How to Teach Your Dog to Hand Target

Teaching Your Dog to Hand Target

Hand targeting—teaching your dog to touch her nose to your outstretched hand—is a fun, easy training project, and it proves useful in a variety of situations. For example, after you teach your dog to hand target, you can use this skill to guide her onto a scale at the vet’s office, lead her through doorways when she’s nervous, prompt her to jump off of furniture and ask her to hop into your car. You can use hand targeting to teach entertaining tricks, too. Hand targeting is also used in agility, an exciting dog sport that involves directing your dog to navigate obstacles like tunnels and jumps. You can even use hand targeting to help dogs with behavior problems focus on you when they’re feeling afraid, anxious or aggressive.

First, cut some soft, tasty treats into pea-sized pieces. Choose something that your dog really loves, like soft dog treats, jerky, chicken, hot dogs or cheese. When you’re ready to train, take the treats and your dog to a quiet place.

• Hold out an open hand in front of your dog, about two inches away from her nose.
• Your dog will probably move forward to sniff your hand. The instant you feel her nose touch your palm, say “Yes!” This immediate feedback tells her that the thing she’s doing at that instant is what’s earning her the treat. The better your timing is with the “Yes,” the more quickly your dog will master this exercise.
• Immediately feed your dog a tiny treat from the other hand.
• Repeat the exercise from the beginning.

If your dog doesn’t touch your extended palm with her nose, keep trying. If you’re patient, she’ll soon catch on. To prompt the first few touches, rub one of the treats on your hand to make it smell more interesting. You can also try moving your hand back and forth in front of your dog’s face—or take your hand away for a couple of seconds and then present it again to grab her attention.

When your dog touches your hand 9 out of 10 times in a row, you can start to present your hand in different places. Offer your palm in front of your dog’s nose—but a few inches to the right. Then present your palm a few inches to the left. Then try holding it lower, close to the floor. Present your hand 5 to 10 inches away so that your dog has to stand up and move toward it to make contact. Finally, try holding your palm up above her head so that she has to reach up with her nose to touch it. Always remember to say “Yes!” the instant you feel your dog’s nose make contact with your hand, and then immediately deliver a tasty treat from the other hand. If your dog seems confused at any point, go back to presenting your palm right in front of her nose, just a few inches away, to remind her what to do. If she still seems confused, call it quits for a while. A short break will often improve a dog’s focus.

Aim for training two or three training sessions a day. Your sessions don’t need to be long—less than five minutes is fine. During each training session, present your hand for your dog to target 15 to 30 times. Outside of training sessions, you can also present your hand just once or twice, right before you do something your dog likes. Practice hand targeting before feeding your dog dinner, throwing her favorite ball, taking her on walks and playing with her outside.