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Easy Pet Tricks For Cats & Dogs




	Start by having your dog sit down. Say the command "Shake hands," and take their paw with your hand. Hold their paw and say, "shake, good shake” then let go of their paw. Do this a few times every day. *TIP: Eventually you'll want to stop taking their paw after commanding shake hands. If your dog doesn’t immediately offer their paw keep repeating the steps of the trick. Your dog is not slow; they're just learning!

	Start by having your dog stand up facing you. Let your dog see a reward in your hand. Stand still and say the command “turn around”. Lead your dog's nose around to the left (clockwise) with the treat so they walk in a circle. When they’re facing you again, say "good turn around" and give them the treat. *TIP: Eventually you can stop leading your dog by the nose for this trick. If they’re not ready to perform the tick on their own you should repeat the trick until the reaction is almost automatic.

	Have your dog lie down in front of you. Hold a treat just in front of their nose and say the command "crawl." If they start to stand up, say "No, down...crawl." Pull the reward away, keeping it low, near the ground and say, "Craaawl." When your dog moves even an inch or two without standing up, praise him and say, "Good dog! Craaawl." *TIP: Your dog must know 'Down' before he can learn this trick.

	With your dog facing you, take a treat and lead your dog's nose to the right and around your body. Let them follow the treat all the way around behind your back and around to the front. Give your dog the treat and praise them. They will be making a complete circle around you. *TIP: In the beginning you might have to give your dog several rewards while they are going around behind you and when they return to the front. Practice it several times a day, but only for five minutes or so, two or three times a day.

	Your dog should know how to shake hands before learning this trick. Face your dog and hold out your hand as if you are going to shake. When your dog lifts their paw to shake, don't grab it, just pull back your hand, and say "Wave". Then give your dog a reward. *TIP: At first your dog may not lift their paw very high. But once they realize that you're going to give them a treat if they hold it up there, they'll get it. You may have to tease them a little with your hand so they think you are going to shake with them. Waving your hand a little may help to get their paw into a waving motion as well.



	Place your cat on a table, on an edge closest to you and pet the cat until they’re comfortable. Show your cat a reward, such as a treat, and give the command “sit”. As you say the command, hold the reward above their head and then move it above and behind their head. When your cat tips its head back to follow the treat they will sit to keep balance. When they sit, say “sit, good sit” and give them their reward. *TIP: If your cat does not sit on their own in the beginning, you can gently press down on their hindquarters.

	When your cat is within hearing distance, loudly give the command “Come”. When your cat comes to you say “come, good come” in a positive way and give them their reward. Once your cat shows that they’ve learned this command, move to a new locations and repeat the training pattern.

	Find an object such as a remote or book and place it on a table along with your cat. Hold a reward or treat between your cat and the object then give the command “touch” while tapping on the object with your other hand. If your cat touches the object as they try to touch the reward say “touch, good touch” and give them their reward. If they don’t touch the object try moving the reward around so they’re more likely to touch it. The goal is that your cat will start responding to the touch command without the tapping on the object. *TIP: You can use a different command for each front paw so you can train your cat to use a specific paw for the trick.

	Hold a reward or treat in your hand and place it in front of your cat’s nose just out of the reach of their front paws. Move it back and forth with your hands in a waving motion while saying the command “wave”. As your cat reaches for the reward they will appear to be waving. Once their motion is similar to waving, give them the treat and say “good wave”.

	Place your cat on a table, on an edge closest to you and pet them until they are comfortable. Show your cat the reward and give the command “up” while you hold the reward directly above your cat at their arm’s length. When your cat stands on their hind legs or haunches and reaches for the food say “up, good up” and give them their reward. Eventually your cat will respond to “up” without having to hold the reward above them. *TIP: If your cat stands on their back legs instead of their haunches, move the reward back over their head. They will automatically sit down to keep themselves from tipping over.