How To Train A Dog To Swap Paws

How To Train A Dog To Swap Paws

This tutorial is part of The Ultimate List Of Dog Trick Ideas which contains 99 other tricks like this!

When your dog is giving you a paw a great spin is to ask for the other paw instead. This is another trick that will come quite naturally to your dog. It will become established with reinforcement.

  1. When your dog offers a paw reinforce and reward so that he knows he has it right then show him a second reward.
  2. Add the command word and wait.
  3. Your dog may swap the paw immediately or need more encouragement. When he does swap the paw reinforce and reward then repeat the previous two stages.

Top tip; keep the treats close in order to prevent your dog wandering away, he will know if the treat is near his nose that he is on the right track by offering a paw. He just needs to work out that the other paw is required.

Dog trainers love this trick because it looks neat and encourages the dog to think for reward.

Jean Cote
 

Jean Cote is an animal lover and the founder of Success Dogs. For more than a decade, he has served as a coach to thousands of dog owners around the world to better train, communicate and forge a stronger bond with their dog using positive and force-free training methods.

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