by This video by Howcast presents an effective approach for teaching a dog to wave goodbye. The process may look simple in the video but keep in mind that some dogs may need more time to learn each of the steps. In this training, you will need a clicker and the best treats that your dog loves the most. You will need the clicker for every positive action that your dog performs during the whole process. The dog treats also serve as an essential factor of this training because this will fuel your dog’s motivation to perform each step.
In this video, the main takeaway is to utilize the easiest method by first teaching “high five” then transitioning to the “wave”. The process starts by holding a treat inside of your hand. Basically, most dogs usually try to paw at something that they badly want. As soon as the dog’s paw touches your hand, click then reward your dog. The important thing is timing the click when the paw immediately touches your hand. If the dog does this using both of its paws, there should be no reward given. A successful gesture needs only one paw to touch your hand.
Once the dog performs this consistently, you can switch to an empty hand signal. Basically, there is no treat in your hand anymore. You can actually make the hand signal appear like a high five. Repeat this many times in order to help your dog move on to the next step. Don’t forget to reward it with every successful high five.
As soon as your dog masters the high five, the next important step is to position your hand farther from the dog’s reach. You can see that the action that your dog will end up doing is a waving gesture. From here, you can add a verbal cue which is “bye”. Practice this over and over until your dog gets completely familiarized with the cue. When your dog finally masters the command, the last step is to fade the hand signal and let your dog rely on the verbal cue.
This short but effective video showcases a great step-by-step process that any dog can learn. The learning period may vary but as long as you follow the process, your dog will eventually learn it the right way. This dog trick is one of the cutest out there and is also a must-know for your dog. If you have a high energy dog, be more patient and allot more time for training. Keep practicing even with tiny little steps, in time you will see progress and get the results that you truly want for your dog.
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