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Why Tricks?

Ann Cress’ Boerboel Tsavo loves learning and showing off!

Who doesn’t love seeing a dog do a cute trick? It brings a smile to our faces, it’s fun and stimulating for dogs, so it’s no wonder that trick training is one of the fastest-growing canine sports. Not only have tricks become a competitive dog sport, they have always been and remain an excellent way to bond with the dog you share your home and life with. Dogs love learning and they love spending quality time with us, where we put down our phones, stop watching movies, and turn all of our attention to them. Tricks are perfect for this. In just a few minutes of practice together every day, not only will you be positively investing in your relationship with your best friend, but your dog will also be on her way to learning an array of tricks.

Unlike a lot of other dog sports that require complicated, big, and usually expensive equipment, trick training is something you can do in the comfort of your own home. You don’t need to go out and find a professional trainer or sign up for classes; you can teach your dog tricks in your living room, in your backyard, and on your daily walks. But tricks go beyond just something fun to do with your dog (though they are certainly that too)—trick training can literally change your dog’s life. Learning tricks is confidence-boosting, especially for nervous, shy, or anxious dogs. Trick training can be extremely helpful for dogs who are reactive or struggling with anxiety, to help them to learn more about learning, and to gain confidence in new situations. That said, none of the trick training advice in this book can or should take the place of working directly with a positive-reinforcement-based trainer or animal behaviorist who is skilled and experienced with dogs who have reactivity, panic, or other anxiety-related behavioral conditions.

Trick training is so versatile, it can be done anytime anywhere, and you can gradually incorporate tricks your dog loves and is confident with into situations where they might be less sure of themself or their surroundings. I used to see trick training as something fun to do on occasion with my dogs, but I’ve come to understand it to be essential for supporting them in navigating our busy urban worlds. I now consider trick training to be a core part of socializing any puppy, or new adult dog entering my family—it’s that important! One of my favorite things about trick training is how mentally and physically good it is for dogs. Trick training is extremely mentally stimulating, which makes it a perfect activity to enjoy with your dogs if you live in an apartment and don’t have a big yard (and even if you do). Working with your dog can be significantly more enriching than a long off-leash run! I’m not kidding! If the weather is crummy and you don’t want to take your dog on a long walk, pull out some treats and start teaching tricks. You might be surprised at how mentally well-exercised your dog is at the end of the training session, and how that can lead to a dog who is much more likely to be ready to curl up on the couch and watch a movie with you at the end of the day. On the physical side of things, trick training can also promote great muscle tone and strength training for dogs of all ages. There are, of course, safety concerns, and you want to make sure that any tricks you are teaching your dogs aren’t going to be too physically demanding for them. In this book, I have primarily focused on low-impact tricks, and I have tried to highlight the tricks that are the highest impact and flag them as likely not appropriate for very young and very old dogs, as well as any dog who has any kind of ongoing health or orthopedic conditions. In general, if you ever have questions or concerns about the safety or appropriateness of a trick for your dog, contact your veterinarian before training.

Tricks for All

There is a very common old myth and figure of speech that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Honestly, I think this is one of the most dangerous pieces of misinformation permeating modern dog culture. Not that I think all dogs need to learn how to jump through hoops or find hidden odors in order to live a happy life (though it does bring a lot of joy to many dogs)—rather, what concerns me is the underlying idea that older dogs are incapable of learning. This is really sad for these dogs. Old dogs are fantastic and smart, and they absolutely need to be trained and enriched the same way younger dogs do.

My oldest dog, Mercury, is sixteen and a half years old (at the time of this writing) and only ten pounds. He’s my retired service dog, so he absolutely has had a lot of training in his life, and has been defying expectations about what small dogs can and can’t do since he was a little puppy. Now he leads a quiet life of retirement, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have enrichment. Even as his health has gone up and down—he has in the last year lost some of his vision—that doesn’t mean he has stopped trick training. Any time I pull out my treat pouch, he’s ready to go and eager to keep up with his much younger, much bigger sisters. I believe that trick training is a big part of why he has done so well over the years and adjusted so seamlessly to loss of sight. His brain is always active and learning new things. I believe this is part of what has kept him so active and healthy even at his advanced age.

All Shapes and Sizes

Unfortunately, another stereotype that persists around trick training is that it’s only for large dogs, or breeds that are traditionally considered to be “athletic” or “smart,” like border collies. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Every single dog is capable of learning and having fun with trick training. Not only can dogs never be too old to learn new tricks, trick training is something that dogs of all sizes, breeds, and builds can have fun participating in. Small dogs can be excellent trick dogs just as larger dogs can. People mistakenly think that tricks are only for large dogs, but they really aren’t! While some dogs are physically more suited to certain tricks—for example, I don’t want my hundred-pound puppy learning to jump into my arms—there are tricks that are safe and fun for all dogs.

All dogs can learn tricks.

Photo credit: Veronica Tan

At the end of the day, trick training is about building your relationship with your dog. The relationship that you and your dog have with one another is something that is continually evolving and growing. The more quality time you spend together, actually engaging with your dog, the stronger a relationship you will have. It breaks my heart when I hear people say that their dog is dumb, or incapable of learning. Your dog is brilliant—they’re just waiting for you to help them understand what you want, and training is the way to go about that. Trick training won’t solve behavior problems you might be having, but it will strengthen the relationship you have with your dog and cut down on nuisance behaviors your dog might be getting into out of boredom or being under-stimulated.

Trick training isn’t just parlor tricks. Trick training is about relationship building and confidence-boosting, not only for our dogs, but for us as well! Sometimes it can feel overwhelming or discouraging to be responsible for the welfare, education, and care of a dog. I hear this a lot, especially from people deep in the throes of puppy socialization, or from individuals who have rescued an adult dog who may have had a traumatic start in life and is coming with some baggage. Working with your dog can feel discouraging as you work through behavioral challenges or develop appropriate management strategies to keep your dog and others safe. It can be easy to miss the little ways that you are building a stronger bond with your dog or making small, incremental growth in training. Tricks can be a quick and easy way to build your dog’s confidence and your confidence as a teacher, and, most importantly, to have fun together.

All day every day, we are teaching our dogs; we’re educating them about what we want in terms of behavior in any given situation. It’s a huge responsibility, it can feel overwhelming, but it can also be a lot of fun. I’ve never met a dog who isn’t capable of enthusiastically learning. Tricks (including competitive trick titling) are accessible to differently abled dogs, including dogs who are deaf, blind, or have mobility issues. Because of the diversity of tricks that you can teach your dog, there are tricks that will fit the specialized needs and limitations of any dog.