A dog trainer has revealed one of the biggest mistakes she sees when watching people trying to teach their dog how to do the paw trick.
Teaching your dogs to do anything can be incredibly difficult at first, largely because they almost never sit still without some kind of incentive. Thankfully, once you get the basics down, teaching your dog tricks can be relatively easy.
How to teach your dog paw
If you’re wondering how to teach your dog paw, then look no further than Train Your Pup, an online resource offering classes, 1-on-1 sessions, and countless helpful videos.
On their TikTok account, Train Your Pup (@trainyourpupofficial) offered advice for owners looking to teach their dog the paw trick. Usually, the trick is triggered by a single word, followed by the dog’s paw in your hand.
“The biggest mistake I see when teaching paw is people trying to grab at their dog’s paw,” she explained to her 85k followers. “Instead of teaching their dog to bring the paw to their hand.”
To do the trick the right away, Train Your Pup said to begin with food in a closed hand. From here, allow your pup to sniff at the treat until they tape your hand with theirs. This is the behavior we want, so reward alongside the word “yes.”
“Over time you can phase this out so they are just putting their paw in your hand,” she added.
Followers asked for further advice
Train Your Pup’s followers flocked to the comment section in droves to offer further advice alongside eager questions about other dog training tricks and tips.
“Teaching paw to our dog has got to be the worst thing he’s ever learned. Now, he just aggressively smacks us whenever he wants something,” one person joked, to which the original poster replied, “Forget what you were doing and go and do something none reinforcing. Like checking the time.”
After another follower said their dog just keeps licking their hand, Train Your Pup replied: “Forget what you were doing and go and do something none reinforcing. Like checking the time.”
“I’ve always done it the 1st way had no issues I’ve tried it the other and they don’t and won’t do that. same as when I try learning them to sit lie down hold the treat up till they sit/lie won’t do it,” another person confessed.
