With more Australians embracing Halloween with each year, trick-or-treating is fast becoming a hit with the kids- who doesn’t enjoy dressing up and acting silly for a day?

You may want to get your pet into the spirit of Howl-O-Ween- minus the sweets and scary costumes

Here is a trick, and a treat of the unconventional kind you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Trick – Beg

Beg is a cute trick that is not too difficult to train. With the right treats and a little bit of patience on your part your dog will soon be begging like the best of them!

Make sure you have some of your dog’s favourite treats on hand and a distraction free environment.

  1. Start training the trick by getting your dog in a sit position. If they aren’t able to sit on command then work on that command first before moving on to something like beg.
  2. When your dog is sitting, hold a treat to his nose but don’t let him get it.
  3. As your dog reaches to take the treat, slowly raise the treat over his head so that he will have to reach to get it.
  4. Pull the treat up slightly until he is sitting on his hind end with paws up off the floor. You can help him out a bit by providing your other arm for support for his front paws until he gets stronger and more confident with the beg.
  5. Use the word ‘Beg’ when the dog is in position and then reward with a treat after using a marker word like ‘yes’. A marker word is a word that bridges between the trick and treat so your dog knows that he has done a good job and a treat is on it’s way.
  6. Repeat this training a couple of times a day in short sessions and soon your dog will be begging on command!

Don’t stress if they don’t get it straight away! It can take a little bit of time to learn a new trick.

Treat – Pupsicle!

With the weather starting to warm up, it’s important to make sure your pet can keep cool! A special treat for the warmer weather is a simple to make some easy to make Pupsicles!

 

  1. Take a plastic cup or empty ice-cream container that’s been washed out
  2. Put some of your dogs favourite treats into the container, you could also add some of their favourite toys (ones that can get wet or frozen) if you are using an ice-cream container
  3. Fill with water and put in the freezer overnight
  4. Once frozen, run the sides of the container under some warm water until the ice-block can be pushed out.
  5. Put the popsicle in your dogs bowl outside! Sit back and watch him enjoy his special treat whilst keeping cool!

You could try using some soup or stock instead of just water if your dog would prefer, whatever they like! Your dog will enjoy licking the ice, and, as it melts, they will be rewarded again with their toys and treats!

 

For more training and behaviour advice check out the dog training section of our website.

Remember to keep your pets safe this Halloween! Check out our article “Pets and Halloween” for some handy tips to follow.