It's that time: trick of the month day! This month's trick: spin. Spin is a crowd pleaser, and it is surprisingly easy to teach.
What you'll need:
-Treats your pet loves... the smellier the better!
-Yourself
-Your pet
The goal of this trick is to get your pet to spin around in a full circle. The easiest way to complete this goal is to break it down into steps.
Step One: Hold a treat directly in front of your pet's nose. Let them sniff and lick it, but do not let them eat it yet.
Step Two: Slowly pull the treat to the side of your pet's head, so that they have to turn their head to follow the treat.
Step Three: Continue to pull the treat all the way around your pet's body, so they have to spin in a circle to follow it. This is called luring.
Step Four: Once your pet has gone in a complete circle, say "yes!" enthusiastically and give them the treat. If they do not complete the circle, repeat steps 1-3.
Step Five: Repeat steps 1-4 several times.
Step Six: When your pet seems to understand the action of following the treat to spin, begin adding the cue "spin" before luring them.
Step Seven: Spend about 5 minutes a few times daily practicing spin and your pet will be doing it in no time!
Here is Mars demonstrating his best spin for you all <3 If you teach your pet this trick, or they already know it, show us below!
Introducing our new fun Facebook tradition-trick of the month! This will be a post every month in which we teach you how to teach your dog (or cat!) a trick. Teaching your pets tricks can deepen your bond with them and help beat boredom!
For our first trick of the month, we will start with a classic: sit. Sit can be used in many practical settings such as the scale the vet, or can be used to show off to your friends. To begin, find some treats your pet loves. Hold the treat in between your fingers so your pet can smell it and lick it, but not take it from you. Hold the treat over their nose, and slowly move it over their head, allowing them to smell and lick it. As their nose follows the treat, their rear will go to floor. As soon as they sit, say "yes!' and give them the treat. Do this 4-5 more times. Once you've done this, you can introduce the word sit. Say "sit" in an even, calm voice right before you begin luring your pet with the treat as you were before. Repeat this 3-4 times, or until your pet is consistently sitting for the lure and word. Once you have reached this stage, you can begin asking your pet to sit using only your hand motion over their head and the word sit. Make sure to always reward your pet's hard work with a treat and praise! If your pet is struggling to understand what you are asking, try holding your hand above their nose without the treat and luring as though you had one. Then, when they sit, reward with a treat from your other hand.
Did you teach your pet this trick? Show us your pets doing their best sit! Here is Ghost the cat showing off that even kitties can do it!
Dr. Kathleen Neuhoff, DVM
