Teach Your Pet a Trick
Teach your pet a simple trick like sit or shake using treats, clear signals, short practice sessions, rewards, and patience to track progress.
Step-by-step guide to teach your pet a trick
5 Easy Tricks You Can Teach Your Dog at Home
Step 1
Pick one simple trick to teach like Sit or Shake and choose one short word plus one hand signal to use every time.
Step 2
Put 10 to 15 small tasty treats in a container so you can reward your pet quickly.
Step 3
Make a quiet training area and place the mat or towel there for your pet to stand on.
Step 4
Show one treat to your pet so they look at you and know training is starting.
Step 5
Use the treat to lure your pet into the trick position by moving it above their head for Sit or near their paw for Shake.
Step 6
As soon as your pet does the action, say your marker word or click the clicker once to mark the correct behavior.
Step 7
Give a treat right away to reward the behavior so your pet learns the action gets rewards.
Step 8
Use the timer and practice short 1 to 3 minute sessions two to four times a day.
Step 9
After several successful lures, try giving only the hand signal or the word without showing the treat.
Step 10
If your pet responds to the signal, mark with your word or click and then give a treat immediately.
Step 11
Over several days slowly give treats less often but always offer happy praise so your pet stays motivated.
Step 12
Write down each successful try on your paper with the date so you can see your pet getting better.
Step 13
Finish each session with a quick playtime using your favourite toy so your pet ends happy.
Step 14
Share a photo or short description of your pet performing the trick on DIY.org to show your progress.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can I use instead of a clicker or special treats?
If you don't have a clicker, use a short marker word like "Yes" and substitute tiny pieces of cooked chicken, cheese, or kibble kept in any small container or cup so you can reward your pet quickly.
My pet ignores the lure and won't do the trick — what should I try?
Make the training area quieter and smaller, use smaller tastier treats, move the treat more slowly to lure the Sit or Shake, and be sure to mark with your word or click and give the treat right away during your 1–3 minute session.
How can I change the activity for younger kids or older kids?
For younger children, have an adult handle the lure, timer, and writing down each success and keep sessions to about 1 minute with lots of praise, while older kids can run 2–3 minute sessions, practice fading the treat to only the hand signal, and post progress on DIY.org.
How can we make the trick more exciting or show off our pet's progress?
After your pet reliably responds to the hand signal, increase distance, chain a second trick before finishing with the favourite toy, slowly reduce treats over several days while giving happy praise, and share a photo or short video on DIY.org to document improvement.
Watch videos on how to teach your pet a trick
Teach your dog to SHAKE
4 Videos
Teach your dog to SHAKE
3 Ways to Teach your Dog How to Shake
5 Easy Dog Trick tutorials
How To Teach A Dog To Shake - A - Paw
Facts about pet training for kids
⏱️ Short, frequent 5–10 minute practice sessions keep young pets focused and reduce burnout.
📈 A simple training log (date, cue, success rate) makes it easy to track progress and celebrate wins.
🎯 Positive reinforcement (rewards) helps pets learn faster and with less stress than punishment.
🐶 Some dogs can learn over 100 words and commands — Border Collies are famous for large vocabularies.
🍪 Tiny, high-value treats or a clicker as a precise marker improve timing and motivation without overfeeding.
How do I teach my pet a simple trick like sit or shake?
What materials do I need to teach my pet a trick?
What ages is teaching a pet trick suitable for?
What are the benefits of teaching your pet a trick?
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