Trick Academy

Train. Reward. Repeat.

Even before the puppy arrives at its new home, the future family should familiarize themselves with the up to date information on dog training. It is recommended to start the training as soon as the puppy arrives at its new family, while also keeping in mind, that the little puppy needs plenty of rest in addition to training. Remember to always end the short training sessions by rewarding the dog. Best Friend Nordic Mini Bits training treats are perfect for this purpose, thanks to their small size and soft texture!

As with people, repetition is the key to learning also for dogs. Therefore, in dog training, timing of the rewarding, repetitions and the trainer's patience are important tools for success. In addition to treats, rewarding can sometimes be done also with a toy, by trainer's praise/stroking, or by playing together. Remember that it's natural for dogs to work for their treats, and when the reward is high-quality and super delicious, like Best Friend treats, the dog's motivation towards the ongoing training will remain strong! A dog's training does not end with the puppy age, rather

it continues throughout the dog's life. Therefore, delicious training treats are on the shopping list of every pet parent! Learned skills should also be constantly reinforced in positive ways, and as most dogs love food, training treats and snacks in general, are usually the most awaited thing after the training sessions!

Learning together -happily

Even an old dog can learn new tricks if the trainer has patience and positive means! Training a dog doesn't stop at the puppy age. After learning the basic skills, it's great to be able to further develop the dog's skills, try more demanding tricks or participate in hobbies that require seamless cooperation from the dog and pet parent. Most puppies also go through the adolescence when the skills mastered as a puppy might fade from the dog’s mind, and a gentle retraining is needed. In our selection of treats, you will find plenty of delicious options for rewarding, e.g., Best Friend Nordic Mini Bits which thanks to their soft texture and small size are perfectly suitable for all training situations ahead!

When training a dog, basic skills and practicing them increase obedience. After basic obedience training, it's easier to socialize your puppy, and you don't have to worry about e.g., having a leash reactive dog. Training also helps the dog to understand how to act in each situation and what is expected of the dog at that moment. This, in turn, helps in reducing the dog's stress in new and sometimes surprising situations. Basic training also includes useful skills, which can be helpful when keeping the dog safe or protecting the dog, e.g. training and mastering commands like "leave" and "come" can even save a dog's life in demanding situations.

Below you can find instructions for three training exercises with which you can start learning basic skills with your puppy or arouse interest in training with more experienced dog before moving on to more demanding tricks. Let’s fill the pockets with training treats and start practicing! What a way to have more quality time together with your dog and strengthen the bond between you while happily learning new things!

Sit

1. Show Mini Bits treat to a dog. Take the treat above the dog’s head, right behind the snout.
2. When trying to reach for the treat the dog lays it’s behind on the floor. When this happens, give a treat immediately to the dog and praise him. Repeat this enough times until the sitting reflex becomes faster.

3. Next you associate the command word “sit” to the sitting reflex, every time the dog sits. This way the so learns to connect the command and action.
   Always praise & reward your dog for a job well done!
   

 

Shake paws

1. Ask the dog to sit. Hold a Mini Bits treat in your hand so that the dog can see it. Then close your fist with the treat in it.
2. Bring your closed fist near the dog. The dog will smell the hidden treat, and most likely will try to get the treat by using his paw. Let the dog have the treat. Praise the dog for a job well done. Repeat this enough times.
   Next, do the same without the hidden treat in your fist. As soon as, the dog touches your fist with his paw, reward him with your free hand.
3. Now you can start to combine a command to the trick, e.g., “shake paws”.
   Always praise & reward your dog for a job well done!

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