"How many tricks does your dog know?" I ask this question a lot.

It's not about the tricks themselves, it's about having a robust history of communicating with your dog - having learned things together. The more "tricks" your dog knows, the bigger your communication toolbox gets.

A lot of dogs only know a couple of cues - sit, down, maybe shake a paw or stay. Imagine building a house, but you only have two or three tools - a hammer, maybe a screwdriver and a hand saw. It's going to take you a very long time to build that house and the quality likely won't be as good. In fact, you'll likely get so frustrated that you give up on the project.

Similarly, a lot of people give up on training their dogs when they don't have enough tools.

When I say 'tools', I don't mean things like training collars or fancy gadgets. 'Tools' in this sense means things you can ask of your dog. Each cue or trick either increases or decreases your dog's arousal. Each cue can focus your dog on you, on the ground, or on the environment. Having options will greatly improve your ability to train your dog through behaviour challenges.

Tricks can be shake a paw and spin in circles, or regular ones like sit and down. When we train tricks — or operant behaviours — we're building our communication toolbox.

If you have big goals with your dog, or if you are working through behaviour challenges, the more tools in your toolbox, the easier things will be!

Here's Runa's very first session, learning to touch my empty hand with her nose.