Joplin Humane Society

While tricks are not nearly so important for a dog to learn as manners, they can be a lot of fun. Now that you are familiar with the general principles of training a dog, you will find it easy to teach Beans some tricks.

Let It Alone: Place a toy in front of Beans. When he starts to pick it up, hold him and say “Let it alone!” When he learns to sit by the toy without touching it, pat his head and gave him a little reward. This is a useful command to keep him from chewing up slippers or digging in flower gardens.

Kiss Me: This is easy. Pick Beans up in your arms. Hold his face close to your cheek and say “Kiss me.” Even though he won’t understand the words at first, he will automatically lick your face.

Catch It: Toss a bit of meat or dog biscuit toward Beans, calling “Catch it!” When he gets used to catching food in the air, then toss a small ball or other toy that won’t hurt his mouth.

Bring It to Me: Most dogs naturally like to retrieve. Throw a ball for Beans, and when he runs to it and picks it up, call “Bring it to me:” If he doesn’t come right away, call “Here, Beans:” This is a command that he should know by now, so he will come to you with the ball. Repeat the lesson until he also obeys the order, “Bring it to me: ” Later, when he understands what the words mean, he can then be taught, “Bring me my slippers,” or “Bring me your leash.”

Drop It: After Beans learns to retrieve, he should then learn to drop the toy at your feet when you tell him to.Teach him this by saying “Drop it” while at the same time you gently open his jaws and take the toy away from him, letting it drop to the floor. This is a useful command when he starts to eat something he shouldn’t, or when he picks up something he might hurt with his teeth.

Stand Up: Hold a bit of food high in your hand and say “Stand up, Beans.” He will naturally rise to his hind legs in his effort to reach the food. If he wobbles a little, hold your other hand under his front legs, saying “Good Beans. That’s right.” If he falls down, hold the food in the air again and repeat the command to stand up. Don’t reward with the food until he does stand up.

Sit Up: This is taught much the same way as stand up, but you hold the food lower, about the level of Beans’s nose when he sits up. Cover the food with your fingers so he won’t get it as you hold his front legs steady while he tries to sit. Little by little, he will learn to keep his balance and sit up alone.

Roll Over: Hold a toy in one hand, down close to the floor. Say “Roll over” at the same time that you roll Beans over with your other hand. Then give him the toy at once. Or you can use a bit of biscuit, but don’t let him eat it until you have rolled him over. Soon he will learn to roll over by himself whenever you hold a toy or a bit of food near the floor, and give the command to roll over. Always reward him by giving him the food or toy as soon as he obeys.

Dead Dog: Place Beans on the floor so he is lying on his side. Hold him there firmly, saying “Dead dog.” Walk away from him. If he starts to get up to follow, say “No!” Push him down again, repeating “Dead dog.” When he stays there after you have walked away a little, give him a reward. He will gradually learn to stay there even when you leave the room, until you call him.

Shake Hands: Get Beans to sit down on his hind legs. Have a bit of food hidden in your left hand. With your right hand, tap under Beans’s right wrist and lift up his paw from the floor, saying “Shake hands:” As soon as he lifts his paw and puts it in your hand, give him a reward.

Shut the Door: Take Beans to a door that is open a little way. Lift up his front paws until they rest on the door, As soon as the door begins to close, say “Shut the door.” Repeat this, praising and rewarding Beans whenever he shuts the door.

One final word to remember about teaching any commands: Always use the same words for what you want your dog to do. For instance, if you want him to learn to shake hands, always say “Shake hands” and don’t confuse him by saying “Hello” or “Howdy.”

Some dogs, especially those brought up in the country, love to chase cars. Of course this is a serious habit which must be broken, both for the sake of your dog and for the sake of the people in the car who might have an accident as they try to avoid hitting the dog.

If Beans has been given good training, so he comes when you call him, you can probably stop the car-chasing habit before it starts. Call Beans to you every time he begins to run after a ear and give him a scolding. He should soon learn that this is something he must not do.

If he still runs after cars, however, try this: Ask one of your parents to have a pail of water next to an open window of the car. When they drive slowly past Beans and he begins to run alongside the car, your parent should throw the water over him. If this is repeated several times, he should become convinced that chasing cars is not as much fun as he thought.

Another method of breaking this dangerous habit is to attach a long rope to Beans’s collar. When he starts to chase a car, let him get almost the full length of the rope, then yell “Stop!” and pull hard on the rope. This jolt, repeated whenever he starts after a car, should make Beans behave.

And a final way of stopping car-chasing is this: Get a short piece of broom handle, from twelve to sixteen inches in length. Carve a notch in the middle and then hang it by a cord to Beans’s collar. It will hang across his front legs. When he starts running after a car, the stick will bang against his legs and trip him.

The polite dog citizen goes his own way on the street. He does not run to or jump up on people who are passing by. He does not bark or snarl at them. And of course he does not bite theml It is up to you to stop him with a “No!” and a jerk of the leash if he shows signs of doing any of these bad things.

When you stop to talk to friends, you should tell Beans to sit. He should sit quietly beside you until you start to walk again, with the command “Heel:” Hard as it is to believe, there are people in the world who don’t like dogsl They will appreciate it if you have trained Beans to keep his place.

It almost goes without saying that Beans must never bite anyone. It also almost goes without saying that it is up to you to see that he doesn’t. Strange things may frighten a dog into biting. That is why you must keep him on a leash whenever he is out on the street. You must stop him with a firm “No!” if he snarls at passers-by. The reason for this firmness is not only to protect other people, but also to protect Beans. The law in many states allows a dog to bite a person once or twice. If he bites more often, the police can take him away from you and destroy him.

If Beans persists in snarling or snapping, in spite of your training, you must put a muzzle on him whenever you take him out.

It’s difficult for Beans to pass another dog on the street without saying hello. But hard as it is, he should be taught to stay at your side and pay no attention even to the most attractive dog. You must keep him at heel so he does not sniff at or start to play with strangers. This is good manners, but it is also good sense. The other dog may have a disease which Beans could catch, or he may snap at him.