark as well. To begin, familiarize your dog with the command that you will use, and issue . When your dog barks, give him a treat. Once he has mastered barking on command, you can issue a QUIET command and reward him when he stops barking. It is best to teach one command at a time, in order to avoid confusion and frustration. For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/

Train your dog to tell you when he/she needs to go outside. Dogs cannot speak to us, so it is impossible to assume that we can read their language without some training on both ends. Try this simple trick and teach your dog how to alert you when it’s time to go outside. Hang a bell from the door that you most frequently use to take your dog outside, and every time you take him out have him bump the bell. Then praise him/her heavily. There will quickly be an association between the bell ringing and the door opening. After a week or so, you will be surprised to hear the bell ringing and to see an anxious pup sitting there ready to go outside. For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/

Teach your dog to dance. No longer is dancing just for people! You can very your dog to dance, alone or with you. When you catch your dog jumping up, issue the command DANCE, and take his paws. At that point, give your dog lots of praise and even a treat to reward his good behavior. Because you are using this command to redirect the dog’s attention from jumping there is little effort. Just be consistent, and issue the DANCE command while taking your dog’s paws and redirecting his actions to something positive. This is a great way to keep your dog from jumping on guests at the front door. For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/

Teach your dog to catch. Catch is a fun game that you can play with your dog for years to come. Teaching a dog to catch is actually quite simple when you use food as the toy in the beginning. Stand in front of your dog and say “catch” as you toss a treat to the dog. If the treat is caught, allow your dog to eat it. If not, be fast and grab the treat before your dog does. Repeat until the food is caught successfully and always reward your dog with not only the treat, but a large amount of praise as well. Move on to tossing a toy once your dog is willingly catching the treats. Reward your dog with a treat for catching the toy, and offer treats occasionally along with plenty of praise. For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/

Teach your dog to roll over. Roll over is a fun dog trick that every owner wants to teach. Get on the floor with your dog and coax him onto one side. Then, give the command “roll over” while placing one hand under the dog’s back and one on his tummy. Help him to roll over while giving the command. Then, praise your dog for cooperating. If your dog is large, you may instead get the dog on one side and use food in front of the nose to coax the rollover. Give the dog the food once the roll over is complete and offer praise. After a few days, your dog will be rolling over with less, or no assistance and coaxing from you. Be sure to reward this behavior very positively! For more top tips visit http://www.rascals-dogtraining.com/