Looking for some outdoor fun? Dog parks can be a great way for both you and your furry friend to get exercise, fresh air, and mental stimulation.
Whether you are going to a fenced, unfenced, off-leash, or on-leash dog park, this set of essential and easy dog tricks will keep you and your dog safe and happy at the park. All dogs, including well-tempered and socialized dogs, can benefit from a bit of training beforehand to help control wandering, prevent possessive behavior, and minimize the risks of unpleasant interactions with other dogs.
Read on to learn about the important tricks to teach your dog before heading to a dog park!
Leash Training
Whether you’re planning to visit on-leash dog parks or off-leash dog parks, leash training is essential. For on-leash dog parks, leash training a dog will help you avoid behaviors like tugging, pulling, lunging, and bolting throughout your stay in the park.
If you’re heading to an off-leash dog park, leash training ensures that your dog is well-behaved when you enter and exit the dog park. Most of us are familiar with the chaos at the entrance gates. Proper leash training will help you signal to your dog when it’s time to wait their turn, and when it’s time to play!
Reliable Recall
Next on our list of tricks to teach your dog for your next dog park visit is reliable recall. Most dogs learn to respond to their name as they grow up — but unless trained, most dogs can be easily distracted and may not come to their pet parent all the time. To have a hassle-free and safe time at a dog park, try training your pup to have “reliable” recall. Reliable recall means that your dog will come to you 99.99% of the time, regardless of distractions in the environment.
Whether you are heading to an on-leash or off-leash dog park, reliable recall is essential. Even if you and your pup go to an on-leash dog park, reliable recall prevents them from getting too far in case you lose hold of the leash or the leash malfunctions.
As for off-leash dog parks, reliable recall is a must because this prevents needing to chase after the dog in case they wander too far. Reliable recall in off-leash dog parks also allows you to call your dog back when it’s necessary — like during snack time, during water breaks, or in case an unsafe situation arises.
Note: Dogs that have not yet mastered reliable recall should NOT be brought to an off-leash dog park, especially one that doesn’t have a fence, as this can result in the dog wandering too far and getting lost.
Sit & Stay
Sit and stay are two of the most important tricks to teach your dog. By teaching your dog to sit and stay, you will be able to better control their movements. In a dog park, this is a useful command if you need to quickly connect their leash or prevent them from jumping on other dogs or people in the dog park. These two commands can help to prevent unwanted behavior or aggression and keep everyone in the park safe — especially in off-leash dog parks.
In any setting, whether it’s an on-leash dog park, off-leash dog park, or dog-friendly restaurant, you can also use the sit and stay commands when greeting other dogs or people. These commands help put your dog in a calm state and prevent them from exhibiting reactivity or over-excitement which can scare other people or dogs.
Drop It & Leave It
Because dogs are curious by nature, they need to learn when to walk away from something. Drop it and leave it are two different dog tricks or commands which both prevent your dog from holding something in their mouth that they shouldn’t — whether it’s another dog’s toy, a child’s toy, spilled food, or something else that may be harmful to your dog.
The “drop it” dog trick is useful for times when the unwanted item is already in the dog’s mouth. The “leave it” command is used to stop a dog from picking up something.
The “drop it” and “leave it” dog tricks are essential tricks to teach your dog for safety in a dog park and virtually any destination. These commands are especially essential in off-leash dog parks or off-leash environments where you may not be able to immediately pull back your pup from an item that they shouldn’t pick up.
Tips for Teaching Essential & Easy Dog Tricks
With consistent practice and positive reinforcement, your dog will be able to learn these tricks which will be useful for your next dog park visit. Here are some helpful training tips to keep in mind.
1. Start Training Early but Don’t Let Age Discourage You
Training and ongoing practice helps provide mental stimulation for your dog throughout their life! You can start training your puppy as early as 7 to 8 weeks old. This is great for establishing good behavior and addressing behavioral issues early. We recommend short training sessions that last for around 5-10 minutes. As your puppy learns and grows, you can gradually increase the length of training sessions.
Older dogs can also learn new tricks. In fact, as we talked about in our leash training guide, dogs never stop learning. Older dogs may actually be easier to train because they generally have more self control and longer attention spans than puppies. For older dogs, training sessions can be at around 15-20 minutes. What may be challenging with older dogs is if they’ve built up habits that need to be unlearned.
Whether you are training a puppy or an older dog, the following tips on positive reinforcement, practice, and consistency will help you and your pup have fulfilling and fun training sessions!
2. Use Positive Reinforcement (Treats, Praise, & Affection)
Positive reinforcement during training comes in the form of treats, praise, and affection. It’s best to use all three of these to effectively teach a dog new tricks.
Treats, in particular, are critical when teaching a trick for the first time and when getting the new desired behavior to stick. This is because treats — on top of being a tool for positive reinforcement — can also be used to lure a dog to perform a certain desired behavior. Once the behavior is done correctly, the treat is given as a reward.
As an example, when teaching a dog to sit, holding a treat over the dog’s head will instinctively get the dog to sit. This is then repeated while saying the command word, “sit.” When the dog sits, the behavior is quickly rewarded with the treat, praise, and affection. Over time, treats are spaced out and replaced with generous praise and affection. Most methods for teaching other dog tricks follow this same pattern.
To get an idea of what treats you can easily prepare at home, check out our guide on the healthiest human food for dogs.
3. Know That Any Trick Takes Time
All dog tricks require time. The average time for a puppy to master a new trick is 3 months, while older dogs will only need an average of 4 weeks to learn new tricks. However, each dog is different. Your dog’s predisposition, as well as the difficulty level of the trick, will all factor into how long they’ll need to master the trick.
4. Consistency is Key
To teach dog tricks effectively, you need to practice consistency. During a training session, refrain from rewarding your dog when they are unable to perform the trick or command — as this will send mixed signals. In addition, make sure to use the same command word each time.
Final Tip for Your Next Dog Park Visit
We hope you enjoyed this article on essential dog tricks to teach your dog for your next dog park visit! These tricks will help you have a safe and enjoyable time with Fido as you head over to dog parks for some outdoor fun.
Another way to ensure your canine companion’s safety is to protect them from unseen threats, such as transmissible diseases. Depending on your chosen dog park’s rules, they may or may not require canine vaccinations. In any case, boosting your pup’s immunity with complete canine vaccines is a preventive measure against transmissible diseases.
If you have specific questions about canine vaccines or teaching dog tricks and commands, we’re here to help!
Sploot Veterinary Care is a primary & urgent care veterinary clinic with multiple locations in Denver & Chicago. Our modern clinics are open daily, for extended hours. Schedule your appointment online or come on in for a walk-in appointment!
Till next time, we’re with you every pounce of the way!
