What tricks should I teach my dog?
I have a lab mix. She is smart and loves playing fetch, but I'd like to teach her some more tricks. Right now she knows come, sit, stay, paw, and heel. Anything else that might be useful? I don't like teaching her stuff like play dead or other things that are just for show. I'd rather only ask her to do things that are necessary. The paw is mainly my substitute for high-fiving her when she does good 
You could teach her some more OB commands like "leave it" & "down". These two commands are important to learn. To teach the "down" command, put her in a sit position, hold a treat in one of your hand & lure her with it down to the floor while using your other hand pushing her back down gently at the same time whilst saying "down" clearly. Once her elbows & the bottom of her body touches the ground, praise & pop a treat in her mouth.
For the "leave it" command, put her in a sit or down position. Put a treat right in front of her on the floor. Tell her to "stay...leave it". If she tries to grab it, say "no" whilst using your finger to tap her muzzle away from the treat. Once her head is back to where it's supposed to be, immediately praise & reward her with another treat from your pouch bag. Remove the treat that is on the floor.
Try it a few more times & give her a break. Once she's got it, try putting the treat on her paw & say "leave it". This time, you don't use the stay command anymore. If she tries to grab it again, just correct her. You then slowly increase the duration time by 1 second each time she tries it. Make sure you do not rush her or else you will be frustrated. And training session should be short like 5 minutes only or else depending on how fast she gets bored with it. But try training her a few times a day. That way she'll learn faster.
This "leave it" command is good to learn because it teaches your dog to not simply grab things or pick up things on the ground that it is not allowed like for example a chicken bone on the road. Tell your dog to "leave it" firmly & the dog must ignore it & continue walking with you.
Another thing you could do is bring her to OB school. There you will learn some OB commands & you will also learn how to handle your dog properly. Your dog will also get to socialize with other dogs & strangers. It's very important that your dog gets socialized with other people, dogs, other animals, sounds & so on.
Hope this helped ya...
Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble 1
