Teach Dog to Read Basics

Teach dog to read? Can it be done? Yes, it can. You can teach dog to read.

Why would you want to?

Well, even though Fido is never going to read a book or magazine, his ability to understand a written word as a command can come in handy. The teach dog to read techniques can help you with special situations.

Life has a tendency to throw curve balls. There may come a day when you have difficulty speaking. Maybe you just have laryngitis, and you can't call your dog. Or maybe you have a more serious condition.

More likely, your dog may lose his or her hearing someday. At 14 years old, my dog has lost most of hers. I now use hand signals to communicate with her, but I'm working on teaching her to read too.

Teach dog to read instructions aren't as complicated as you might imagine. The step-by-step process of teach dog to read is pretty straightforward.

Here are the teach dog to read steps:

1. First, make some flash cards. For best results, use an 8 ½ X 11" sheet of white paper. Write the word you want the dog to understand in large letters. For example, DOWN.

2. Now get your dog's attention. Hold the flash card in one hand behind your back, and hold a treat or ball or whatever your dog loves best in the other hand. Have your dog stand in front of you.

3. Show your dog the paper with the word on it.

4. A split second after the dog sees the flash card, say the word on the card. Your dog should see the paper before you say the word, but don't wait too long. Don't look at your dog. The eye contact can be a distraction. Look down at the flash card.

5. Be sure you hold the flash card paper still. Keep your fingers away from the letters of the word. Stay very still. Wait.

6. When your dog does what you want the dog to do (in this example, lie down), immediately say, "Yes!" in a very high-pitched, excited voice. Hide the card behind your back and reward your dog with a treat or toy in combination with effusive praise.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 three more times.

On the fourth repeat, if your dog has been responding well to your verbal command, just hold the card but don't say the word. If your dog seems confused, say the command. After your dog obeys, start again and repeat until your dog does what you want without your saying the command.

Work these steps for a few minutes a day until your dog responds to the card alone. When this happens, go over the top with your praise. Dogs LOVE praise and will work hard to get it.

Once your dog knows one word, you can move on to another.

When you master the dog training technique of teach dog to read, you will be able to teach your dog to be responsive in any situation. You'll also impress your friends. So have fun with teach dog to read.