Train Dog to Use Paw

In training your dog you might prefer to have the dog touch an object with his paw. To achieve this, follow these simple steps:

1. Put your hand or lid out for your dog to see, but wait on the click until he steps near it. He may at first only target with his nose since you have already taught him that. But eventually he will understand that you want something else. Be patient and wait for the paw action near the target.
2. Withhold the click to let your dog know that you don't want a nose touch but rather something different and see what happens.
3. Make the exercise simpler for your dog by moving the lid or your hand on the floor so that you can click him for moving toward it. An easy way to help your dog to get this behavior started is to put the lid on the bottom stair of a staircase and click him for stepping on or next to it.
4. Because you are withholding the click your dog might get frustrated, but wait, don't be too quick to help right away; be patient and see if he won't paw at the target or move toward it.
5. Don't practice a paw target and a nose target together and be sure to have two distinct cues for each one.
6. Always remember that quick, frequent training sessions will help your dog learn and understand what you want more rapidly than longer, confusing ones.

The more often your dog practices targeting the more useful it will be in your later training sessions.

Labeling dog behavior