Tasks You Can Teach Your Dog
Did you know that there are several tasks you can teach your dog? Every owner loves to see how their pet learns new things, demonstrating all his intelligence.
As you certainly know, it is possible to train your best friend and teach him many useful activities, in an easy and fun way. For this reason, we have decided to bring together, in this article, some tasks that you can teach your dog.
What to teach your best friend: 5 tasks for dogs
If you want to stimulate the mind of your four-legged friend, the first thing to do is to teach him the basic orders of canine obedience.
These exercises are essential for any dog, whether it is a simple pet or a dog that plays sports or is used for rescue and other services.
They consist of primary and general orders, such as ” Come here “, ” Come back “, ” Sit “, ” Lie down “, ” Shut up “, ” Leave ” and ” No “. They will act as a foundation that will allow you to advance in training by teaching increasingly complex tasks that are likely to amaze your friends.
1. Tasks You Can Teach Your Dog: Collect His Toys
Your dog sure loves to have fun with his favorite toys. How about teaching him to fix them too? This is an easy task to put into practice and very useful, both for your dog and for family coexistence. In addition to helping you tidy up the house, this rule is excellent for reaffirming the role of pack leader of the owner.
2. Turn off the light
It may seem like a movie scene. Still, dogs can safely turn the light on and off, using their paws. All it takes is patience and a little training.
The only requirement, if anything, is that your friend has a build that allows him to get to the switch. If you have a Dachshund, it is certainly another matter.
3. Bring your slippers
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your little dog who punctually brings you his slippers as soon as you return home.
A gesture of great affection, which will increase the bond between owner and animal and also the cognitive capacity of your dog.
Take a few minutes to train, reward him every time he manages to complete the task and nothing more.
4. Close the door
This is an excellent task for pets that go out on the patio or garden when their owners are not at home.
Depending on your dog’s size and height, you can teach him to close the door with his paw or even his head. As always: patience and positive reinforcement.
5. Collect dirty clothes and take them to the closet
The foundation of this task is the same as collecting toys. So once you learn the first activity, your dog will be able to help you pick up anything, even laundry.
It will give you a hand in the housework: not bad, right?
Tips for teaching the dog certain tasks
I commit
It is very important to maintain consistency in a pet’s education. The animal must assimilate the orders in a total way, which requires commitment and patience on the part of its owner.
When to teach
When it comes to teaching basic obedience commands, the ideal is to spend 10 to 20 minutes a day with your best friend.
For the second stage, if we talk about more complex exercises, this period will increase, from 30 to 40 minutes every day.
How to teach
Exercises and commands should be performed one at a time, to facilitate logical understanding and avoid confusion.
The ideal is to dedicate 3 to 10 days to complete the execution of a single exercise or activity.
The assimilation time depends on each animal and on the dedication of the one who teaches.
There is evidence that some races are able to learn more easily. The Border collie, for example, can learn one order a day if properly trained.
Take advantage of positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is about rewarding the right attitudes to stimulate skill learning and promote obedience.
To easily teach your best friend tricks, it is essential to pet him, praise him and reward him when he reaches the required goal.
In this way, the animal will be able to improve its learning ability, as well as strengthen its self-esteem.
The reward must be given immediately, so that the animal links it to a specific behavior.
It is better to give him the reward immediately, so that the animal consolidates the concept of advantage over the action just performed.
Choose a suitable place
To avoid distraction, especially if you have puppies, it is important to choose a quiet place to carry out the training. Choose an area without too many external stimuli, away from other dogs, without music or noise or food, etc.
Recall learned orders
It is vital to set aside a day or two a week to recall each of the orders and tasks the dog has learned.
It is a way to review the concepts learned and refresh your memory. Otherwise, your dog may forget or confuse orders, which will reduce his degree of obedience.
