How to train a dog to beg ?

Begging is a cute trick, with little patience and consistency a dog can be trained to beg very easily on your command. Before training your dog to beg, train your dog to sit on command. If the dog doesn't sit on command you first need to work on his sit command.

Once the dog Sits on command, grab some yummy treats in your hand and hold the treat at his nose, and give him the command 'BEG'. As the dog tries to reach to the treat move your hand upward making sure that the dog reaches up in order to get the treat. Pull it up until he is sitting on his hind end with his paws off the floor, and the treat held in front of him in the begging position. As soon as the dog is in the begging position praise the dog with treat along with love and affection. Repeat these steps several times so that the dog masters the command. It wont be long until your dog is begging on command.

Some dogs won't go into the begging position during the very first training session. In this case, you may need to train a dog to beg in smaller steps. This type of training is referred to as shaping. In such cases praise the dog at every step of the training, along with training the dog in stages. Firstly, make the dog sit after which take the treat close to his nose. Once the dog shows interest in the treat raise your hand above his head so that the dog sniffs the treat and sits on his hind end raising his paw above the ground. Repeat the same steps everyday for few minutes. If the dog makes mistake repeat the complete step again instead of yelling and shouting at the dog. 

Continue to practice this trick over and over again. Always use a happy singsong voice and lots of positive reinforcement. Eventually, your dog will understand and will readily sit up and beg.

The keys to success in teaching your dog tricks are patience, practice, praise, and persistence. When training your dog, every step he takes in the right direction should be rewarded as though he had just won the lottery. Tricks are fun – and learning how to do them should be fun, too.

How to train your dog to Roll Over ?

In order to train a dog to roll over, first you need to train him to Sit, Lie down, Stay, and you are ready to move to an advanced command that is roll over. This trick is simple to teach, however at times it can get tricky and confusing. Hence patience is the key. Train your dog with patience and affection and in no time your dog will learn to roll over. Lets discuss few techniques on how a dog can be trained to roll over.

Before starting on with the training make sure that the dog knows to Lie Down. If the dog doesn't know the command, train him first to Lie Down. Because in order to train a dog to roll over the dog should be lying down first. Keep some tasty treats handy during the training session. Treats that dog doesn't get everyday. Also make sure you have a silent room initially, so that there are no unwanted distraction. 

First command the dog to Lie Down. Once the dog is down. Grab some treats in your hand, take your hand close to his nose and let the dog sniff the treat. Once the dog starts sniffing the treat he will try to snatch the treat from your hand. Make sure that you hold the treats is such a manner that the treats are covered by your finger. Once the dog starts sniffing the treat, gently say rollover and rotate the treat up and around your dogs head so that his nose follows the treat. If you lead your dogs nose with the treat along a path that will cause your dog to roll over as he follows it, your dog will roller over. Say rollover once again and praise the dog with love, affection and some yummy treats. Dog will be not happy if you keep him waiting for the treats, while the dog is in the process to roll over. Hence better keep praising the dog on a high notes such as Good Boy or Good Girl, which will rather motivate the dog and also the dog will not get frustrated to get the treat during the process of Roll Over. Immediately praise the dog with treats once the dog rolls over completely.

Repeat the same thing multiple times, till the dog starts rolling over all by himself without the help of the treat. Once the dog learns how to roll over and doesn't require any support of treat being passed over and above his head. Try not giving him treat every time, instead give him a nice pat on his head. So that the dog will not expect the treat every time you roll him over. Also stretch the timing of praising him with the treat. So that the dog will not expect treat from you as it will be unpredictable for him to get treat. 

Once the dog starts following the trick all by himself, try performing the same trick outside the silent room. You can take your dog to some park or else you can make him perform the trick when there are distractions around. Be patient as each dog is different. Some dog might learn this trick in couple of day, where as some might take months to learn the same trick. Be patient and consistent and your dog will eventually learn how to roll over. 

How to stop a dog from barking at strangers ?

Many of the dog owners must be having this question on why do dog barks when the door is knocked or when a guest visits the house. A dog barking when a door is knocked or when some one is at the door is absolutely normal. However excessive barking is not normal. A dog may bark due to several reasons it can be Anxiety, Excitement, Aggression, Fear. The best way to stop a dog from barking execissively or without any reason is to first condition the dog. This might take a lot of time of yours. As well as a lot of patience is required. You might have to practice this technique over and over again to get the best results from your dog. Now lets learn on how can a dog be stopped from barking excessively at strangers or guest visiting your house.

Firstly, as said you need to condition the dog. Initially keep your dog on a leash, take your dog towards the door. Yourself, start knocking the door with dog on the leash. Once the dog barks take him away from the door. Once the dog is away from the door make him sit and praise his calm behaviour. Try to keep your pocket full with some yummy treats that the dog loves. Repeat the same thing again, once again take the dog close to the dog, knock the door. Once the dog barks take him away by showing him treats make him sit and praise the behaviour. Now try the same thing without the leash and instead of you knocking the door tell someone in your family or friends to knock the door from out. Once the dog runs towards the door and starts barking. Don't open the door. Take the dog away from the door make him sit and at the same time command him to stay as well. Don't open the door fully as it will make the dog more anxious to run towards the door. Just open the door slightly and close it. If the dog doesn't move from his place, praise him and repeat the same this over and over again.

Now, once the dog learns to stay and doesn't move when you partially open the door. Try opening the door completely and you can tell your family and friend to enter the house with a calm and stable energy. If the dog moves repeat the process once again. If the dog stays when you command him to sit and stay, reward his behaviour. Start it off with known people and later you can take help of unknown people whom the dog doesn't know.

Lastly, try to be patient as the dog will tend to run multiple times towards the door as he listens to any noise or when some one is at the door. Repeat the process again and be consistent. Eventually the dog will get an idea on what he has to do and will get use to the noise of the door and when someone is at the door. Now if you have a dog, who is calm and just barks at times when he sees some one at the door, don't try to stop that. As its natural for all the dogs to bark as thats how they communicate. Don't expect them to stop barking completely. If its an aggressive dog, consult your dog trainer before you training him and demonstrating the following techniques. Now the important thing to note, this all are just tips as this is a major issue in some dogs and needs a lot of practice and this technique might not even work with all the dogs. So its better to know your dog first and work with your dog trainer. Try not to yell and shout at your dog, when your dog barks as it will make the situation more worse.

Train your dog to bow !

Well yes, train your dog to do the cute trick of bowing by following this simple technique. Once your dog is familiar with Sit and Lie down, then it wont be a trouble to teach your dog to bow. Start on with some treats in your hand. Its better to keep the dog standing. Once the dog stands in front of you and is fully focused on the treat, take the treat close to his nose and lure the treat down towards the ground. Your hand should stay close to your dogs nose. If you take your hand back while on the ground the dog will eventually lie down. Just lure your dog keeping your hand close to his nose, hold on that position for few second and move the hand upward keeping in mind that your hand is still close to his nose. Once the dog stands praise him with treat and affection.

Follow this training every alternate days or every day for 15 - 20 mins. By the time the dog understands he has to go down and he has to hold him self, start praising him verbally as in 'Good Boy, Good Job' in an excited tone. Once the dog stands after listening to your excited tone praise him with treat. Also increase the bow time from few second to a minute as some dogs might take time to adjust their body to the bow position. Once the dog masters the trick, start using hand signals and praise him with affection and toy rather then treat.

Never force any dog to get to the bow position as its a natural tendency for all dogs to bow down while stretching, people facing difficulty to get the dog to the bow position can take the advantage of their natural tendency. Yes, when the dog wakes up and stretches say "Good Bow" and praise the dog with love and affection. Repeat it every time you see your dog stretching and then later try treats and the dog will get an idea on what he needs to do in order to get affection and treat. You can also make the dog bow while the dog is playing with any toy or ball. Most of the dog do learn with treat, but few don't get in to that position even after giving treat. So better start off with "rough - housing". Once the dog goes in to that position while playing or streching, praise him with some jackpot. Be consistent, praise each and every steps he takes and your dog will eventually master the bow command.