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An elderly man sitting on a living room rug holds the raised paw of a red and white husky that looks up at him happily. 6 / 32

Grandpa Kenji Spent All Morning Teaching Maple One Trick. Then She Got It.

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Sitting cross-legged on the patterned living room rug, Grandpa Kenji holds out his hand, and Maple places her white paw right into it. Her mouth is open in a happy pant, her eyes locked on his face, and he looks every bit the proud teacher. The room around them is pleasantly lived in, with folded blankets on the floor, a couch piled with pillows, a few scattered toys, and soft daylight drifting in through the window behind.

Shake is a classic first trick, and it's a great one for building a bond. The usual approach is simple: hold a treat in a closed hand near your dog's paw, wait for the dog to paw at it, then say your cue word, open your hand, and reward. Short sessions of a few minutes work best, always ending on a success. Huskies are smart, but they're also famously independent, so they tend to respond better to upbeat, reward-based training than to repetition and pressure. If Maple gets bored, she'll let you know. Keeping things playful and mixing in different tricks helps hold a husky's attention, and training doubles as mental exercise, which this busy breed needs as much as physical activity.

Teaching tricks is also a lovely activity for older owners because it can be done sitting down, indoors, in any weather. It keeps both person and dog engaged and gives them a shared language of cues and praise.

Judging by Maple's grin, she's not sure whether she's learning a trick or just holding hands with her favorite person. Either way, the lesson is going perfectly.

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