Muzzle target, also called hand target, is a useful and relevant trick for all dogs to learn and a good tool to have for learning many exercises. The trick is very simple: teach the dog to nuzzle with its snout on the palm of your hand.
Most dogs learn the exercise quickly, but it requires patience on the part of the owner, just like any other learning of new things.
See how you can teach your dog a spinning target further down in the post.
Once you have taught your dog a muzzle target, only your imagination sets the limits to what else you can teach your dog. The exercise can be used as an aid in learning more tricks. You can use it to teach your dog to turn around, walk around the handler and slalom between the legs. There are so many possibilities.
Muzzle target/Hand target can also be used to train recall. Because when the dog has a really strong hand target, you can start sticking a flat hand down when you call the dog, which it will then go and nuzzle. This way you also ensure that the dog comes COMPLETELY to you when you call it.
If you like to play free on foot, hand targets can also be a good tool to clarify how the dog should place its head in position.
Should the dog learn more tricks?
Muzzle target / Hand target can also be transferred to other objects instead of the hand. Maybe you want to teach the dog to close drawers and doors or turn off the light? Or maybe you want to teach the dog to give you a kiss on the cheek? You can do this by teaching the dog to nibble on a post-it note in exactly the same way as you teach the dog to nibble on your hand. You can now place this post-it note elsewhere - for example on your cheek or the drawer you want to teach the dog to close.
But how do you teach a muzzle target?
You can teach your dog a muzzle target using these steps.
Step 1 : Have the dog free in front of you. Start by presenting the muzzle target to the dog by holding a flat hand forward at the dog's head height.
Step 2 : Wait for the dog to orient itself towards the hand. Here you need to be good and quick to mark as soon as the dog shows a little interest in the hand. We prefer that the dog nibbles on the hand, but if the dog just looks at the hand to start with, you should finally reward for it. Remove the hand when rewarding the dog.
Step 3 : Present the hand again and reward the dog when it shows interest in the hand again, and repeat this a few times.
Step 4 : Once the dog has started to nibble more confidently on your hand, you can make higher demands on the dog by starting to hold your hand further away from the dog and in different directions. You can also change the target hand so that it can nibble on both hands.
Step 5 : Continue training until the dog is very confident in his leash and now start using the muzzle target as an auxiliary tool for other exercises.
When working with new exercises where the dog has to take a lot of initiative and offer a lot of behavior, you should train in short sessions at a time. It can be mentally hard for the dog to spend so much energy offering behavior. Always remember to end the training successfully, so that the exercise and training are also fun next time.
Snout target? What is it and why does it make sense?
Muzzle target, also called hand target, is a useful and relevant trick for all dogs to learn and a good tool to have for learning many exercises. The trick is very simple: teach the dog to nuzzle with its snout on the palm of your hand.
Most dogs learn the exercise quickly, but it requires patience on the part of the owner, just like any other learning of new things.
See how you can teach your dog a spinning target further down in the post.
Once you have taught your dog a muzzle target, only your imagination sets the limits to what else you can teach your dog. The exercise can be used as an aid in learning more tricks. You can use it to teach your dog to turn around, walk around the handler and slalom between the legs. There are so many possibilities.
Muzzle target/Hand target can also be used to train recall. Because when the dog has a really strong hand target, you can start sticking a flat hand down when you call the dog, which it will then go and nuzzle. This way you also ensure that the dog comes COMPLETELY to you when you call it.
If you like to play free on foot, hand targets can also be a good tool to clarify how the dog should place its head in position.
Should the dog learn more tricks?
Muzzle target / Hand target can also be transferred to other objects instead of the hand. Maybe you want to teach the dog to close drawers and doors or turn off the light? Or maybe you want to teach the dog to give you a kiss on the cheek? You can do this by teaching the dog to nibble on a post-it note in exactly the same way as you teach the dog to nibble on your hand. You can now place this post-it note elsewhere - for example on your cheek or the drawer you want to teach the dog to close.
But how do you teach a muzzle target?
You can teach your dog a muzzle target using these steps.
Step 1 : Have the dog free in front of you. Start by presenting the muzzle target to the dog by holding a flat hand forward at the dog's head height.
Step 2 : Wait for the dog to orient itself towards the hand. Here you need to be good and quick to mark as soon as the dog shows a little interest in the hand. We prefer that the dog nibbles on the hand, but if the dog just looks at the hand to start with, you should finally reward for it. Remove the hand when rewarding the dog.
Step 3 : Present the hand again and reward the dog when it shows interest in the hand again, and repeat this a few times.
Step 4 : Once the dog has started to nibble more confidently on your hand, you can make higher demands on the dog by starting to hold your hand further away from the dog and in different directions. You can also change the target hand so that it can nibble on both hands.
Step 5 : Continue training until the dog is very confident in his leash and now start using the muzzle target as an auxiliary tool for other exercises.
When working with new exercises where the dog has to take a lot of initiative and offer a lot of behavior, you should train in short sessions at a time. It can be mentally hard for the dog to spend so much energy offering behavior. Always remember to end the training successfully, so that the exercise and training are also fun next time.