2/21/2018

Treat Your Pup to a New Trick!

Video Trick: Teach Your Dog To Back Up No Matter if They are Young or Old

What a feeling of excitement and satisfaction we get when we teach our dogs a new trick! Whether you teach them how to be better behaved (sit, lay down, stay, off), or how to make your friends smile (shake hands, roll over, give a kiss, play dead), teaching your dog new behaviors can be very helpful and rewarding for both of you. Think that senior dogs who are slowing down can’t learn new tricks anymore? Nonsense! Our senior dogs are still up for learning if we take the time to teach them!

Bil-Jac Super Premium Dog Food presents TV Show Host and Professional Animal Trainer Joel Silverman, sharing how to back up in just a few simple steps. After using this videos as a guide, and Bil-Jac Treats as a reward, your best friend will be the most talented dog on the block!

This trick is simple for you to teach and easy for dogs of all ages to learn. Whether it’s their first trick training session ever or you’ve been working on a variety of tricks for years, give it a go! Use these 7 simple steps to teach your dog to back up from start to finish:

1. Prepare the Space

Start by setting up the room. Take two chairs or stools (see example in the video above) and separate them a few feet from each other. Use them as guides to create a walkway area.

2. Bil-Jac Treats!

It’s important to reward your dog with a variety of treats during this process. At this point, your dog should be in a standing position within the two guides. Hold the treat to their mouth, but do not reward them quite yet, continue onto step 3 first.

3. Walk Toward Your Dog

With treat in hand, take a few steps toward your dog and say the words “back up.” Stop and reward your best friend with a Bil-Jac treat!

4. Practice Makes Perfect

Repeat steps 1 through 3 and your dog will start understanding “back up” more and more each time.

5. Repeat Again & Again

Start eliminating the use of your hand with a treat, and without walking toward your pup, repeat the command “back-up.” Your dog should start taking a few steps backwards without you moving toward him with a treat. And repeat…

6. Remove the Guides

Try removing the guides to see if your pup can repeat the trick without the guided walkway.

7. Master the Trick

Your best friend will most likely master this trick over the course of about 4-5 days. Remember to use the same words and actions consistently when training your pup. Your dog will catch on more quickly and will be able to learn the trick more easily if you are using all the same words and signals. Don’t forget that practice (and patience) makes perfect!

Going through training sessions with your dog brings the two of you closer together and helps create that special bond. Teaching your best friend new tricks is so exciting, but remember that it is important to end each session on a positive note. Let your dog know you are very proud of them; they’ll love the fact that you are so pleased when they learn a new trick. That enthusiasm will make them want you to teach them more!

Did you try training your pup to do this trick? If so, how’d it go? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below!