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Dog high fives are one of our favorite tricks because it makes everyone smile, and it’s also a fun way to bond with your four-legged best friend. Teaching the high-five is a fairly simple trick for your dog to learn. Here’s how to teach your dog to do it.
Before you begin training your dog to do a high-five, you need to select a quiet spot for training sessions where your pup won’t be distracted. You’ll need a lot of treats to use as rewards. Be sure to choose a small training size treat since your doggy will probably get a lot of them. Then it's time to start high-fiving!
First, did you teach your dog how to sit? If not, you will need to teach that first, which you can learn here! After you teach your dog how to sit, have him practice a few times to be sure he completely understands the sit command.
When your dog is sitting up, hold a treat in your fist and hold your fist in front of his nose until he lifts a single paw and touches your fist without leaving the sitting position. As soon as he does that correctly, give him a treat! But, only if he does it correctly. If he jumps, stands up, or puts both paws on your fist, have him return to starting position and try again. It may well be little hard for some dogs at the beginning, but keep practicing them until they do it correctly!
If your dog starts to get bored or tired and starts refusing to cooperate, which may happen at any time during the training, don’t force him to keep going.Take a break and start again later in the day.
Once your puppy consistently tapping your fist with his paw, it’s time to present your open hand in the high-five position. Keep your hand there until he touches it with his paw. Be patient because it might take a while for him to make the connection with you. You might need to let him smell the treat residue on your palm or hide a small piece between your fingers in order to motivate him. As soon as he touches your hand with his paw, reward him with a treat to give him more motivation.
Once your dog starts performing the high five action consistently, start introducing the command by saying “high five!” every time he touches your palm. While doing this constantly he will start understanding command “High-Five” and don’t forget to give him reward if he does everything correctly.
This trick is fairly easy for your dog to learn, but it may take repetition and consistency for him to retain it. But with patience and practice, your puppy will be ready to show off his new trick in no time!
Thanks to My Puppy Care for this helpful article.
