Of the many different aspects of dog training, this section is dedicated to the lighter side. Dog tricks are a wonderful way to develop your communication and rapport with your dog. After your dog has mastered basic commands such as sit-down-stay, there are hundreds of tricks you can train your dog to perform.

Trick Training Tips:

• Always training new tricks in a quite spot with no distractions.
• As with all training, make learning tricks a positive and rewarding experience, so no rising of your voice or disciplining your dog.
• I prefer to use a clicker, but this is not essential.
• All tricks will need a number of sessions to master, so don't try to achieve to much in one go.
• Try to accompany all verbal commands with a unique hand signal.
• Keep training for specific tricks to 3-5 minutes at the most, but repeat regularly.
• Always stop while your dog is still interested and always stop when you feel yourself getting frustrated.

Some tricks to try:

Below are some of my favourite tricks and they are fairly easy to teach. As the photographs suggest I have taught my Great Dane (Dexter) most of them. If any of you have Great Danes, you'll know they are no the brightest spark in the fire. Anyway, without further ado, please meet Dexter, he will be demonstrating most of the tricks:

	1. "Hello" - really impress guests when your dog presents his paw to greet them (EASY)
	2. "Close the door" - teach your dog to close the door behind you (MEDIUM)
	3. "Carry Groceries" - Make your dog useful!, teach him to carry the Groceries from the car (MEDIUM)
	4. "Sad" - This is really cute, teach your dog to look sad (EASY)
	5. "Shy" - Your eyes will glaze when your dog has mastered this one (HARD)
	6. "Clean Paws" - ask your dog if his paws are clean !! (MEDIUM)
	7. "Bow" - after his trick routine, teach him or her to bow to the audience (MEDIUM)

MORE TRICKS TO COME - I hope to add some more of my favourite tricks. In the mean time, there are also some good books in the CanineConcept store that might interest you. These make great gifts for dog owners and for kids to get them interested in dog training.

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