To teach your Groenendael tricks, even the simple ones, you should carry some of his favorite snacks, teach him in a quiet suitable place and always keep the instruction sessions to 10 – 15 minutes or the Groenendael will start to get tired. Always remember when he gets something right offer him great deals of appreciation and a reward snack, yet take care not to get him too excited or he might lose concentration.
Teach your Groenendael to offer you his paw
To teach your Groenendael to give you his paw, first get him to sit, then as you state the word ‘paw’ take his paw in your hand and offer him a snack. Then do it again, and after a couple of times don’t take his paw so quickly. State the word ‘paw’, count to 1 and after that take it. You must discover that he is raising his paw upward as you state the word. If he does not then return to stating it at the very same time. Do it a few more times then slow your reaction again. After just a few sessions most Groenendaels pick this trick up rather quickly.
Teach your Groenendael to offer you a high 5
Like a lot of tricks the high five is a progression of an earlier trick, in this case it’s the paw trick. Place a treat in your fingers and raise your hand just a bit higher than you would raise it for the paw trick. Your Groenendael will presume you want to perform the paw trick and will grab the snack with his paw as we had taught him in the previous trick. Once he reaches up you say “high 5” and give him the treat. When your Groenendael has mastered the paw trick this one will most likely be extremely simple to learn and with only a couple of sessions he will be accomplishing it on hand signal instead of vocal commands.
Teach your Groenendael to jump through a hoop
Before you start this one I would simply like to ask you to be a little practical and not suspend the hoop higher than necessary as you do not want your Groenendael to hurt himself while performing the trick. Set your Groenendael on 1 side of a hula hoop, get him to take notice of your hand on the other side of the hoop. Place a snack in your hand and offer the Groenendael the direction to stop sitting. Initially he may attempt to walk around or beneath the hoop. When this takes place begin once again. Your Groenendael desires the snack and will soon discover that going around or below doesn’t get it done so he’ll soon start going through it. If he does, say “hoop” and give him the treat. He’ll quickly be jumping through the hoop upon the command of “hoop”. When I first started teaching this trick I owned a medium sized dog, so I started with the hoop 6 inches from the floor and slowly increased it to waist height. In the case that you have a smaller dog you may desire to begin with the hoop touching the ground so he simply goes through the hoop and after that gradually lift it more as he gets used to the trick.
I trust you have enjoyed learning these 3 tricks you can teach your Groenendael. Have patience with your Groenendael and above all, have fun!
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Groenendaels
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