How I do teach my dog to do the sit and paw trick?

Question

He is a 8 soon to be 9 year old dachshund and obsessed with food! When he is in the kitchen, his only concern is getting what we are eating but thats not the problem. The problem is I tried to teach him to sit and give me his paw but he was too concerned about the carrot I had behind my back. How do I teach him to do this?

Answer 1

Wow - your dog will work for a carrot? That is very cool. I'd try to work first on Doggie Zen before asking for harder stuff:
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson3.html
If your dog is too distracted by "I might get the treat!!!" thoughts, you can't really progress. So get the Doggie Zen thing down, and then:
1. Dog in sit, which he's been rewarded for a bunch.
2. You wait for another behavior. Watch very carefully for any shift in weight on those front paws. Click and reward that.
3. So now your dog gets that moving paws around while in a sit = reward. Now, hold out for big paw movements. C/T those.
4. This will easily progress to a one-paw raise. Once you get a good paw raise, try to not mark and reward the little paw shifts anymore. Be clear about what you want.
5. Clicker training works best when you work in short sessions! Count out 10-15 treats and then finish. Always leave your dog wanting more!

Answer 2

Lemme tell you how I did it. I have a treat obsessed 6 month old Male Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. I got him in a sit, and actually grabbed his paw in one hand and said shake while he ate the treat out of my other hand. A few times of doing this, and he was pawing at me like crazy for food. At this point you'll have to ignore it some so he doesn't figure out he can get food by pawing a lot at you or others. Only reward him when you ask him to do it and he does it right other wise work with him again on it. It took me about a week with him. Hounds are a very independent group of dogs and after some sessions of repeating the same command over and over, they'll sometimes just turn and walk away or focus on something else as you do is doing. It made me kinda embarrassed, but more determined to get him to do it keeping in mind that this is part of the breed. Dogs tend to associate certain situations with a noise, word, or object...similar to how dogs can go so crazy when you get their leash out to go for a walk. Try using it to your advantage, and pretty soon, you'll have a smart little dog to show off to your family and friends! Good Luck! :)

Answer 3

Cup your hand and put a treat in it. Make sure the dog doesn't take the treat from you while you are doing so.
Place your hand on the floor, still cupped while the treat is now underneath it. Call your dog over.
Get your dog to start sniffing your paw. To make him/her do this, make sure that there is a very small gap between one set of fingers, just to make sure that your dog can sniff out the treat.
Keep your hand closed until the dog begins to paw at your hand. Give the dog the treat. Continue this method daily, until your dog just knows to always give you his/her paw. If there is no treat under your hand, and your dog still does the trick, make sure to give the treat afterwards.



Tips
Try and find a treat that your dog enjoys, or he/she will not paw at you as often.

Answer 4

If you hold the treat over his head and go back with your hand slowly he will sit,m its natural. Say sit each time and he will get the message. After he sits then start with the paw. He does not get the treat if he does not sit. If he is food driven like mine he will sit. With the paw, have him sit and at first grab the pay and say "shake or give me your paw". Remember not to keep trying to long at one time. Short intervals are best. Good luck

Answer 5

I taught a Labrador Retriever this, who lived next door and whose children I would babysit late into the night. It was quiet, and dark. We would go to the kitchen. I would say, sit, push her butt down to the floor, and give her a doggie treat (not people food, which only reinforces the desire for such). I repetitively kept doing this, and praising her each time she did it. The kids were amazed, and thought they taught her (I never told them I did it at night when I was bored and they were asleep. On another night, I did the same thing; sit, and lifter her paw into mine, gave her a doggie treat. Over and over. Then, we coupled it together. Repetition is key. Over time. But, I think the quietness and having the kitchen area shut off from the other parts of the house helped. Good luck! :)

Answer 6

WE would always pop our dog on the nose. Not hard but enough to get him to obey our command. It took several weeks but after that he feared the nose popping and started to obey

Answer 7

Practice with it.Reword it if he does some of the trick.