Brain training and tricks
Five minutes of learning something new tires a dog out far more than most owners expect, and none of it needs equipment, space, or a yard. This is what I suggest when someone is stuck indoors with a dog who is bored and starting to invent their own entertainment. Keep the sessions short and stop while your dog still wants more, because the whole point is that they come back to it tomorrow.
You put a cardboard box on the floor and reward your dog for anything they do with it, without telling them what you want. Karen Pryor popularized it as "101 Things to Do with a Box." It is the most mentally demanding thing on this list.
Arousal
Neutral, but mentally intense.
Shopping list
Tools
- A clicker or a marker wordA word taught to mean that whatever the dog just did has earned something, delivered immediately afterwards.Read more → you already use, and a treat pouch.
Food
- A lot of small treats. More than you expect, because the rate you can pay at is what keeps a dog in the game.
From the recycling
- A cardboard box. Any box, and it does not matter what shape.
How to do it
- Put the box on the floor. Say nothing. Give no cuesA word, sound or signal that tells a dog which behavior will be reinforced right now.Read more → at all: this is the hard part for humans.
- Mark and reward the very first thing your dog does with it. A glance. A sniff. A step toward it.
- Reward that same thing four or five times so they know it's the game.
- Now stop rewarding that and wait. Your dog will try something new: a paw on it, a nose push, picking it up.
- Mark and reward the new thing.
- Keep raising the bar. Each time a behavior gets easy, wait for the next variation.
- Stop after three to five minutes. This is exhausting for dogs.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Small offerings, paid generously. A glance is a win.
- Lvl 2
- Physical contact only. A paw, a nose push, a shove.
- Lvl 3
- Something deliberate. Getting in it, carrying it, flipping it over.
Safety
If your dog gets frustrated, barking, biting the box or walking off, you raised the bar too fast. Go back to paying for something easy. Shredding cardboard is fine and swallowing it is not, so this is not for a dog who eats what they tear up.
A progression of simple tricks. Trick training is the least stressful form of training there is, and it's a good way to rebuild a relationship with a dog who's had a rough few months.
Arousal
Calming to neutral.
Shopping list
Tools
- A clicker, or a marker word.
Food
- Soft training treats, small enough to pay a lot of reps with.
Around the house
- Five minutes, non-slip footing, and the discipline to do one trick per session.
How to do it
- Spin: hold a treat at your dog's nose and lead it in a slow circle. Mark and feed when they complete the turn. After ten reps, make your hand movement smaller until it's just a finger circle.
- Bow: with your dog standing, lower a treat straight down between their front feet. As their elbows go down, mark and feed before the back end drops.
- Chin rest: hold your palm flat under your dog's chin. The moment their chin makes contact, mark and feed. Build to three seconds. This one is genuinely useful at the vet.
- Back up: walk slowly toward your dog in a narrow hallway. As they step backward, mark and feed. Add the cue once it's reliable.
- Paw targets: put a sticky note on the floor. Reward any paw contact, then build to deliberate touching.
- One trick per session. Five minutes maximum.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Big obvious lures, and pay partial attempts.
- Lvl 2
- Lure faded, until the hand movement is a finger.
- Lvl 3
- Distance and duration added, once the trick is reliable.
Safety
Don't lure a dog into positions that strain their body. Skip spin for dogs with back problems and skip bow for dogs with elbow or shoulder issues. Train on non-slip footing. Keep sessions short.
Teaching your dog to put their toys into a basket. Long project, genuinely impressive, and useful.
Shopping list
Toys
- Toys your dog will actually pick up, with no loose parts they could swallow while carrying.
Food
- Treats.
Around the house
- A shallow, low-sided basket or box, so your dog is not reaching awkwardly over a rim.
How to do it
- Teach "take it" first: hold a toy out, mark and reward the moment your dog takes it in their mouth.
- Teach "drop it" into your hand. Mark and reward the release.
- Now hold your hand directly over the basket. Your dog takes the toy, and drops it into your hand above the basket.
- Over several sessions, lower your hand until it's inside the basket, then remove it entirely.
- Now put the toy a foot away from the basket. Your dog has to pick it up and carry it over.
- Increase distance gradually. Add the cue "tidy up" once the behavior is reliable.
- Build to multiple toys, one at a time.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- One toy, a foot from the basket.
- Lvl 2
- Further away, so there is a real carry.
- Lvl 3
- Toys scattered across a room.
- Lvl 4
- Several in a row before any reward.
Safety
Use a low-sided basket so your dog isn't reaching awkwardly. Don't use toys with loose parts they might swallow while carrying.
Your dog touches their nose to your open palm on cue. It looks trivial. It is one of the most useful behaviors you can teach a reactive dog, because it gives you a way to move them without pulling.
Arousal
Neutral to calming.
Shopping list
Tools
- A treat pouch.
Food
- Soft training treats, fed with the other hand so the target hand stays clean.
How to do it
- Hold your open palm out an inch or two from your dog's nose.
- Most dogs sniff it immediately. The instant their nose touches, mark with "Yes" and feed with the other hand.
- Repeat ten times. Then take your hand away between reps so it's a clear presentation each time.
- Add the cue "touch" just before you present your hand.
- Move your hand slightly to the side so your dog has to turn to reach it.
- Build up until your dog will follow your hand several steps, turning a full circle if needed.
- Now you have a way to move your dog away from something without any leash pressure.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Palm close, and your dog already facing you.
- Lvl 2
- Further away, and off to one side.
- Lvl 3
- While you are moving, so they follow it several steps.
- Lvl 4
- Somewhere distracting, which is the only place you need it.
Safety
No physical risk. Don't use it to pull your dog toward something they're frightened of: use it to move them away.
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