Dog Trick 5. "Shy"

I promise your eyes will glaze when your dog has mastered this one.

This trick takes quite a lot of practice to get right, but you will love the result when your dog endearingly hides his eyes behind his paw.

• First lie your dog down in front of you.
• The first step for this trick is to teach your dog to touch his nose with his paw. You start this by asking him to give you his paw. As he does so, hold a treat low down on the opposite side of the paw he is raising. This encourages his head to drop as his paw rises. When his paw and nose touch, praise and treat.
• Stop for a break after he has made 3-4 paw/nose contacts.
• Over a number of sessions your can gradually delay giving the treat, so that he is encouraged to try harder and hold the touching nose position.

You will have to persevere with this one over a number of sessions. If you find you are not making progress, you can resort to 'induced training'. This involves using a small piece of cloth sticky taped- and lightly attached- to his nose. When he uses his paw to remove the object, praise and treat him. Personally, this is the only way Dexter would learn this trick.

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