Teaching your dog a trick is easier than you might think. Watch this video and I’ll tell you how we taught this trick to Princess in less than 5 minutes.

Princess the Chihuahua naturally offered that behavior with her front paws in the air as an attention seeking behavior. We knew that if we ignored her long enough, eventually she would offer it again. When she did we marked it (“yes!”) and rewarded her with a treat. This technique is called Capturing.

After a couple of quick trials like that we added a hand signal (curling forefinger up and down) before she offered the behavior, continuing to mark and reward. Finally, we added the verbal cue (“wave”) before the hand signal. When the family took over, they decided to change the verbal cue to “beg.” No big deal. Princess caught on right away since she was still paying more attention to the hand signal at that point.

What behavior does your dog offer that you can turn in to a trick through Capturing? If you’d like to share, email me your video and I will post them on the Doggie Academy Facebook page.