Three days until we move into a small apartment without a back yard, and I'm determined to keep them busy and interested even though their living space is going to be smaller for a year. They know quite a few commands, but I want to move onto 'tricks' as well, because they get such a sense of accomplishment when they grasp a new idea.
So far, the commands they know are:
sit
stay and wait (basically the same thing)
lay down
back up
get in the bathroom
get in the crate
paw
come here
roll over (which has come to mean 'show me your belly', but I'm cool with that)
show me what you want (which usually results in a rawhide, unless there's a toy lost under the couch which they can't reach, and they tell me where it is)
off (the couch or bed or whatever they're standing on)
bring it back (we're still mastering this one... I'm bored of retrieving tennis balls, so it's awesome when they bring it back)
leave it (whatever it is you're interested in, forget it - we use this for dangerous things or things they should never have or do)
drop it (we use this with toys, like when they bring the ball back and don't want to let go)
touch - this is the one they learned today. I have a fork that I taped over the sharp end of, and they touch the tape for a treat. I'll use this later to work on other tricks.
I like the ideas presented on this website, although my dogs needed a little more practice than they make it seem like it'll take. Hopefully after they catch on to the fact that they're learning new tricks, they'll learn new commands faster because they KNOW they're learning!
Are there any tricks your dogs love to do?
