101 Best Dog Tricks

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101-dog-tricks-book.jpgHow many of the following tricks can your dog do?

Does your dog perform any cool tricks that aren't on this list?

I honestly can't imagine many more dog tricks that could possibly have been left of this list!...


The following list of 101 dog tricks originally appeared in the Seattle Times (03.10.05).

It was compiled by Kathy Sdao, an associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist based in Tacoma, Washington who has spent the past two decades as a full-time professional animal trainer.

Enjoy!


101 Dog Tricks

Want to keep that dog of yours intellectually stimulated? Here are 101 tricks you can teach your curious canine, courtesy of dog expert Kathy Sdao. Key to success? Dog treats.


Level 1 difficulty:


Our dog baring his teeth  on command. 1. Bare teeth (be a wolf, or what do sharks look like?)

2. Bark

3. Bark silently (whisper)

4. Beg

5. Toss a toy in the air

6. Bow

7. Circle around me

8. Cock your head to one side

9. Crawl

10. Did you wash your hands? (dog sits up in beg position but shows pads)

11. Dig

12. Fan the flames (two paws)

13. Cover your eyes

14. Gimme four (realistic version of gimme five)

15. Growl

16. Kiss

17. Let go of rope

When teaching 'touch'... our  dogs usually lick the hand -- as seen here -- but later, they learn to just touch the hand with their nose. 18. Nod your head

19. Nose touch to hand

20. Nose touch to other objects (naming objects or just pointing)

21. Play dead

22. Prewash dishes for dishwasher (just wanted to see if you were paying attention)

23. Push things with paw (like doors, drawers)

24. Put paws on a person's shoulders

25. Ring bell by pulling string

26. Ring bell with nose

27. Ring bell with paw

28. Roll over

29. Rub muzzle on floor

30. Shake hands

31. Shake your head

32. Shake yourself

33. Sit on couch with front feet on ground

34. Stand up on rear legs (sooooo big!)

Puppy barks... We've always taught our dogs to 'tell me' and then to 'whisper' from a young age. 35. Speak

36. Speak LOUDLY!

37. Speak SOFTLY!

38. Spin

39. Wag tail

40. Walk backward

41. Wave

42. Sneeze

43. Where's your tail?

44. Whimper

45. Yawn


Level 2 difficulty:

46. Balance treat on nose, then toss it up in the air and catch it

47. Carry purse or other bag

Our dog retrieving the newspaper. 48. Fetch newspaper

49. Fetch slippers

50. Find/bring keys

51. Find/bring dog dishes

52. Find/bring leash

53. Find/bring TV remote

54. Get a toy by name

55. Wiggle ears

56. Heel backward

57. Hide your eyes/paw over nose (shame on you/do you like tuna?)

58. Hide your head (nose touch under cushion or blanket)

59. Howl (heard the Spice Girls' latest CD?)

60. Keep barking until some subtle cue

61. Lead another dog by the leash

62. Limp

63. Moonwalk (scoot backward in a bow)

64. Open doors

Our dog wearing a hat. 65. Permit the wearing of sunglasses or hat

66. Pick a card (from a deck)

67. Pick the hammer (paw to indicate correct tool)

68. Pull a cart

69. Pull on harness: pulling kids on sled, pulling laundry basket or cart, pulling firewood

70. Pull on rope -- close doors, open doors, open cupboards, pull wheelchairs

71. Pull your wallet out of your pocket

72. Lower/raise head while lying down

73. Push something with the nose (e.g., ball)

74. Put a toy IN something

75. Ride a cart

76. Ride a skateboard

77. Roll in cued direction

78. Rub back on floor

79. Rub muzzle with paws

80. Smile

81. Shame on you (hide head under chair)

82. Sit in a chair, paws on table

83. Teabag search: Dog searches 3 people sitting on floor or chair for teabag held in their hand

84. Roll yourself up in a blanket or towel

85. Take a bow, twirl, and take a bow

86. Take money from someone else and bring it to you!

87. Walk sideways

Our dog playing soccer with basketball. 88. Jump up into handler's arms

89. Weave between your legs

90. Climb a ladder

91. Dance

92. Fetch a hot dog

93. Kick balls with paws (soccer)

94. Lead people (take wrist gently in mouth and take them somewhere)

95. Learn names of family members and carry messages back and forth

96. Nose touch to designated colors or shapes

97. Ride a horse/llama/other dog

98. Roll over with ball between front paws

99. Stop dead on cue

100. Walk up stairs backward

101. Fetch beer from fridge


How to teach your dog some of these tricks.


Or, check out the new book 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance. You get step-by-step instructions for teaching your dog 101 fun dog tricks. Some examples from Kyra's book:

teach-dog-to-wave-goodbye.jpg teach-your-dog-tricks.jpg


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41 Comments

Ember said:

The dog has a good sence of smell. Thats why he can find it. It has really nothing to do with brains.

Alice said:

My friends grandmas dog holds the record for the most dog tricks performed by a dog

heather said:

my dog can sit, give paw, jump, give kisses, stay ...n thts about it , shes only 2 months old so im trying to teach her while shes ripe :D :D

Sophee said:

All you have to do is Google these tricks and you'll come to pages that go into them more specifically! Come on, guys, be sensible! This is a great article, and I plan on teaching Bonnie crawl, nod, cover your eyes, smile, and play dead. Most of the other ones in level one she already knows (the ones I care about, at least!)

sidney said:

my dog can sit,laydown,play dead,and you put 3 cups down on the floor with a treat under one and he can find the treat member to keep switching the treat under diffrent cups he is a jack russle 1 year old!!!!!!!!!

Boston Terrier (Almost) Owner-Getting Puppy said:

those tricks look awesome!! Some people are lazy and don't work with their pets, but those who do can actually make cash!! They have much more satisfaction, the dog is less destructive and the owners can do little presentaations.

debbie said:

tricks are not lame, some people are just too lazy to work with their pet.
I hung bells on my door knob for dog to let me know when she wants out, she rings bells. Not a good thing, cuz if she gets mad at me, she will ring & I have to let her out then wants right back in, will look at me, & ring & I have to let her out!! lol Also, my hubby accidently ran over last dog, so taught this one to hide, she goes behind me & peeks thru my legs!!

blue heeler girl said:

there is a realy easy way to teach your dog to bow sit then put the the treat in between there paws

Tara said:

My boyfriend (a professional MMA fighter) is teaching our puppy to "tap out" when he's holding on to him from behind.

ricky said:

i just got a black lab and hes 8 months old and wants to hump everything but ive had him about 4 days now and he almost knows sit but its not really workin out so far but hes a really nice dog :D

Taylor said:

Ricky,
I also have a black lab mix with pit bull. He always wants to hump whenever he gets extremely excited, like if he is around other dogs or my friends are playing with him. His name is Big Dogg, and he will pick up as many tricks as you can throw at him. He is willing to please and eager to learn. Stay with it.
Sit, Shake, Speak(will take time), lay down, head down, crawl. That's what he has so far.

Baroness Mischa said:

Liz- to teach your Chihuahua to put her toys back in a toybox, first teach her to 'put in' to a bucket/basket a toy/ball. If she retrieves, throw ball, ask her to bring here (to you), have the bucket in your hand to start, later you can put it on the floor. Use a very low container for starters so she can reach her head in. Put a snack in the bottom of the bucket so she must drop the ball to get it. Once you've done this, I'll give you the next lesson! Even if she can beg forever, vary what you ask of her!

Liz said:

My Chihuahua can sit pretty (beg) for what seems to be forever. She has very good balance. I would like to teach my dog to pick up her toys and put them back in the toy box. Anyone know how I could do this?

baroness Mischa said:

People keep complaining that you do not show how tricks are taught, but this is a list, not a step by step training session. Thanks, I consulted it to add to the 300plus my dog knows, not that I wanna brag...well, maybe just a little. only found a few she can't do, like roll herself up in a towel. Most fairly accomplished trainers find easy ways to push the dogs natural buttons- the teach to sneeze is a classic example. Anyone teaching a dog ANYTHING needs to remember to keep it fun and session short, make it easier for dog to do the right thing than the wrong, and use conditioning- dogs condition themselves to do the things we don't want all the time. Don't just finish being a leader when your training is up, condition your dog to look to you for a command before work, rest and play.

Brad said:

how do you teach a dog to show his teeth i've been searching for over a year now any advise would be a great help

hannah said:

hi

my dog can sit stay come lay shake hand gimme five and walk to me on her back feet only and now im teaching her to sit then put her front paws on my hand then stand up and walk around the room with me and she can do it some what right now

maja said:

i don't think a lot of these tricks are legit.
plus, my dog can do plenty of tricks not on here.

Lauren said:

My doggie America does a few of those tricks, some with variations, like carrying things I pick out at the hardware store and putting them on the counter at the cash register, then she carries out the shopping bag. She will also push a shopping cart, kiss the cat, kiss a specific cat, and walk herself on a leash. Many tricks she taught herself, like carrying things at the store and walking herself. Other tricks get a little incentive and guidance with treats.

America's Pics

Lynnette said:

Paige -

Hey, that's a GREAT way to think of a clicker... and a great way to use it in teaching new tricks. It's a way to "capture" the behavior... then reward.

Love it!

paige said:

Great ideas! My dog knows lots of tricks; we use a clicker to "capture" the behaviors we like. Then reward her. Soon, she starts offering the behaviors on her own!

dogloveriluvthem said:

whats the name of the dog wearing the about.com hat?
its sooooo cute! do the owners still have it? what tricks does she know? i wish my dog would wear a hat!!!!!!!

MM said:

I've taught my big dog this one: "Where's my dog?" I walk around her, pretending not to know where she is, and say "Where's my dog?" Then she comes between my legs and "surprises" me. She does this with guests that are ignoring her too -- Funny!

rio said:

i taught my dog to balance a treat on her nose and wait until i gave to the command to move her head and catch it. i make her sit, and tell her to stay while showing her the treat so she gets serious.
I started setting the treat on her nose and holding her snout gently saying "staaaay! staaaaay." Slowly i would hold it less and less while backing up. It took patience but she finally got it!

jasmine said:

thanks for them really good tricks!
i'll try and teach them to my dog every day.
my dog can allready do tricks but not as many as what you've put down.thanks again!x

anonymus said:

I taught my dog how to goose people, we are still working on distinguishing which person I want him to goose

Joanna said:

my dog can dring water from a straw. and put on my jacket for me when i stick my hand out.

j.b said:

My dog can do a backflip [i'm not lieing]if u believe me , do u want 2 see a video

Agent Blah said:

where are the instructions for the tricks? I want to teach the head cock trick and I can't because there are no imstucktions.
A.B.

rachael said:

these tricks sound cool and all but it would have been helpful if you put some tips and steps on HOW to teach it.

sharon said:

i tought my dog to walk up the stairs backwards its the coolest thing ever

lilly said:

i thought this helped me alot but you should have put how to preform the trick.

Pain said:

how do you do the tricks???

holly said:

I thought these were GREAT tricks. And some I've seen Retrievers do. Others I've seen in agility trials.
Whoever said "lame" and "boring", obviously doesn't watch many Dog shows.

Ang said:

I found this website handy to give me ideas on what to teach my pooch. Thanx heaps!

Ann said:

All of the tricks are boring

JC said:

"shoot them" and they play dead
(with your hand in the shape of a gun of course)

Kim said:

Most of these tricks are interesting and fun.I even like how you have listed the difficulty level.Un fortunately I am frustrated to the fact that you do not list tips or steps or instructions of any kind to teach these tricks.I feel that with the lack of information ,just listing these trick is pretty pointless and a waste of web space.

anonymous said:

my dog is learning to do a handstand..... its not going very well

Lisa said:

My pup can do a trick not listed. I have him go in the doghouse and stick his little red nose up the hole. My old dog did that spontaneously and so I taught my puppy that. And my old dog jumped up on a table we gave to him. I'm in the process of teaching my puppy. My old dog followed me up the ladder and ran down the slide after me. My puppy is too scared :(

Dani said:

These tricks are so lame for the most part.

Deanna said:

Hey do you know how to do the trick treat on nose if so tell me?!

bochicchio@netzero.com

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Photos

  • A Chihuahua dog in deep thought with chin rested on a pillow. photo by crispee on Flickr
  • Old deaf and blind dog at play - a public sign. photo by Amber Rhea on Flickr
  • Is your dog nervous in public? Does he always have his eye on strangers and their every move? These tips might help... photo by Lynnette at TheFunTimesGuide.com
  • Bark back and forth with Fido in the Bone Booth
  • Win a free night's stay for fido at Petsmart's PetsHotel!
  • Our friend Tonya and her dachshund Lucy with Tenor in our living room. They were fast friends. photo by Lynnette at TheFunTimesGuide.com
  • Our friends Terry and Rhonda brought their little chihuahuas to our house to meet Tenor. Everyone got along great! photo by Lynnette at TheFunTimesGuide.com
  • Our dog Tenor is just shy, right? NO he's truly fearful of strangers. Here though he's performing one of his best dog tricks - being shy! photo by Lynnette at TheFunTimesGuide.com
  • Our dog Tenor who is naturally curious... from a distance. photo by Lynnette at TheFunTimesGuide.com

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