Dog Trick 3. "Carry"
Make your dog useful, teach him to carry the groceries from your car
Dexter loves this one and he does this with such enthusiasm. Again, this
trick is done in a number of small steps and he will learn other very useful
commands whilst learning the overall trick:
STEP 1 - teach him to hold objects. This is best done using one
of his toys, but not his favourite ones, as these might be to distracting.
Gently present his toy to him, when he takes it off you, praise and treat
him. Repeat this and gradually delay the praise and treat so that he needs
to hold the object longer before getting a treat. After he has grasped this,
gradually start to introduce the command "Carry" or "Hold" just as you offer
the toy. When, on command, he can hold the toy for 10 seconds, you may start
to experiment with holding other objects, then move onto the second step.
STEP 2 - teach him to release objects. To do this, sit your dog
in front of you and ask him to hold an object. After a short delay, present
the palm of your hand to him and ask him to "Leave" or "Release". With the
prospect of a treat, he may do this too willingly. Still praise and treat
this initially, but gradually work up to only treating him when he releases
the object into your hand.
STEP 3 - teach him to carry the objects. Now that your dog can hold
and release objects on command, you can now work on the final step. Again
ask your dog to hold the object, then make one step back and summon him
towards you, but reinforcing the "Carry" command at the same time. Keep
working on this and gradually increased the distance him needs to cover
to reach you. Your target should be that he is able to follow you around
with the object in his mouth.
Dogs love carrying things, so this trick is not as difficult as it sounds.
Vary the objects you ask him to carry and give him loads of praise when
he completes a task correctly. Take care not to give him objects that can
break or that might be dangerous to him. Carrying light weight grocery bags
is a great variation of this, but really, it can be applied to many different
objects such as car keys, laundry etc.
Make your dog useful, teach him to carry the groceries from your car 
