Friday, October 20, 2017

How to touch: Hand targeting with your dog -- a Trick or Treat Giveaway Blog Hop

Halloween is coming up fast! Who is ready to trick or treat?

We've joined up with Kol's Notes, Beagles and Bargains and more of your favorite pet bloggers for this year's Trick or Treat Giveaway Blog Hop!


We've got a great trick to show you -- and after you see our trick, you'll have a chance to enter to win prizes -- including a $300 PetSmart gift card!

DISCLOSURE: The Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop is sponsored by CleverPet, The Honest Kitchen, Planet Dog, and Health Extension. The opinions and ideas in this post are my own and are uninfluenced by any other person or business. The individual sponsors are responsible for their giveaway prizes including shipping.


"Touch" or "Hand targeting"

"Touch" is one of the first tricks Lulu learned that was really for fun, not for obedience. But "touch" has obedience applications too. It's really a versatile trick.

The basic idea is your dog touches your hand or fingers or an object when you give the command. 

Obedience-wise, "touch" is a great way to get your dog used to human interactions that might make them nervous. Humans love to present their hands to dogs to sniff and so they can start petting. But it can also be something that makes a skittish dog nervous. So "touch" can help with desensitizing dogs and also building up confidence.

But one a dog overcomes basic touch, you can use the command to direct the dog toward other objects. Now they can use them to do things like -- turning on lights, for instance. My dog trainer uses it to have his dog turn on his video game console. ;)

Basic "touch"


"I do this, I get the treat, right Mom?"
Jasmine, who is learning basic "touch," will be our model for this.


A good stinky treat that's high value will keep your dog's attention as they learn.
1. Get a really good smelling treat -- something that will hold their attention through a new trick. Hold it in the hand you will use for your command so your hand has the smell on it. Put the treat in your other hand though when you do the trick. After all we're working with hounds -- they tend to be treat and scent obsessed.

2. Put your dog in a sit. I always do this so they know there will be something coming. It gets them in the right frame of mind to learn.



3. Hold out two fingers and ask your dog to touch. Make the command in a firm voice. Your dog should react by essentially sniffing your fingers. When they do that, give your dog SOME of the treat. Make sure your dog associates the word "touch" with the hand gesture. 

Also, make sure to keep the treat away from your command hand. This way the dog learns to do the trick, and then look for the trick. This is important when you start doing advanced tricks with "touch."

4. Praise your dog. Always remember not only to treat your dog, but praise your dog... get that tail wagging. Make sure they know they've done good!


It's a tough picture to get, but here Jasmine gets her touch on.
5. REPEAT. Put your hands behind your back for a bit, put your dog in a sit. Then hold out the command hand with two fingers and ask them to touch again. When they do it, treat and praise.

6. Make sure they don't cheat. Lulu will sometimes just nudge her nose toward my hand instead of actually touching it. She'll also do sloppy targeting where she'll use her mouth on my arm or hand. Be firm -- the only way they get a treat is if they put the nose to the target -- in this case the two fingers.

7. Once they have it down, you can modify it. You can start moving your hand around, you can start increasing the distance. You can do it multiple times. It's important to increase the difficulty level so they have to focus more.

This is what it looks like when it's all done:
Advanced "touch"

Now like I said, Lulu learned this trick years ago. But we never moved beyond the basics. So I decided to try teaching her more advanced "touch."

That includes targeting objects. To do that, I am using a sticker, so that Lulu knows where to touch.


Chose a unique and bright planner sticker I'm not using at the moment.
1. Put the sticker on your fingers. Lulu knows what touch means, but I want her to associate touch with the hand gesture as well. So I have the treat ready in one hand, and the sticker on the fingers in the other hand. 



2. Ask your dog to touch. And this time, make sure they hit the sticker target. When they do, treat and praise.


I put the sticker on the wall, in a spot she has to reach for.
3. Move the target. For the next step, put the sticker somewhere at eye-level for the dog. I put it on the wall so it's easy to see. 


These are tough pics to get! They are moving fast!
4. Point to the sticker with two fingers, ask to touch. By using the command and the gesture, your dog should be able to understand that you want to sticker touched. When they touch the wall, treat and praise. 

This is what it looks like:
Once your dog has this down, you should be able to start moving the sticker around and get them to touch all sorts of objects!

Trick or Treat Giveaway Blog Hop!
 

Join Kol’s Notes and Beagles & Bargains

PLUS

 
 

.for 10 days of awesome dog tricks, fabulous dog treats, and OVER $850 worth of fun and prizes!

GRAND PRIZE:

$300 Gift Card to PetSmart

SECOND PRIZE:

CleverPet Hub
$299 VALUE – SPONSORED BY CLEVERPET

THIRD PRIZE:

Golden Milk, Eggnog, Pumpkin Spice Latte,
Cuddles, and Smooches
$68 VALUE – SPONSORED BY THE HONEST KITCHEN

FOURTH PRIZE:

Halloween Trick Ball, Halloween Treat Ball,
and Maple Leaf Nook
$50 VALUE – SPONSORED BY PLANET DOG

FIFTH PRIZE:

Duck & Yogurt Bully Puffs, Chicken & Cheddar Bully Puffs,
Lamb & Peanut Butter Bully Puffs, Bacon & Liver Bully Puffs,
and Bacon Chips (1 Bag Each)
$40 VALUE – SPONSORED BY HEALTH EXTENSION

PLUS follow all bloggers on Instagram for a chance to win a SPECIAL SOCIAL MEDIA PRIZE:

$100 Gift Card to PetSmart

WHERE TO ENTER:

by Kol’s Notes
by Beagles & Bargains
by A Dog Walks into a Bar
by ChiPets
by Dog Mom Days
by Fetch for Me, Human
by Fidose of Reality
by Heart Like A Dog
by It’s Dog or Nothing
by Life With Beagle
by My Dog Likes
by My GBGV Life
by Sarcastic Dog
by Spencer the Goldendoodle
by Tails from the Road
by Talent Hounds
by Tenacious Little Terrier
by The Broke Dog
by The Daily Pip
by Wag ‘n Woof Pets

Visit each blog for more chances to win!

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And follow all the instructions in the handy dandy widget below to be entered to win!

2017 Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop - Life With Beagle

78 comments :

  1. No, my dogs don't know this trick. I'll have to try teaching it to them, but I have three very unruly, rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds who really don't like to listen. LOL!

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    1. If it helps, you can teach them "focus" too. So your process would be sit, focus and then touch.

      And use a really good, stinky, high value treat. So they will want to pay attention. That's helpful with hounds!

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  2. While my dog does not know this trick it seems like something we can learn together! She can do a variety of things and about to add to her repertoire.

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  3. Yes, my girl knows touch. She's pretty good at it, even from long distances outside.

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  4. my dog doesnt know this trick but i will have to try to teach it to her!

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  5. My dog doesn't know this trick but I'd like to teach her this.

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  6. We don't know this trick!

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  7. My dog doesn't know this trick but I would like to teach it to her.

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  8. Oooh, I like the sticker idea! That can help with the dog going to a certain spot too! Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. The hard part about the sticker is making sure it's one they can see really well. I admit I didn't have the chance to look up which colors dogs see well and I was hoping the pink and red were bright enough. That's also why I used the wall for training.

      I tried using the sticker with my remote to get Lulu to touch the mute button and she did not seem to see it as well.

      Delete
  9. No, my dog doesn't know this trick.

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  10. My guys have the basics of touch, but Sampson can get sloppy sometimes. I love the sticker idea...I wasn't sure how to transition them from touching a hand to touching something else.

    Great job!

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    1. Lulu -- being a beagle -- will always try to get back with just enough to get the treat. She can be very stubborn at times.

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  11. Veeta started to learn to touch a tap light, it's still a work in progress

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    1. Lulu is really out of practice with doing tricks, so I sympathize the whole "work in progress" thing. :)

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  12. My dog kinda knows this trick. We've been working on it trying to teach her new things.

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  13. Great post! I would have never thought about using a sticker to help in the training process! :)

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  14. The sticker is a great idea. My dog does not know this but I think it is something she can learn.

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  15. Yes, my dog knows touch and target. We use squirt cheese, and a target stick at first. (Tammy Horn)

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  16. My dog does not know this trick though he probably could learn fairly easily.

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  17. I've never taught this to my dog but I'd love to have him turn off lights! lol.

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  18. This is pretty cool but Cooper our lab doesnt know this trick!

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  19. This one I like, but our dog does not know it - yet.

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  20. we taught him this pretty much the same way!

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  21. We are currently working on this with our dog.

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  22. Yes my dog knows this trick and we are currently still working on it! The sticker is a really great idea I will definitely use it!

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  23. Madison learned targeting in puppy class, and now she uses it in agility sometimes. Bailie has learned it too and it is helpful for various things.

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  24. We learned how to teach this trick at the shelter where we volunteer, but we haven't taught it to any of our dogs. We have two very smart beagles who would probably do great with it, though.

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  25. they will do this sometimes, i drop some food and point to it, and they know where to go. they dont target with finger touching though.

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  26. In the giveaway form, the entry for Visit The Clever Pet on Facebook doesn't have a clickable link.

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  27. Our new puppy was born on 10/19 so he doesn’t know any tricks yet but we have high expectations for him.

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  28. My dogs do know this & learned the same way

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  29. Such an amazing trick! Thank you for sharing it. My dog doesnt know it yet, but I can try to teach him.

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  30. My dog does not know this.

    mia2009(at)comcast(dot)net

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  31. nope not yet-I will try this out with him-might be fun!

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  32. No she doesn't know this trick. We are still working on basic stuff. I am saving this idea for later. Thanks

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  33. Petals the Pug knows no tricks. She is a wild child. Ugh

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  34. One of my dogs know touch but my puppy is in the process of leaning it. We are using the same technique

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  35. No...my dog does not know this trick.

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  36. I think my dog could learn this trick. A food-driven dog makes a really good student.

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  37. This is one of Grady's favorite games!!

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  38. Odin doesnt know this one but I think he could easily learn it. He does something close with find command.

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  39. My dog knows touch so this trick shouldnt be hard

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  40. none of my dogs know this in the exact same way but I do use the Touch command to refocus grace when shes upset about something
    Ellen from ASk Away

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  41. My cat liked dog did this trick once, it's not too hard

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  42. My dog does not know this trick.

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  43. This looks like a fun trick, but I haven't taught my dog yet.

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  44. This would work for Zoey, but Balto is nervous about head touches like that so it may not be the best idea for him.

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  45. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFW-E9GFYGg-4W_UiUiythA

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  46. my dog doesn't know how to touch but it looks like a fun trick

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  47. My dog doesn't know this trick, but it would really get his brain a workout. Love it.

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  48. My dogs don't know this cool trick.

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  49. My dog doesn't know this trick but I would love it if she could turn on our lights!

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  50. Sounds great but with a disabled hand this one would be difficult

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  51. Roxy does this somewhat - not completely though

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  52. My guys don't know this trick yet.

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  53. My dogs don't know this trick but that is a cool way to teach the trick

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  54. No my dog does not know this trick but this would be easy to learn I think.

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  55. No, my dogs do not know this trick.

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  56. This is an awesome idea!! I'm going to teach this to my dogs! :)

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  57. My dog does not know this trick, but these are great tips!

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  58. No, my pup, Don, does not know this trick.

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  59. I have done target training with my doggies.

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  60. No- my dog only knows how to roll over. I adopted her when she was an older dog......so no new tricks.

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