From agility course work, to police K9 units, to David Lettermen’s ‘Stupid Pet Tricks’ people love training dogs to do all sorts of interesting things. We’ve gathered a list of some fun tricks that anybody can teach their dog and included video tutorials we’ve found that will help you do it. These intermediate level tricks take things a step beyond the basics like ‘sit’ and ‘down’ but are achievable with the right amount of patience and persistence.

Roll over/play dead

These two tricks are nearly one and the same. They both require your dog knowing how to lie down to start with. Once your dog can lie down it’s a matter of training them to learn the movement needed to lay on their side, and then to play dead or roll over. These can both be achieved by moving treats behind them, encouraging them to look over their shoulder which results in the desired movement.

Shake/High Five/Wave

These classic dog tricks all stem from the same movement and require that your dog knows how to sit. It starts with them in a sitting position and then encouraging them to paw at your hand. The best way to do this is to hold a treat in front of their face and wait for them to paw at your hand. Then reward them for it. Eventually they’ll learn to put their paw on your outstretched hand. This is a great trick for your dog to know so they can greet new people with a pawshake. It’s very pawfessional.

Speak

Who wouldn’t want to be able to have a conversation with their dog? Teaching your dog to vocalize is a fun way to keep your house from ever being quiet.

Dance

Want to have a dance party with your dog? This is a great trick to teach them if you’d like to samba with your Schnauzer, tango with your Terrier or waltz with your Weimaraner.

Balance a treat on nose

A timeless trick that is a demonstration in self control. There aren’t many people who would balance a delicious piece of candy on their nose without trying to eat it so being able to train your dog to patiently await your permission to eat a treat is quite impressive. Of course, your dog has to have a nose big enough for balancing treats to do this one. Trying to teach this trick to any brachycephalic breeds that barely have a nose might be a bit cruel though.

Touch

This trick is a useful one that is pretty stimulating for your dog. It’s a helpful tool to have when teaching them other tricks like the leg weave, and for running agility courses.

Leg weave

Want to show off how in sync you and your dog are? This is the perfect trick to do just that. A delicate balance of coordination and timing, the leg weave is a great trick to show off your pup’s intelligence and your capabilities as a trainer.

Skateboard

The raddest of tricks, teaching your dog to skate is the ultimate eyeball catcher. A skateboarding dog will turn heads wherever you go and slap a pair of sunglasses on your pooch, it might cause another ice age because of how cool your dog is.

Choose your favorite, and the next time you have a spare 15 minutes, grab your dog, some treats and get to work! Training with your dog is great fun, strengthens your bond and provides a healthy dose of mental stimulation!