Teach your dog some new tricks with these fun videos

Dog-holding-up-a-paw.Image source, PhotoTalk

Lots of you have been spending much more time with your pets than usual lately, so what's better than to teach your dog some new tricks?

We spoke with Kate, Ally and Angus from Dogs Trust, an organisation that takes in dogs and re-homes them.

They've sent us three step-by-step guides to use with your pet which are easy and fun.

Read on and watch the videos to find out how to teach your dog to do a figure of 8, boop its nose in a box and go through a tunnel.

What you'll need

  1. A dog who is alert and happy to play, avoid training with them when they are tired or hungry.

  2. Some tasty treats or their favourite toy to use as a 'lure'.

  3. Time and patience, it might take a while for your dog to understand what you want from them.

Media caption,

In this video, Kate explains how you can teach your dog to perform the perfect Figure 8.

In this video, Kate uses Miko's favourite treats and two boxes. Kate uses the treats as a "lure", as seen in the video Kate puts Miko's treat in her hands uses the treat to make Miko follow her hand movements, in a figure of 8.

In the next step, Kate removes the treats so that she is just using her hands, and Miko follows her movements in a figure of 8 movement. You may have to practice that first step before removing your treats first! Takes lot of practice and have lots of treats ready.

Media caption,

Ally explains how to teach your dog to place its nose in a hole in a box.

Ally works for Dogs Trust with Kate, and is joined by her dog, Rufus. This trick is called "Boop in a box" and the aim is to say "boop" and your dog will place its nose in a hole in a cardboard box.

Like Kate, Ally uses a lure to show Rufus what she would like him to do. Ally uses a treat to lure Rufus' nose into the cardboard box and says "boop". Every time your dog does it right, make sure to reward it with a treat,

Once you've practised that step plenty of times, the next step is using a hand gesture. Pretend that you have food in your hand and gesture your hand like before, and say "boop". Don't worry if your dog is struggling, as you can see in the video, this is a tricky one!

Media caption,

Angus explains how to teach your dog to crawl through a box tunnel.

Last but not least is Angus and his dog, June. This trick teaches your dog how to crawl through a card board box, but make sure it's big enough so that your dog doesn't become stuck.

Angus uses a treat as a lure, so that June crawls through the cardboard box to eat it. Once you've done this a couple of times, use what Angus calls a "visual cue" and "verbal cue". Watch Angus closely, for a verbal cue he makes a sound, similar to the "boop". The visual cue is where Angus uses his hands to signal June over.

Remember, it may take a few attempts to get it right, like the dog who attempts it in the video, practise makes perfect!

Do you have a clever dog who knows some tricks? If so send us a video or why not try one of these three tricks and see how you get on. Get a parent to help you record a video and send it in to us using the link below or let us know how it went in the comments below.

Are you ready to send your stuff?

This uploader is for parents to share videos and pictures with the Newsround team.