Trick training is yet another awesome activity you and your dog can share. You can keep the training simple and get your dog to practice cute, Instagram-worthy tricks or, you can add to and enhance their basic tricks to reach genius level. Think opening doors, covering themselves in a blanket or even tidying up after themselves!
There are tonnes of benefits that come with doing activities like trick training, so below are just a few of our favourites.
- Teaching your dog different tricks will provide them with some much needed and very beneficial mental stimulation. Physical exercise is important but remember that their brains need a work out too.
- When looking at dog behaviour you can often see two distinct categories. One is where the dog just reacts and chooses whatever seems like a good idea in that split second. The other is where they take a moment to think and make a conscious decision as to what is the best choice. Trick training will help them practise the thinking option more regularly which will set them up to start doing that more in day-to-day life.
- Their basic obedience skills, focus and impulse control can improve as a result of trick training. They will start to see a huge benefit in paying attention, listening and responding in different scenarios as they will have a history already instilled in them for doing so.
- For the shyer, more sensitive dogs or even the stressed and anxious dogs; trick training can help build their confidence and problem-solving skills. It is a well-known fact that dogs love to have a job to do, so why not get them doing something that is fun and exciting.
- And, possibly our favourite reason for doing an activity like trick training with your dog is to improve or even just solidify the bond that we share with our four-legged friends. Sure, we may already have a good relationship with them but why not build on that and have some fun along the way too!