Fun and easy tricks for your dog

Sisters Doggie Dash & Stroll will be held on Saturday, August 16, 10 a.m., at Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD). This year, there is a special event for you and your furry friend to do together: The first-ever Dog Talent Contest. Talents or tricks can be anything from singing for treats to rolling over to giving a high-five.

Tricks build relationships. When you sit on the floor and teach your furry friend to chase after a toy and bring it back, you are training a fun and useful trick. Perhaps more importantly, you are also being part of one of the key human-dog bonding behaviors: Play! When we have fun with our dogs, our bond grows.

Dog tricks are also a great way to offer your dog some mental stimulation, and it gives you another way of interacting with him. Plus, it's a lot of fun to train your pooch to do some cool dog tricks to show off for friends or the Dog Talent Contest!

When most people think of dog training, they think of the basic dog training commands - sit, down, come, stay. While those basic obedience essentials are important, don't underestimate the benefits of training your furry friend to do tricks. Hopefully your pooch already knows a few basic commands, but if he doesn't he can learn easy enough; it just takes a little time and patience on your part.

Here is an example of teaching a basic training command:

"Sit" is usually one of the first things folks teach their dogs, and is part of basic obedience training. The "sit" is very easy to teach. Just hold a tasty treat in your hand just in front of Fido's nose and allow him to smell it but not eat it. Very slowly bring the treat up and back over his head; as his nose comes up following the treat, his back end will lower until he's sitting. Once he's sitting, praise him by saying "good" or whatever word works for you, and reward him.

Here are some dog tricks that are fun and fairly easy to train a dog to do:

Back-up is a fun dog trick that can come in quite handy. It's useful if you need your dog to back away from an open door, back away from you when he's crowding you during a game of fetch, or if you simply want to impress your friends.

You don't need any special equipment to train your dog to back up. As long as you have your pooch and a handful of treats, you are ready to go.

Start off by giving your dog the "stay" command. If your dog doesn't know how to stay yet, it would help if you went back and worked on that before moving on to the next step.

Take a few steps away from your dog, and then turn and face him. Give your dog the command "back up," and then begin moving towards him.

Some dogs will take a few steps back the minute you start moving in their direction. If your dog doesn't start stepping back as you move toward him, keep going forward, and try to lean your body forward slightly.

As soon as your dog takes a few steps back, tell him "good" and give him a treat.

Most dogs learn to back up quickly. Practice the steps above for a few minutes each day, and your dog will soon be responding to the back up command.

Taking a bow is a cool dog trick, and the perfect finishing touch when showing off your dog's tricks. All you need to train your dog to take a bow is your dog and some treats.

Start with your dog standing up. Hold a treat at the tip of your dog's nose, and slowly move it down, holding it close to your dog's body. In this way, you will use the treat to lure your dog down until his elbows are on the floor with his rear end remaining up.

Hold your dog in the bow for a few seconds, and then use the treat to lure him back into a standing position. As soon as your dog completes the bow and is standing up, tell him "good" and give him the treat.

Practice the bow command with your dog several times a day for no more than five minutes each time. Before you know it, your dog will be taking a bow on command.

Begging is another cute dog trick that is moderately easy to train your furry friend to do.

Have a handful of your dog's favorite treats ready when you begin training him to beg.

Start training your dog to do this trick by asking him to sit. With your pooch in a sitting position, hold a treat at his nose, and give him the command "beg."

As your dog reaches to take the treat in his mouth, slowly raise the treat over his head so that he'll have to reach up to get it.

Pull it up until he is sitting on his hind end with his paws off the floor, and held in front of him in the begging position.

Whichever trick you try with your furry friend, remember it is all about interaction and fun.