If you’re looking for tricks to teach your dog that go beyond the basics and truly make a difference, you’re in the right place! While sit, stay, and fetch are great (and totally necessary!), there’s a whole world of unique tricks to teach your dog that can enhance their well-being and your bond with them. These tricks aren’t just fun; they’re practical and can help with your dog's mental and physical health too.

Bonus: teaching your dog a new trick is SO fun and a great way to bond!

1. Find It!

Why It’s Useful: "Find It" taps into your dog’s natural hunting instincts and sharpens their sense of smell. This trick provides mental stimulation and can help prevent boredom, making it one of the best tricks to teach your dog. This is one of our favorite games to play with Emmet. If it’s too hot or rainy to go for a walk, we can work on “Find It!” to make sure he’s had a good amount of activity and attention for the day. Highly recommend this one!

How to Teach It:

1. Start Simple: Hold a treat in your hand, let your pup sniff it, and place it on the floor in an obvious place. As soon as they go for it, say "Find it!"
2. Increase Difficulty: After some practice, gradually hide the treat in more challenging locations. Once they are about to find the treat, say “Find it!”
3. Increase The Number Of Things You Hide: Have your dog sit and stay in one room while you hide a handful of treats in various places in another room. Come back in and say “Find It!” encourage your pup to look around for all the hidden treats. Say “Find it!” as they find treats to reinforce the phrase.
4. Practice Regularly: Keep the game varied to maintain their interest and engagement. Once your pup is a pro at finding treats, start over and train them to find toys using the same method.

2. Clean Up

Why It’s Useful: Teaching your dog to clean up their toys can help maintain a tidy home and provide additional enrichment for your dog. It also teaches them responsibility in a fun way, making this a super cool trick to teach your dog.

How to Teach It:

1. Introduce the Concept: Guide your dog to pick up a toy and drop it in a basket or bowl.

2. Use Commands: Use a consistent command like "Clean up" and reward them when they place the toy in the basket.

3. Repeat and Reinforce: Practice regularly to reinforce the behavior and increase their proficiency.

3. Use a Lick Mat

Why It’s Useful: Okay, so this isn’t a trick in the traditional sense, but using a lick mat is one of the useful things to teach your dog that can have a big impact. Lick mats are excellent for reducing anxiety. They also provide a mental distraction that can help keep your dog calm and occupied. Lick mats are perfect to have on hand and pull out when visitors come over, fireworks are going off, or your dog is barking at something outside.

How to Teach It:

1. Introduce the Lick Mat: Spread some peanut butter or yogurt on the mat.

2. Encourage Use: Let your dog explore and lick the mat. Use a calming word like "Enjoy" to associate with the activity and give them some good relaxing pets while you’re at it.

3. Bring out The Lick Mat in Stressful Situations: Once your pup is familiar with a lick mat, you can start to bring it out in situations that seem to stress them out. Have one ready when the doorbell rings or when your mail person typically stops by.

4. Paw Targeting

Why It’s Useful: Paw targeting is a gateway skill, so to speak. It can lead to many more advanced tricks, like ringing a bell to go outside, turning on a light switch, and opening doors on command. While those skills can take a lot of practice, simple paw targeting is a cool, easy trick to teach your dog.

How to Teach It:

1. Start with a Treat: Hold a small treat in your hand and let your pup smell it. They will likely try to get it out of your hand. Hold it tight until they reach up with their paw and bat at your hand.
2. Encourage Touch: When they touch your hand with their paw, say “yes!” and give them the treat. Repeat this until they start going in automatically with their paw to hit your hand. Once they do this, you can add the command “Touch”. Say it right before they paw your hand.
3. Ask Them to Touch an Object: Once they are getting the hang of it, place an object in front of them and ask for a “Touch”. Say it once and wait for them to figure it out. Once they do, celebrate their win and give them a treat.
4. Keep Practicing: Bring out other objects, like a bell, an ajar door, or even your outstretched hand and practice “touch.”

5. Spin and Twirl

Why It’s Useful: Teaching your dog to spin or twirl is a fun and engaging trick that can add variety to their routine and impress your friends. It’s one of the cutest tricks to teach your dog! But you won’t only be teaching your dog this trick for your own entertainment. Practicing fun tricks like this helps your dog feel included and part of your life. Pleasing you and impressing your friends will give them a sense of pride and belonging.

How to Teach It:

1. Use a Treat: Hold a treat close to your dog’s nose and move it in a circular motion.
2. Introduce the Command: As they follow the treat, say "Spin" or "Twirl."
3. Reward: Once they complete the circle, reward them with the treat and praise. Practice until they can twirl on command.

6. Chill

Why It’s Useful: Training your dog to relax on command helps manage their stress levels and promotes calmness during high-energy moments or when you need them to settle down. This is one of the important things to teach your dog.

How to Teach It:

1. Choose a Command: Use a calming word like "Chill" or "Relax." Be sure to start this lesson when they are already in a chill mood. (It will not magically work if they are stressed.)

2. Associate with Activity: Pair the command with a soothing activity, like using a lick mat or resting on a comfortable bed.

3. Reward Calm Behavior: Praise and reward your dog when they remain calm and follow the command.

7. High-Five

Why It’s Useful: The "High-Five" trick is a fun way to engage with your dog and shows off their skills in a light-hearted manner. It’s also a great bonding activity, making it one of the fun tricks to teach your dog.

How to Teach It:

1. Encourage Pawing: Hold a treat in your hand and wait for your dog to paw at it.
2. Use the Command: As they lift their paw, say "High-Five" and reward them.
3. Repeat and Reinforce: Practice regularly to strengthen the behavior and make it a consistent trick.

8. Leave It

Why It’s Useful: The "Leave It" command is crucial for preventing your dog from picking up or eating potentially dangerous items. This command helps keep them safe from harmful objects, toxic substances, or even undesirable food, making it one of the useful tricks to teach your dog.

How to Teach It:

1. Start Small: Place a treat in front of your dog but cover it with your hand. Say "Leave it" and wait for your dog to stop trying to get the treat.
2. Reward: Once your dog backs away or shows restraint, reward them with a different treat.
3. Increase Difficulty: Gradually move the treat to different locations or use more tempting items, still using the "Leave it" command. Continue rewarding correct responses.
4. Practice Regularly: Consistent practice in various situations helps reinforce the command and ensures your dog remains responsive.

9. Go to Your Spot

Why It’s Useful: The "Go to Your Spot" command helps establish boundaries and creates a designated area for your dog to settle or stay. This is useful for managing your dog’s behavior in different situations, such as when guests arrive or when you need them to stay calm. It’s an easy way to teach your dog to calm down. (I did a full blog post about go to your spot here if you'd like more details!)

How to Teach It:

1. Designate a Spot: Choose a specific area, like a dog bed or mat.
2. Introduce the Command: Lead your dog to the spot using the command "Go to your spot." Once they are on the spot, reward them with a treat and praise.
3. Reinforce: Repeat this process several times, gradually increasing the distance between you and the spot before rewarding.
4. Add Duration: Once your dog reliably goes to their spot, practice having them stay there for longer periods before giving a reward.

10. Emergency Recall

Why It’s Useful: Recall, aka “Come!” is an essential command that all dogs should know. If you want to be able to have your dog off leash for any amount of time, you’ll need to trust that they come when you call them. Unfortunately, the “Come!” command can get watered down when dogs learn that they can ignore this command.

Emergency recall is a way to “start over” if your dog does not come when called. You will only use this one for emergencies outside of the house.

How to Teach It:

1. Start in a Controlled Environment: Begin in a quiet, familiar place with few distractions. Use a leash or long line if needed.
2. Use Extra Good Treats: Consider the type of treat you’d need to get your dog to turn away from a squirrel and come to you instead. Really yummy things like chicken, cheese, and even bacon can work here.
3. Use A New Command: Have your dog sit and stay and then take a few steps back. Release them from their “stay” and immediately say your new command as you hold out a special treat. Try a special whistle, a code word, or even the word “Emergency”. If they don’t come running, check to make sure your treats are top tier.
4. Increase Difficulty: Practice your new command in various environments and with increasing distractions to ensure reliability. Only practice when you’re sure they will come when called. Don’t take this one out on the road (or to the dog park) until they come 100% of the time.
5. Make It Fun: Use positive reinforcement and keep training sessions short and enjoyable to maintain your dog’s interest and enthusiasm. Celebrate your dog’s wins! To many pups, a loving head pat, good eye contact, and words on encouragement are just as rewarding as a good treat.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Fun and Positive

Remember, teaching tricks should be a fun and positive experience for both you and your dog. Always use positive reinforcement, and never push your dog too hard. Whether you're working on basic tricks to teach your dog or exploring new tricks to teach your dog, the goal is to build a strong, trusting relationship. So grab some treats, get creative, and enjoy the process of learning together!

These fun things to teach your dog not only enhance their quality of life but also deepen the bond you share. Once you’ve mastered the basic commands on sit, stay, down, and come— keep going! Most dogs love to learn and see their people proud of them. And there’s nothing quite like watching your dog have a light bulb moment and figure out something new. Keep those teaching moments going!