How to Clicker Train Your Dog to Crawl

Teaching your dog to do tricks reinforces obedience and strengthens your bond with your dog. Clicker training a crawl is fun and easy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Clicker savvy dog
• Clicker
• Treats

1. Clicker train a crawl with a dog that has already mastered the "down" cue. Tell your dog to "down".
2. When your dog is in the down position, hold a treat slightly above the ground near her nose and just out of her reach. When she stretches to get the treat, click and release the treat to her. Repeat 3-4 times.
3. In this next step, when your dog stretches toward the treat move it a little further so that she will have to move a little farther to get it. Click and treat. Repeat 3-4 times.
4. After your dog has successfully advanced forward 1/2 of her body length, try using a hand signal without food. Click and treat as she advances toward your hand.
5. When your dog can move one whole body length in response to your hand signal, add the verbal cue. Say "crawl", wait a few seconds then give the hand signal. Click and treat.
6. Add distance to the crawl by delaying the click for longer periods of time.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep training sessions short 3-5 minutes is plenty
• Do not say the verbal cue until your dog is doing the behavior.
• Do many short training sessions per day
• Begin fading the use of the clicker as your dog responds to verbal cues reliably
• Train old behaviors like new behaviors in new places, around new people, or in the presence of other animals. Act as if your dog has not learned the behavior, and start at the beginning, until he has generalized the cue.
• Smile at your dog while training. Speak in cheerful tones. Clicker training is fun!
• Do not chat with your dog while training him, it confuses him as to what word he should be listening to.
• Do not repeat cues, if your dog is not responding to a verbal cue change something you are doing or make adjustments to the training environment.