Teaching your dog to do tricks can be a great bonding experience. It can also help build confidence in your dog! Dogs like having jobs to do, and they like pleasing their people. Time, patience, rewards, and reinforcement will get you through the training process.
After the age of twelve weeks, your dog should be read for some basic training. Don’t believe that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” line — dogs of any age can learn. Some breeds and some dogs are faster learners than others. Some dogs are motivated by food; others are motivated by play or praise. The first step is to figure out what motivates your dog. Use that — food or a toy or attention — as your reward when you start training.
Try to have training sessions twice a day, but keep them short. Between ten and fifteen minutes is a good average, but you may need your sessions to be shorter if you or your dog get impatient or distracted easily. Find a nice quiet space where you can work. If you have multiple dogs, you may need to work with one dog at a time. However, you may be able to have one dog demonstrate a trick for the other to learn! Do what works best in your pack.
You may want to have your dog wear a leash and collar while you’re working. At the very least, a collar may help you keep a handle on the dog during training sessions. Try not to use the collar and leash as a punishment, or your dog will associate the items with negative things, rather than the fun, positive experience of training.
Always end a training session on a positive note — ask your dog to do a trick he has already mastered. Reward him with a treat and praise and petting. Finishing off on a high note will make sure you both look forward to the next session.
And if your dog happens to do a particular thing you want BETWEEN sessions and/or without prompting, be sure to go nuts and praise him. Use the command you plan to use — like if you want to teach him to sit, say GOOD BOY! SIT! GOOD BOY! If he happens to sit randomly. He’ll get the hint soon enough that this is something that makes you happy.