Teaching Your Dog Targeting-Nose Touch

[@saryn1895]

Athena learned very fast, I don't have a clicker, but she understood in a matter of seconds that 'touching means treat', and I was able to add the vocal command equally fast. I thought it was too fast, but she really got it right. I'm literally using it as a recall all over the house, and she comes every time, I was impressed. Thank you.

[@sarahcertified]

Yay! I like to build this nose touch cue into a recall later on, it comes in handy for that!

[@saryn1895]

@@sarahcertified LOL! You say "later on", but Thena is Just like "If im getting food, im doing it!". A pretty smart germany shepperd pup who LOVES food, a lot, and putting her nose into things, perfect. Is working better than othe things like "come" ou her name, thank you again. And sorry if my English is not that great, lol

[@cassthomas9115]

Loving all of the ideas for using a hand target ‘in real life’!

[@sarahcertified]

Cass Thomas thank you Cass!

[@williamalexander7481]

Thank you

[@janissoper2426]

I really enjoy your videos. Can you use the touch command to teach a puppy to ring bells for potty training? Thank you

[@sarahcertified]

Yes absolutely! You can substitute the bells for your hand in this situation to teach it. I just wouldn’t attach a verbal cue onto the bells.

[@janissoper2426]

@@sarahcertified Thank you.

[@Ourbubcub]

I’m going to try and teach my 17 week old pup! She’s super smart but can get distracted easily, and she tends to get sick of my treats 😂😭 how can I build more engagement with her, where she looks at me more when I call her name? She often ignores me, especially when walking. We are still trying to teach her to walk on a lead but it’s really hard as she hate the lead and pulls. She prefers the harness but she still walks ahead of me a little and not at my heel.

[@sarahcertified]

Watch these videos! :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXOVnGqFr8qths0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/q53dfGOgnq6tkLs

[@theenergetichero5952]

How do you transfer that behavior to a different target? Like a leg for instance?

[@sarahcertified]

Get the verbal cue really strong. I'd start by generalizing to other objects you can hold initially. Like a spoon, paint stick, and post it note especially. The post it note can be helpful as a visual marker that you can then stick to other things. Get the touch cue on the post it, then start putting the post it in various locations and ask your dog to touch it. Cut the post it smaller over time, and gradually fade it out, leaving your leg (for example) as the object your dog is targeting.

[@johnnyredmane4330]

Liked and subbed! This was a great and informative video. For fun, was wondering if you could create a clicker training video from a dog’s perspective? In the video, you would be giving us commands and then click like after a couple of seconds denoting that we performed the desired command correctly. Thought it might be an interesting idea, similar to what could be considered as a dog training simulator. Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks! : )

[@sarahcertified]

Johnny Redmane Thanks for the feedback Johnny! I actually have an idea for a video that I think is similar to what you are suggesting...I’ve played this with clients in the past and the idea is getting clients to understand how hard it is to be the dog in this training situation. It’s a clicker training game for humans! One person plays the “dog” and the other the trainer. Does this sound along the lines of what you are suggesting?

[@johnnyredmane4330]

@@sarahcertified Yes, I believe so. I'm envisioning a video with a dog's "point of view" perspective. Where you tell us to sit or something and pause to give the audience a few seconds to perform the command then click the clicker (so, basically we're the dog and you're the human lol). I thought it would just be kind of funny and fun to be the dog in this situation. I haven't ever participated in this type of game before, which is one of the reasons I think it would be interesting and provide a different perspective.

[@sarahcertified]

Johnny Redmane Ok great! Thanks again for the suggestion, I will definitely consider making this soon :)

[@gregberry8203]

Thanks Sarah, I'm now trying to progress to a sustained nose target. My dog reliably targeting/bump on verbal cue, but I'm struggling to get the bump sustained. Any advice?

[@sarahcertified]

I might suggest moving your hand slightly backwards when he moves to touch it, which will cause him to have to invest in reaching for it a second longer. Then over time, we are looking for increasing duration by half a second at a time. I might change your cue, so you have a hand cue for a "bump" and a separate sustained nose touch hand cue. I'm planning on trying to teach Wrigley this sustained nose target behavior soon, and am planning on filming it as well.

[@carleywilliamson5714]

What kind of treat Fanny pack do you use?

[@sarahcertified]

Hey Carley, I just added a link to my go-to treat pouch in the description of this video, just under the link to the clickers. :)

[@eleanorharpersignwriter8633]

My dog goes in for nose touch with his mouth open trying to mouth my hand, I don't want to encourage this so we are not getting very far. Do you have any advice for us?

[@sarahcertified]

Hey Eleanor, modify this by wedging a treat in between your middle fingers, he will have to close his mouth a bit to get the treat out - click when he first touches your hand, then let him have that wedged treat. Work towards fading the treat out, and at this stage, click early (before he actually touches your hand). Remove your hand when you click (so he can't nip at it) and treat from your treat bag. As he starts to get the concept better, let him get closer and closer to your hand. I hope this makes sense without being able to show you in person! This is a common issue, you are not alone!

[@louise3953]

my dog keeps licking my hand instead of just booping it which I would prefer him to do. Any tips?

[@sarahcertified]

This is common! I'd recommend clicking early (before he actually makes contact with your hand, but when he reaches for it) then removing the hand, and feeding. This backs it up a step so he realizes it is just the approach, no tongue involved that is what we are going for. You can also flip your hand around and present it higher up above your dog's nose, so he has to move his head up to touch your hand. If you place your hand just above his nose, his nose will be the first point of contact instead of his tongue and you can click for that. Hope that helps!

[@mackenzythomson6076]

Sadly this didn't work for my dog he would just ignore my hand. I tried all your strategies and none of them worked. I think it didn't work because he is old and it's harder to teach older dogs instead of younger dogs because younger dogs are still learning things wich makes it easier

[@sarahcertified]

If you haven't already, try wedging a treat between your fingers, and clicking the moment he makes contact with your hand, and give him the treat. Over time, fade the treat out of your hand entirely, still clicking for him making contact with your hand. Also make sure you are presenting your hand close enough to his face. He probably just needs some extra help! I taught my previous 13 year old dog this at 13 years old, it isn't necessarily and age thing, just with older dogs it might take a little more time and patience.