Target Training for Puppies

So, you have finished the basics of Attention Training. That can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Well, Targeting is somewhat easier. With Targeting, you teach your puppy to touch something with her nose. Once completed, she will touch whatever you indicate on cue. Sound impossible? No really.

Remember, whenever you read MTP in any of my training articles, I am referring to Mark, Treat & Praise.

Once again, grab your dog, a bowl full of highly tasty dog treats and go to a quiet room in your house where your puppy has been many times before and she will pay more attention to you than the other things in the room.

Now, take a small piece of a soft treat, rub it into the palm of your hand so that your puppy will find it very interesting. Keep that hand out of sight. We will call that hand the ‘smelly’ hand. The other, we will call it the ‘treat’ hand. The ‘treat’ hand gives out the treats as part of the MTP.

Step 1

Ready? Quickly, but not in a threatening or surprising way, bring your smelly hand up close to, but don’t touch, your puppy’s nose. If she pokes her nose on your hand, that’s great. That’s what you want. What she is doing is looking for the treat. When she makes contact with your hand, MTP. Do this 10-15 times. You are letting her know that you want her to tap the palm of your hand with her nose. And when she does, good things happen.

Now, repeat this exact same process but, when you bring your hand in towards her nose, don’t get as close. Stop about 2-3 inches farther away. Every 3-5 times pokes, stop a little farther from her nose. This will make her have to reach for it, and after a short period of time, she will have to step forward to touch your palm. It won’t be long until you are able to raise your palm and she will trot over and hit it with her nose. After you have done this for about 5 minutes, you may have to rub more treat into your palm. You want the smell to be as strong as possible during this phase. You may even have to change the treats if she gets a little bored. Do this part 2-3 times every day for a few days.

Step 2

Now then, it is time to add a command ‘cue’ to this. Pick a word that is easy to say, words that a lot of people like to use are ‘touch’, ‘hit’, ‘tap’ and ‘poke’. Some even say the word ‘palm’. Any word will do as long as it is clear and that can you say it consistently every time. I will use the word ‘Poke’ for this exorcise.

So, let’s start again. This time, say the cue word ‘Poke’ as you show your ‘smelly’ hand. Be sure to say the word when you’re your hand is ready. Hold your hand steady, wait for her to poke it, then MTP. Repeat this a few times, maybe 5-10 times. Again, do this about 2-3 times every day for a few days. It shouldn’t take more than about 5 minutes.

Step 3

Now, with very clean hands, being sure that all of the smell is gone, start again at the very beginning but, this time, don’t rub any treats into the palm of your hand. If she correctly understood what you have been teaching in steps 1 & 2, then she should bump your hand with her nose on cue. If not, then start again with a smelly hand (Step 2). But, don’t worry, she will get it. Repeat this 2-3 times every day for a few days, about 5-10 pokes every time.

Once she hits your hand on cue without you rubbing any treats into your palm, its time to start ‘pointing’ at the target your want her to bump. So on to the next step.

Step 4

Raise an empty hand so she can see your palm, point at it with your other hand and tell her to ‘Poke’. She should trot right over and poke the hand that you pointed to. If she does as you have asked, then MTP. Do this 10-15 times but, remember to switch hands randomly so that she gets the idea that you are telling her what hand to bump. Do this 2-3 times a day for a few days. Yes, it may seem very easy but you are re-enforcing the behavior to the point that she will not do anything else.

Step 5

Step 5 is the same as Step 1 but, this time, you add a few simple distractions to the environment. Perhaps the radio is playing or the TV is on. Maybe there are other noises around like the washing machine running or some other minor distraction. The key here is to keep the distraction minor. Remember, you want your puppy to succeed. So make it easy.

Step 6

This step is the same as Step 2 but, this time, you add the same distractions as you did in Step 5.

Step 7

This step is the same as Step 3 but, this time, you add the same distractions as you did in Step 5.

Step 8

This step is the same as Step 4 but, this time, you add the same distractions as you did in Step 5.

Congratulations!!!

You now have a puppy that will poke your hand every time you ask in a low distraction environment. That’s great but, you’re not done yet. Repeat step 8 over and over adding more and more distractions until your puppy will do as you ask regardless of what is happening in the house. The distractions should have escalated to include: kids paying; balls rolling by; toys on the floor; food on the floor; and another person using squeaky toys. Finally, your puppy should bump your hand with most or all of these distractions happening at the same time.

Ready For More?

Now, your puppy should be ready to learn this all over again, outside in your backyard and ultimately at the neighborhood dog park. If you have successfully completed the Attention Training, then Target Training should not be too difficult outside of the house.

When you have finished the Target Training exorcises, she should now be ready to bump what ever you point to, regardless of where you are, as long as the target is fairly close to your hand. Over time, increase the distance between your pointing hand and the target. Eventually, you can train her to hit the light switch, or close a door, all on command.

Happy Tails...