So, your dog has already mastered the basics. They sit on a dime, they spin in both directions on command, and their “High-Five” is tight enough to impress anyone who visits. You’ve successfully unlocked the foundational levels of trick training, and you’re probably noticing a major shift in your pup: they are more attentive, they burn through their energy more productively, and they look at you like you’re the center of the universe.
But if you have a high-intelligence working breed, a natural problem solver, or simply a companion who thrives on complex puzzles, staying on the beginner tier will eventually lead to plateauing boredom.
It’s time to upgrade the script. Welcome to Advanced Trick Training.
Moving into advanced tricks requires you to transition away from simple “luring” (leading your dog around by their nose with a piece of food) and move toward shaping and behavior chaining. This means teaching your dog to think independently, control isolated muscle groups, and link multiple separate actions together into one flawless performance.
If you are ready to challenge your dog’s cognitive limits and build ultimate bragging rights, here are 5 advanced, show-stopping tricks to master next.
The Advanced Difficulty Matrix
Because these tricks require elite focus and incredible body awareness, expect to spend several weeks breaking each behavior down into micro-steps.
| The Advanced Trick | Complex Physical Skill Required | Core Training Concept | Why It’s the Ultimate Showcase |
| 1. The Back Up (Rear Walk) | Isolated hind-leg spatial awareness | Spatial pressure shaping | Builds hindquarter muscles rarely used in daily walks |
| 2. The Hold & Balance | Complete jaw and impulse inhibition | Duration building | The pinnacle of focus and extreme self-control |
| 3. The Orbit (Reverse Circle) | Backwards movement around your body | Target fading & shaping | A stunning, fluid display of spatial synchronization |
| 4. The Leg Weave Figure-8 | Agile navigation through a moving frame | Fluid kinetic luring | High-impact choreography that looks incredibly polished |
| 5. Cover Your Eyes (Shame) | Isolated paw targeting to the snout | Tactile capturing | High emotional impact; the ultimate comedic photo-op |
1. The Reverse March (Walking Backwards)
Most dogs have absolutely no idea what their back legs are doing. They navigate the world entirely from the front shoulders forward, treating their rear legs like a trailing trailer. Teaching your dog to purposefully walk backward in a straight line builds immense hindquarter awareness and core strength.
- The Blueprint:
- Set up a narrow hallway or use a couch and a coffee table to create a straight, tight runway. This prevents your dog from swinging their hips sideways.
- Stand facing your dog inside the runway. Hold a treat at their chest level (do not hold it high, or they will sit).
- Take one deliberate, gentle step toward your dog. Out of natural spatial pressure, your dog will shift their weight backward and take a single step back with one rear leg.
- The exact millisecond that rear paw slides backward, mark (“Yes!”) and reward.
- The Advanced Progression: Gradually demand two steps, then three, then an entire hallway length before delivering the jackpot reward. Eventually, fade the runway entirely so they can march backward in an open field.
2. The Hold & Balance (Treat on the Nose)
This is the ultimate test of canine impulse control. You are asking a predatory animal to hold a piece of highly delicious food directly on their muzzle, completely freezing their motor skills until you give an explicit release cue.
- The Blueprint:
- You must first teach a rock-solid “Hold” command using a non-food item, like a small wooden dowel or a toy. Reward them purely for holding the item in their mouth for three seconds without chewing or dropping it.
- Once they understand duration, ask your dog to sit and hold their chin perfectly level. Gently place a low-value, non-rolling treat (like a flat piece of kibble or a broken biscuit) on the flat bridge of their nose.
- Place your hand underneath their chin to support them, keeping your stay cue active. Count to one, say your release word (“Okay!” or “Free!”), and gently catch the treat to feed it to them.
- The Advanced Progression: Remove your supporting hand. Increase the duration to 5, 10, and 30 seconds. The true master tier involves your dog flipping their head up to catch the treat out of mid-air the exact millisecond you issue the release cue!
3. The Orbit (Backwards Around You)
While walking forward around an owner’s legs is a beginner trick, teaching your dog to reverse-orbit—backing up in a perfect, fluid circle completely around your body—requires elite spatial synchronization.
- The Blueprint:
- Start with your dog on your left side. Use your “Reverse March” foundation to cue them to step backward along your left flank.
- As they reach your hip, use your left hand to lure their nose slightly inward toward your tailbone. This hand movement will naturally cause their rear end to swing outward and pivot behind your back.
- Reach your right hand behind your back to take over the treat lure, pulling their snout toward your right side while keeping their rear legs stepping backward.
- The Advanced Progression: Fade the hand gestures entirely. The goal is to stand completely still, give a verbal cue like “Orbit!”, and watch your dog seamlessly moonwalk in a perfect circle around you.
4. The Kinetic Leg Weaves (Figure-8 Walk)
This trick looks like high-level agility choreography. As you step forward in a slow-motion, exaggerated stride, your dog fluidly slaloms through your moving legs in a perfect figure-8 loop without dropping momentum.
- The Blueprint:
- Stand with your left leg stepped far forward, creating a wide triangle frame.
- Hold a treat in your right hand, reach through the inside of your legs, and lure your dog through the open frame from the outside in. Mark and reward.
- Take a big step forward with your right leg. Take a treat in your left hand, reach through, and lure your dog through that new opening.
- The Advanced Progression: Begin linking the weaves together before rewarding. Once your dog understands the geometry of the pattern, you will no longer need to bend over with food—they will naturally track your moving thighs and weave automatically as you walk forward.
5. “Shame on You” (Cover Your Eyes)
An incredibly adorable, high-impact comedic trick where your dog lifts a single front paw and drapes it entirely over their muzzle or eyes, looking like they are hiding in embarrassment.
- The Blueprint:
- Because we cannot easily lure a paw over the face, we use a tactile prompt to capture the behavior. Take a tiny, benign piece of painter’s tape or a small sticky note and gently place it on the bridge of your dog’s nose right between their eyes.
- Out of natural reflex, your dog will raise their front paw to swipe the sticky object off their face.
- The exact millisecond their paw makes contact with their snout or sweeps over their eye, click or loudly mark “Yes!” and hand over a jackpot jackpot reward. Remove the tape immediately so they know the action earned the food, not the object.
- The Advanced Progression: Repeat this loop until your dog anticipates the action. Pair it with a verbal cue like “Are you ashamed?” or “Hide your eyes!” right before you touch their face. Slowly fade the tape until they offer the deep paw swipe purely on your vocal cue.