3 Easy Tricks to Teach your Dog in Time for Halloween

 in Dog Training Talk  tagged halloween / trick training by
Image: a collage of three photos with a Halloween background. The photos show a dog doing a "spin" trick with a handler.
Image: A collage of two photos with a Halloween theme. The first photo is of a dog doing the "play dead" trick with a handler. The second photo is a dog doing a "peek-a-boo" trick with a handler.

Trick or treat! Why not both? If you’re looking for something fun to do with your canine bestie, take a look at these fun and simple tricks. The great news: your dog can do tricks and have their treats too!

Peek-a-boo:

Image: photo that has a Halloween theme back ground with text that says "Peek-a-boo." Photo in center is of a dog doing a "peek-a-boo" trick with a handler.

The goal: While standing up with your legs at least shoulder-width apart, your dog will stand or sit between your legs while looking up at you.

Option 1:

Image: a dog and human doing step 1 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart or with plenty of room so your dog can go between without feeling cramped.
  1. Hold the same kind of small treat in each of your hands.
Image: a dog and human doing step 3 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. With your dog to your side, guide them behind you with one treat so they end up close to the opening of your legs.
Image: a dog and human doing step 4 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Lower your other treat hand in front of you to find your dog’s nose and encourage them to focus on this new treat.
Image: a dog and human doing step 5 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. When your dog is curious about the treat hand in front of you, lift the hand behind your back up to hide the first treat from your dog. (It’s a sneaky switcheroo!)
Image: a dog and human doing step 6 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Guide your dog forward with your treat hand in front of you and reward when their head pokes out between your legs.

Option 2:

Image: a dog and human doing step 1 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Ask your dog to sit and stay.
Image: a dog and human doing step 2 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Turn your back on your dog and stand with your feet about shoulder width apart.
Image: a dog and human doing step 3 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. Lower a treat hand in front of you and encourage your dog to come to it by going in between your legs.
Image: a dog and human doing step 4 of the peek-a-boo trick
  1. When your dog pokes their head out between your legs, reward.

Tips:

  • Some dogs are nervous going into smaller spaces or wary of feet. Take this trick slow and reward the little steps.
  • It might be helpful to teach your dog to crawl under things that are more stable.
  • You can also toss a treat between your legs to encourage the dog to tunnel through them to boost their confidence.

Spin:

Image: photo that has a Halloween theme back ground with text that says "Spin." Photo in center is of a dog doing a "spin" trick with a handler.

The goal: Your dog will spin in a circle from nose to tail, doing a full 360 in front of you.

Steps:

Image: a dog and human doing step 1 of the spin trick
  1. Start with your dog facing you.
Image: a dog and human doing step 2 of the spin trick
  1. Hold a treat in one pinched hand.
Image: a dog and human doing step 3 of the spin trick
  1. Put the treat on your dog’s nose and guide them towards their tail slowly. (Imagine stirring a cauldron with your arm.)
Image: a dog and human doing step 4 of the spin trick
  1. As your dog rotates towards their tail, keep “stirring” them back to where they started.
Image: a dog and human doing step 5 of the spin trick
  1. Once your dog has made a full 360, reward them with the cookie.

Tips:

  • Dogs have a preferred side they like to spin on. You can start with that side to teach the body movement, but make sure to work on both sides for evenness and mobility.
  • Once your dog is doing well with following your treat guide in a smooth motion, you can start to raise your hand up higher to get a spin hand signal.

Play Dead:

Image: photo that has a Halloween theme back ground with text that says "Play Dead." Photo in center is of a dog doing a "play dead" trick with a handler.

The goal: Your dog will lay completely on their side with head, hips, and shoulders touching the ground.

Steps:

Image: a dog and human doing step 1 of the "play dead" trick
  1. Start with your dog in a down position facing you.
Image: a dog and human doing step 2 of the "play dead" trick
  1. Notice if your dog has their hips out to the side or straight like a sphinx. If your dog has their hips out to the side, use this as a guide for what side they may like to flop onto.
Image: a dog and human doing step 3 of the "play dead" trick
  1. Holding the treat with one hand, guide your dog’s nose towards their shoulder blades and hold it there until they roll onto their hips.
Image: a dog and human doing step 4 of the "play dead" trick
  1. Once your dog is rolled onto their hips, guide the treat farther around behind their head to encourage them to put their shoulders down next.
Image: a dog and human doing step 5 of the "play dead" trick
  1. Once their shoulders are on the ground, guide their head over onto the floor so their ear is touching the ground. Reward in this position.

Tips:

  • Dogs will also have a preferred side to roll onto. It is easier in the beginning to teach this side first, then try the other side.
  • Some dogs need this trick broken down into smaller achievements, like rewarding for the hips out, then rocking onto their shoulders, then putting their heads down on the ground.
  • Once your dog is doing well with rolling onto their side in a smooth motion, you can start shaping your hand like a finger gun as you guide them onto their side.

Need more of a visual?

Check out our video!

image: dog holding fake skeleton hand in mouth

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