Touch
This is one of our favorite, multi-purpose behaviors that is fun on its own and a foundation for other behaviors.
We use hand touch for greetings, moving your dog through space, getting into an unstructured heel, loose leash walking, redirecting, getting attention, or just for fun. For reactive dogs, we use a hand touch as an alternate behavior for barking and lunging on leash. For fearful dogs, this behavior gives the learner warm fuzzies about having hands nearby.
The hand touch is often used for short distance recalls. We like to do these fun recalls to "ask" our dogs to close the gap of space between us and them instead of us walking to them.
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Using positive reinforcement to teach this behavior also helps dogs feel good about their caregivers as a bonus side effect of training this important cue.
The Plan
Our plan for teaching touch is below. You can teach this the same way the professional trainers at Wiggle Butt do. This is a fun and easy behavior for most dogs to learn.
Goal
Cue "touch" then dog approaches and touches your hand with nose.
Instructions
Start with step 1. Repeat until your dog gets 5 in a row correct, then move to next step. If dog misses 3 in a row, drop to previous step.
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Hide a treat under your thumb and hold your hand about two inches from your dog's nose. When, she touches your hand with her nose, say "yes!" then give her the treat.
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Remove the hidden treat and hold your hand a few inches from your dog's nose. When, she touches your hand with her nose, say "yes!" then give her a treat from your other hand.
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Repeat step 2 but present your hand 6 inches from your dog's nose. When, she touches your hand with her nose, say "yes!" then give her a treat from your other hand.
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Repeat step 3 but use a foot of distance.
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Repeat step 3 but use two feet of distance.
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Add the cue "Touch", then repeat step 5.
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Practice then Progress!
Practice "touch" often in easy situations, then get creative and have fun with it! Once you have this down, you can try the "With Me" cue for loose leash walking!
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