Can The Dog Help You With The Housework?

A while ago, a video featuring a Labrador Retriever cleaning a salon floor went viral on the internet. While this is unusual, it is true that dogs can do various household chores and help out around the house. Below, we have collected a number of useful tasks that you can teach your dog, in a simple way.

Can a dog help with housework?

Dogs are sensitive and intelligent beings who can learn a multitude of tricks, tasks and sporting activities. And it’s not a question of breed, age, gender or genetics… All dogs are capable of learning, whether mixed or pedigreed , as long as they receive the love and support of their owners.

Unfortunately, many ignore or underestimate the ability of their four-legged friends and, over time, stop stimulating them physically and mentally. We must emphasize that a dog that is bored or little stimulated is more vulnerable to certain health problems, especially of a psychological and behavioral nature.

In this article, we will look at some tricks to teach your best friend, so that he can help you with the housework:

Turn the lights off

One of the most useful things you can teach your dog is to turn off the lights. By simply standing up on their hindquarters, they will be able to do this using their paws. It will be enough to have perseverance and patience to succeed. By using positive reinforcement, your best friend can help you save energy indoors.

The only ‘condition’ is that the animal must have a minimum height to be able to reach the switch and be able to dim the lights. If you are doing some renovations, you may also want to lower the buttons slightly.

Put the toys away

In all dogs like to have toys to have fun and spend time, either alone or with their families. But, in addition to sharing good times together, your pet can also help you sort out his personal belongings . It will be enough to teach him to use his mouth to collect and deposit his toys where you will show him. For example a basket or a trunk.

This is a relatively simple activity to teach: just reward the dog every time he moves the toy until it is ordered correctly. In addition to reducing your work, this will also allow you to reaffirm the rules of good coexistence.

Open and close the doors

You can also teach the dog to go out into the garden or yard to move around a bit and then go back indoors. He will be able to do everything by himself, opening and closing the door with his body. Obviously, you will have to establish the limits of this activity, to prevent the animal from running away at the first opportunity.

The task of closing the door is simpler, as it does not necessarily involve understanding how the lock works. Depending on your dog’s height, you can simply teach him to push the door using his head or paws. Always remember to recognize and reward their positive behaviors.

Collect dirty clothes

This activity is based on the same principle of memorization used for collecting toys. In this case, the dog will have to collect the dirty clothes and take them to a specific area of ​​the house.

Tips for teaching your dog about household chores

Start with basic obedience commands

Remember that in order to teach a dog anything, a training process will be required which will vary depending on the method used and the time you will devote to it. Dogs learn gradually and can feel frustrated if they are exposed to too much information at once. Therefore, you will need to plan your teaching to be progressive. Thus, you will stimulate his intelligence and help him learn better.

The basic commands constitute the first level of training for any dog, be it a pet or intended for any type of service. We are talking about very simple but fundamental orders. Like, for example, “sit down”, “come here”, “on the ground”, “still”, which have a degree of difficulty that is not excessive.

Engage in dog education

Raising a dog requires persistence, discipline and patience. The animal must completely assimilate every command, always feeling the support and participation of its “master”. If you don’t have enough time or desire, it’s best to seek the help of a professional dog trainer.

When and how to train the dog?

A dog should train every day, but not excessively. If the animal is loaded with too much information, it will tend to get distracted, minimizing its learning ability. It is advisable to do several daily sections of maximum  10-20 minutes  each, in order to train and put into practice what you have learned.

Use positive reinforcement to stimulate the animal

Positive reinforcement is about rewarding good behaviors to boost your dogs’ cognitive and emotional abilities. You will have to avoid any system based on punishment, since it is counterproductive and only triggers malaise and distrust in the dog.

The reward must be offered in the short term  (i.e. immediately after the action performed) in order for the animal to relate it to the specific behavior. As soon as you see your dog turn off the lights, pick up a toy or open a door, offer him food immediately.