Benefits of Trick Training

Many people view trick-training as something to do just for fun - that tricks have no real purpose other than to show off or look cute.  While trick training is certainly a lot of fun (at least in my opinion, and many of my clients would agree), it's good for so much more than that!

Let's talk about some of the benefits of trick training I can think of off the top of my head - I'm sure there are more!

1.  Builds better relationships - when you spend time with your pet engaging in activities you both enjoy, where you have to work together as a team, that's a HUGE boost to your relationship bank account.

2.  Builds trust - same thing here: when you engage in activities with your pet where they consistently learn you play fair and follow the rules, they learn you're a safe and trustworthy person to be around.

3.  Builds confidence - learning new skills at a pace they can handle and being in control of their learning environment helps pets build confidence and life skills they can use in the real world.

4.  Better communication skills - working together as a team to learn a variety of new behaviors allows you and your pet to learn to better communicate in a variety of contexts.  You get to know each other and your learning styles and comforts much better when you learn to listen and pay attention to each other.

5.  Pets learn how to learn and you learn how your pet learns - especially as you learn more intricate and complex behaviors, you'll become a master of understanding how to teach your pet based on their own learning style and they'll become better and better at trying new and more complex behaviors.

6.  Best way to physically wear pets out in small space - what do you do if you live in a small space? Or it's raining outside?  Or you're physically limited but your pet is bouncing off the walls?  Trick training is great for getting lots of pent-up energy out in a small space!  You can work on balance, coordination, circles, jumps, leg weaves, etc, all in one room!

7.  Great mental exercise - just like us, mental exercise is important for pets too! Did you know that a study done recently in dogs suggests that mental exercise tires them out 4x faster than physical exercise?  Trick-training is a fantastic mental work-out and a 5-10 minute session teaching them a new trick will often wear them out faster than taking them on a 30 minute run!

8.  Body coordination and awareness - there are tons of tricks that focus specifically on teaching pets to target specific muscle groups and be aware of how their body moves.  These tricks are fantastic foundations for dog sports, but are also great for teaching them to be careful around children or people/animals with physical limitations.  Some of these tricks are also used for older pets to help with mobility or pets recovering from injuries/surgeries.

9.  Teaches obedience behaviors - There are many tricks that can be used to teach traditional "obedience" behaviors.  I have some favorites I like to use for recall and loose leash/heel in particular.  People tend to treat trick training like a game and obedience like a chore, so guess which behaviors the pets prefer? Trick training of course?  So I use as many tricks and games in training as I possibly can. :)

10.  Teaches useful skills (like item retrieval, spacial awareness and other tasks – service dog tasks are essential tricks) - would you like a pet who can help around the house? Maybe they could help put their toys in a bin (or your kids toys in a bin)? Go get you a soda from the fridge? Get your slippers?  Hit the lights?  Find your lost remote? Guess what? That's trick training!

11.  Makes your pet more approachable - obviously this is a personal preference and some people like their pet to appear more intimidating in certain contexts (and that's totally fine!).  But maybe when your 5-year niece or your grandmother comes over and sees your large black and tan dog, your black cat or the beak on your cockatoo and looks frightened (if they shouldn't be), having your pet do some silly tricks often changes people's attitudes.  It's a lot harder to be scared of a dog who flops over on it's back and wriggles around when you tell them to play dead. 

12.  Trick Training is kid-friendly - kids often love pets, but sometimes the feelings aren't mutual because pets feel overwhelmed by the sudden movements, noises and physical interactions of children.  If you teach children how to engage with pets using tricks the pet knows and loves, the children are entertained by the silly antics of the pet (and they never have to touch the pet and overwhelm them during this time) and the pet enjoys the company of the child because they get to do the behaviors they enjoy while the child is present and rewards (usually treats) appear while the child is present. 

If you'd like to get started with trick training, we have an online intro to trick training class for just $30.  This class will prepare you to test for the Novice Trick Training Title through the AKC if you're interested in that option. You can learn more by clicking the buttons below.

Intro to Trick Training

AKC Trick Titles