The Nose Command
I’m been slipping in the nose command to Donna during walks, mealtimes and when she comes to find me after she wakes up from a nap.
What is the Nose command?
The nose command is part of target training. When I hold out my two fingers and say Nose, Donna should push at my finger tips with her nose. It appears to be more common to use the palm for the Nose to hand command, but I am using fingertips rather than the palm of my hand because Donna has a tendency to paw or high-five when presented with a palm, so I thought I’ll do a different hand gesture (following the touch video link below) to build the Nose association.
For tips on target training, visit cascadiannomads’ target training tips here.
It’s not something new to her because a few months back I had been trying to do the same thing, only at that time I used the word push instead. It was a totally random choice. She never really got good at it, and I slacked off after a while.
I got excited all over again after I saw on video what could eventually be achieved with the command. I shared the link in the previous post and here it is again – “Touch” a must for any dog trainer :P It’s easy to be motivated when you have a goal or can see what the end result will look like. So, check that link out if you’re interested.
We’re just re-starting really. Not much to say yet, but here’s a few silly pictures of Donna during training to set you in the right mood to explore training the Nose command as well. Or, if you are really good at it with your dog already, perhaps you can share with me some useful tips and tricks!
Three picture story: Training the nose command, my dog’s initial reaction
For training the nose command, I use kibble as part of her mealtime training at home since that is a low distraction environment. Outside, I use tiny bits of boiled chicken or pork to make me more interesting than the distractions around us. It is interesting to see her reaction to the same command, in response to the different rewards provided. :P
As I have mentioned, it is very easy for me to be inconsistent with her training. So to force myself to be on track, I’m planning to do training posts for Saturdays. I hope you will find these posts interesting.
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Hawk aka BrownDog
Hi Y’all,
May the nose or touch command is usually a palm is because we’re lookin’ for the treat your usually hidin’ there.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
weliveinaflat
Ah! Not over here. Donna believes the treat will come when you shake paws! :P But good to know you get treats when you do the nose to hand. Anything goes, as long as it turns the human into a food dispenser :P
cathylass
Donna is adorable!
Good luck with the training. I never trained my two… they understand “No” but chose to ignore it. :D
weliveinaflat
Thank you, it’s actually pretty fun training her and we spend more time together since there’s something to do with her. :P
furrywigglebutts
Thanks for sharing. This command is actually interesting but my dog seems to catch on fairly quickly that I have treats in my hand so she’ll just get excited and do anything for treats. I’ve managed to teach my dog how to lie down but nothing else. :-( She already sits and gives paw (she came to me knowing those commands already), but I would love to find a way to calm her from barking when people walk by our apartment door. Any suggestions?
weliveinaflat
When we first brought Donna home, one of the things we did was to randomly treat her when she is being quiet sitting or lying down. She used to be more restless in the early days but as she adjusted, she started sitting or lying down in the apartment on her bed or her crate for longer periods because she knows that is where she has the greatest chances of getting random treats. If somebody rings the door bell, I will get her to stay in the crate before opening the door so she doesn’t rush to meet the stranger at the door. Nowadays she will automatically retreat to the crate when she sees me coming to answer the doorbell. It took some patience but eventually she got it. ;)
I’m not sure if it will work with your dog, but perhaps you can treat her when she stops barking. So that eventually she may start to understand that she gets treats for the times she is not barking. I would ignore her when she barks, so that hopefully with time, she should realise that she gets attention and treats only when she is not barking. Hope this works!
M. K. Clinton
Great photos of Donna! Have a great Saturday : )
weliveinaflat
Thank you and Happy Sunday to you :)
FireBonnet
It’s great that you’re making that goal of a training post… I am really spotty on my training Cooper too. :P I like your story in three! Donna does not seem very enthused… lol.
weliveinaflat
No, she isn’t. I don’t know if I should call it lazy or efficient. She prefers to fall back on things that she knows will get her treats – paw or high-five. She’s not that interested in learning new things to get treats when she knows she can get treats for paw or high-five anyway. :)
sustainabilitea
We taught our foster dogs “touch”, too. We used clicker training, which worked very well. I found that hot dogs, called “caviar for dogs” by some people, worked well for more difficult work. Otherwise we used small treats. Months afterwards, I was still finding treats in hidden places. :-)
Most useful command I ever taught Janie? “Leave it.” When attacked by another (loose) dog while we were walking, once the other dog’s owner showed up and grabbed him, Janie still had hold. I yelled “Leave it” and, thank the Lord, she did!
janet
weliveinaflat
Now why didn’t the dogs eating their treats??? That is inconceivable! :PPP Donna will gobble hers up before you can blink.
And that is a “leave it” well taught. I have trained it, but while the dog knows it, I sometimes forget to say “leave it” until its too late and whatever is in her mouth is already in her tummy! I;m glad Janie was fine because you remembered to yell “Leave it”! :D
Nature by Dawn
Love that last photo! Using two fingers instead of the palm is a great idea. I think if I used the open palm, Maya and Pierson would do the same thing and give me their paw. I have not taught them the nose command. What is the practical application of this command?
weliveinaflat
Here’s a list from the whole dog journal, haha!
• Targeting can be used to boost the confidence level of a timid dog.
• It can prompt a dog to offer a new behavior without a food lure.
• You can use it to keep a dog’s attention focused on you instead of on distractions.
• Your dog can turn appliances on and off, close doors, ring bells.
• Target as an “emergency recall” cue.
• Targeting is used to teach dogs to locate the contact zones in agility.
• Your dog can learn to play the piano!
• It’s useful for teaching lateral movement for Canine Freestyle (dancing with your dog) and APDT Rally.
• It’s easy to train, it’s just plain fun, and dogs love it!
Honestly, I want to teach that because Canine Freestyle is really cool :P … and maybe eventually I can get her to close doors and stuff, hahahaha!
dorysbackyard
Great photos…we are looking forward to seeing your Saturday training posts!
weliveinaflat
Thanks! And have a good weekend :)
Sonel
Donna sure is training you well Mrs. P. hehehehe
Great photo’s! Please give her lots of hugs from me and Simba. :D
weliveinaflat
She is, Sonel, she is. *Big hugs* Happy Sunday :) … what’s left of it.
Sonel
Thanks sweetness. :D *hugs*
Olive
Touch is my favorite! Mom and dad like to make it into a game – one that involves treats so I’m down with that! We’re working on closing doors right now (I’m a bit small so working on it!) It’s a great starter trick that definitely leads to a lot more!
weliveinaflat
Oh man, You’re cool. How long did it take to get to closing doors?
Olive
I don’t quite have it completely down yet, it’s been a few months. Can only get the really light ones!
weliveinaflat
Ah, good luck with that then. I’m sure you’ll get it! :D We’re not even there yet!
Ruckus the Eskie
I absolutely love this new training series you are going to be sharing on Sepia Saturdays. The nose trick is a great idea..my sapien might try it on me. The finger makes sense, if you were to put up a palm, I would also give you a high five! See you next week on Sepia Saturday! Hopefully LinkyTool won’t act up again.
weliveinaflat
Thank you! The human loves the Nose to Hand because of the practical applications of it that she finds very helpful ; )
Cascadian Nomads
Great idea using two fingers! But if Donna is more excited about a high five paw there must be a way to get her more excited about the “nose” command. You might want to get more excited/give her a jackpot of treats even for the slightest nose touches for now and for a while. Until she gets the idea that this nose game can be really fun (running, jumping, going under legs to nose! Whee!) try to make even the slightest successes a huge party. Thanks for the shout out and I hope the target training continues along somehow! :)
weliveinaflat
You are right, Bethany. She is much better at it now ; ) Can’t get her to go under legs yet though! :P She just noses my foot instead, haha.
2browndawgs
Best of luck with your training. I look forward to seeing more posts. :)