The Best Dog Tricks We Taught Our Dogs

In addition to your basic dog commands (like sit, lie down, come, and stay) and the standard pet tricks every dog knows (like fetch, heel, and roll over), we’ve managed to teach our dogs many more advanced dog tricks as well. (More on that in a minute.)
The basic commands are among the most important things that every dog should know. How many does your dog know? It’s also important that you understand what the words Yes and No mean to your dog.
Once you and your dog have those basic things down, then it’s time to move onto the fun dog tricks.

Following are some of the more advanced dog tricks that we’ve taught our dogs. Clicking on the links will take you to step-by-step instructions for each dog trick, along with photos taken during the training process.

Best Dog Tricks That Our Dog Destin Does:

• He can “pray” religiously (and he doesn’t get up from the “pray” position until we say “Amen”).
• When he was a puppy, we taught Destin to “tell me” whenever he wanted something. Our hope was that he would bark to tell us when he had to go outside. It worked!
• His #1 goal in life is to be helpful, so he doesn’t shy away from household chores. His favorites: “taking out the trash” and “getting the mail”.
• When it’s time to “take out the trash (signaled by the fact that we’re changing the trash bag liner in the kitchen garbage pail), he knows that he gets to carry one item to the big garbage pail we keep in the garage. Then, sits waiting for me to put his leash on so he can simply walk the trash can to the curb with me and return immediately without dilly-dallying. (He hasn’t been taught to put things in the trash can yet.)
• When it’s time to “get the mail“, he makes a mad dash for the mailbox at the curb… then he sits and waits patiently for Jim to hand him a piece of mail… then proudly trots back into the house to give me the day’s mail.
• He can “shake” to knock the water off his fur before getting out of the bathtub or coming in the house when it’s raining, or after playing outside in the water hose. Since he’s such a water dog, this one really comes in handy!
• In puppy training class, we taught Destin the meaning of “touch” (to tap our open palm lightly with his nose). This is supposed to be useful in teaching him to use his nose to nudge open a door on his own, to turn on a light, to signal us in an emergency, etc. Whether we’ll ever need such a command has yet to be determined, but he’s definitely got “touch” down!
• He gives you his “toes” on command. This is actually the same as “high five”, “shake hands” or “give me your paw”. It’s a dog trick that comes in handy when wiping wet/muddy paws and trimming toenails.
• He’s not a chewer, but whenever we’re not home, he’s bound & determined to let you know when you’ve left something within his reach! Whether it’s a candy wrapper, a piece of notebook paper, or a kleenex (his favorite)… he’ll drag it to the hallway so it’s the first thing we see when we arrive back home. Sometimes, this is useful… like when he brings us the remote control!
• Whatever is in his mouth (a toy, a piece of food, or something he shouldn’t have in his mouth), Destin will “drop it” on command (…without too much drool, and no chew marks).
• Always eager to please, Destin learned to patiently sit still with a treat on the tip of his nose as a young pup.