Training your dog to offer his paw in exchange for a “high-five” is rather simple. Below is a short but simple way that you can teach your dog this neat trick:

1. Holding a treat in one hand with your dog sitting in front of you, crouch down to his level (eye to eye), and give him the command of your choice. Your command can either be “Shake”, “High Five”, or anything similar that you like.

2. Once you have spoken your “high five” command with your empty hand out to shake the dog, gently pick up his or her dominant paw, lift it off of the ground about three inches, and easily slide your hand into the paw. Then shake!

3. Once you shake the dog’s paw you should give as much enthusiastic love and attention that you can, along with a treat. Repeat this process multiple times until the dog will offer you his paw for the “High Five” readily on command.

The above 3 simple steps can be used to train you dog anywhere and at anytime. It is important to remember that once your dog is trained to shake hands, you must still give the dog a lot of praise each he completes the “high five” in the future.

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Would you like your dog to learn to properly fetch when you command or to retrieve your morning paper without tearing it up? The process is rather simple but has several steps.

1. The dog will approach the item that you want him to fetch.
2. Lift the item up with its mouth.
3. Hold the item in place without dropping it.
4. Carry the item back to you.
5. Lastly, drop the item in front of you.

Some dogs, if not most, already know how to retrieve on their own. Others will require a lot more patience. Several factors are involved such as the dog’s breed and how many ‘prey dive’ behaviors exist in its genes.

If your dog is having trouble to retrieve on command then you may want to try the following trick:

Each day, start your retrieving sessions off when the dog is hungry before a meal. Offer your dog some food on a spoon, like peanut butter (dog’s love peanut butter), and as the he goes to grab it with its mouth – should the command “Get it!” or “Take it!”. Once this has been done enough times for the dog to retrieve the food on command, then introduce the object that you would for the dog to retrieve in place of the food.

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What does it mean to be a Canine Good Citizen? This award is a certificate that declares that your dog has the ability to act and behave in a suitable way in public. The following are the 10 parts of the test that your dog will be graded on:

1. The quality of your dog’s grooming and appearance.
2. How well your dog walks through a crowd.
3. How well your dog sits down in place on command.
4. How well the dog sits for a long period of time for petting.
5. How well your dog accepts attention from a friendly stranger.
6. How well your dog walks with a leash without tugging.
7. How well your dog is able to behave while under a stranger’s supervision
8. How well your dog reacts to various distractions, like loud sudden noises or a person jogging quickly past the dog.
9. How well your dog reacts to another dog.
10. How well your dog comes when called.

This test is done on an individual basis and not with a group of other dogs. While having this license is not necessary, for the enthusiastic dog trainer, it is a token of achievement.

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