To teach your Hovawart tricks, even simple ones, you should always have some small treats, take him to a quiet suitable location and hold the instruction sessions to 10 – 15 minutes or the Hovawart will begin to get bored. Keep in mind when he gets something correct offer him lots of appreciation and a reward treat, but be cautious not to get him extra thrilled or he might just lose focus.
Teach your Hovawart to give you his paw
To get your Hovawart to offer you his paw, first get him to sit, then as you state the word ‘paw’ take his paw in your hand and give him a treat. Next repeat this, and after a couple of practices don’t take his paw so quickly. State the word ‘paw’, count to 1 and only then take it. You ought to notice that he is raising his paw up as you say the word. If he doesn’t then return to saying it at the exact same time. Do it a couple more times then slow your response once again. After just a few sessions most Hovawarts pick this trick up rather quickly.
Teach your Hovawart to give you a high five
Like a lot of tricks the high 5 is a continuation 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’d raise it for the paw trick. Your Hovawart will expect you wish to perform the paw trick and will reach for the treat with his paw as we instructed him in the previous trick. As he reaches up you state “high 5” and give your Hovawart the treat. Once your Hovawart has mastered the paw trick this one should be really easy to learn and with just a few sessions he will be accomplishing it from your hand signal rather than from your voice.
Teach your Hovawart to jump through a hoop
Before you start this 1 I would simply like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you don’t really want your Hovawart to injure himself while performing the trick. Set your Hovawart on 1 side of a hula hoop, get him to take note of your hand on the opposite side of the hoop. Place a treat in your hand and offer the Hovawart the command to stop sitting. In the beginning he may try to go around or below the hoop. In the event that this happens begin again. Your Hovawart desires the treat and will soon discover that going around or underneath does not get it so he will quickly start going through it. As soon as he does, say “hoop” and offer him the treat. He’ll quickly be jumping through the hoop upon the command of “hoop”. When I initially began teaching this trick I owned a medium sized dog, so I started with the hoop six inches from the ground and gradually raised it to waist high. On the occasion that you have a smaller dog you may wish to begin with the hoop on the ground so he simply goes through the hoop and after that slowly raise it once he gets used to the trick.
I trust you have enjoyed these 3 tricks you can teach your Hovawart. Have patience with your Hovawart and most importantly, have fun!
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Hovawarts
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