How to Teach a Dog Patty Cake

Teaching your dog tricks is a great way to bond with your pal and keep him from eating your favorite shoes. Trick training helps your dog learn focus, reinforces your position as leader of the pack and provides critical mental stimulation for your best friend. Patty-cake is a crowd-pleasing trick that is easier to train than you might imagine. You should first teach your dog to "high five," which is an easy trick to teach once your dog knows shake. Building on your dog's skills in this way will result in this fun and complicated-looking performance.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Training treats

1. Begin with your dog in the "sit" position facing you. It is best to choose a quiet location with no distractions.

2. Give your dog the hand signal for "high five" and touch your right palm to his left paw, just as in a high five. Do not provide a verbal instruction yet; this will be added in later.

3. Clap your hands together and immediately give the dog the hand signal for "high five," this time touching your left palm to his right paw.

4. Reward the dog for the two consecutive "high fives" with a treat (or a click if clicker training).

5. Repeat Steps 2 and 3, adding in an additional "high five" with alternating paws. Gradually increase the speed in which you "high five," making sure to clap your hands together after each paw touch.

6. Add in the words for patty-cake after your dog is able to perform five or six consecutive paw touches. Increase these touches as long as your dog is willing to perform. Consider adding in cross-patty cakes as your dog becomes increasingly skilled with the trick.

7. Increase the complexity of the trick by adding in some cross-patty cakes as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Training is easiest in small sessions of 5 to 15 minutes. When your dog's attention begins to wander, bring the training session to a close and begin again at a later time.
• Small pieces of soft food work best for training, as they can be eaten quickly.
• You may want to consider holding the treat between your lips while teaching this trick, as both of your hands will be occupied during the training.

Resources

• Dog Training Resources

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