A hand touch is a specific behaviour to train your dog so that they know a “recall” means “touch my hand with your nose” not “come within 2 metres of me but don’t let me touch you” or “run really fast towards me….and continue on right past”
- Put one treat in between your fingers and count out 10 more treats
- Present your palm out to the side of the dog’s face
- Dog will investigate
- Use a clicker / say “yes” when the dogs’ nose touches your palm
- Reward dog with a treat from your other hand.
Repeat the above steps until you’ve used up your treats
Have a break and count out 10 more treats
- Now this time present the dog with your hand, but without any food in between your fingers, and repeat until you’ve used up your treats
Have a break and count out 10 more treats
- Now this time when the dog touches your hand, rather than feeding them a treat directly into their mouth, throw the treat on the floor away from you. Tossing the treat away increases the energy and makes the game more exciting
- Wait for the dog to turn around to look at your, then present your hand out to the side, wait for them to come back and do a hand touch. Repeat until you’ve used all your treats