Once your dog is easily and intentionally touching their nose to your hand, begin holding it a bit further away and at your side. If your dog is a little slower to boop your hand you can initially just click and treat for coming close to the hand, or approaching it, and then gradually raise the criteria until they actually touch it with their nose. Ideally, your dog should touch your hand with their nose pretty much the moment you offer it for them to earn a click and treat but for some dogs it takes a few repetitions before they understand the concept. Otherwise your dog will think your hand is always just out there and it quickly becomes uninteresting. Make sure the second your dog touches their nose to your hand you click, treat, and then remove your hand, placing it behind your back or at your side so that when you offer your hand again it appears novel. If your dog sniffs it or boops it with their nose, immediately click and treat. Leave your hand out in front of them so that they must move forward a bit to touch it. Make sure you aren't pushing your hand into their face as no dog likes that!
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Stick your arm out towards them and offer your hand, holding it sideways, with your palm open and fingers flat about 6 inches from your dog's face (at eye/nose height). Nose-to-hand targeting is when your dog touches their nose (or muzzle) to your hand (the target). It can act as a guide without pushing, pulling, or tugging your dog and can also be used to redirect them away from hazards. In this guide, we will use a clicker and wherever we say "click" you will use your marker.Ĭlick (or mark) the very second you see the behavior you want to reinforce.Ī hand target is a very useful tool, especially when teaching a dog to walk on a leash.
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If you don't have a clicker you can use a consistent word like "yes" but be sure to pick one word and stick to it. A clicker is a great example of a marker. Jason Donnelly Get Ready to Mark a BehaviorĪ marker (or bridging stimulus) is a signal that literally marks the exact moment your dog did something that earned them a reinforcer (the treat). Pieces of human food, like cut-up hot dogs or low-sodium lunch meat work great, as do many types of store-bought dog treats made with dog-friendly ingredients. A reinforcer is something your dog loves, is small, and is easy to provide.
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No matter what skill you are teaching your dog you will need lots of great reinforcers on hand to ensure you are using positive reinforcement effectively. However, there are times when walking in heel position on a leash is a safety measure, like when you are walking through a restaurant patio, navigating in a busy crowd, or need to move quickly past something that could be harmful.īefore You Get Started Teaching Your Dog to Heel Have Lots of Treats Ready Dogs need the opportunity to really stretch out (a harness helps with this!) and use their nose to sniff all kinds of things. Most of the time when you take your furry buddy for a jaunt he doesn't need to walk in "heel position." In fact, you really shouldn't expect him to. To "heel" means to walk directly next to you, traditionally on your left side, versus walking in front of you or pulling forward. Just because your dog is walking on a leash without pulling doesn't mean they are heeling (and that is OK!). Jason Donnelly What Does it Mean to Heel on Leash?