Are you ready for Mutt Madness? You can get into the fun at home by teaching your dog to actually play basketball. Move over Air Bud, your dog can soon be shooting hoops in your living room impressing all of your friends and family.
Basketball Supplies
To get started teaching this trick, you will need a few things:
- Treats – pick treats that are high-value and exciting to your dog, cut into small pieces
- A ball your dog can hold – depending on your dog’s size (tennis ball and/or plush balls work well)
- Child-sized Basketball hoop. There are a variety of options that are available from small handheld hoops you can purchase at a dollar store to larger free-standing basketball hoops designed for toddlers.
Once you have all of your supplies there are three main steps for teaching your dog to play basketball:
How to teach your dog to play basketball steps:
Step 1 – Teach hold
If your dog doesn’t already know how to hold something in its mouth on cue, you’ll want to teach this cue first.
- Sit or stand with your dog facing you and show the ball to your dog. When your dog sniffs or investigates the ball, praise/click and give your dog a treat – the idea here is to reward any interaction/interest with the ball
- Next, we will slowly build up the criteria. When your dog sniffs the ball, wait until they put their mouth onto the ball before praising/clicking and give treats.
- Once your dog is putting their mouth…
How To Teach Your Dog To Play Basketball. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from https://embarkvet.com/resources/blog/how-to-teach-your-dog-to-play-basketball/
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