If you like to brag about your canine companion, there is no better way to impress your family and friends than by teaching your dog some cool tricks. There are hundreds of tricks your pampered pooch can learn, so many indeed that several books have been published on the subject matter, but some tricks seem to yield more applause and cheers than others. Teaching your dog to take a bow should definitively be part of your dog’s repertoire of amazing tricks.
Good dog trainers have different techniques up their sleeves to teach tricks. Because each dog is different, as a certified dog trainer I have found that it helps to try different methods and see what works best. This trick can be taught in three ways: capturing, luring and shaping with a combination of other methods. All three methods require the use of high-value treats, basically treats your dog will be more eager to work for, and definitively not your regular kibble or stale dog biscuits.
How to Use Capturing to Teach Your Dog to Take a Bow
As the name implies, capturing involves catching behaviors your dog does naturally. Your dog may take a bow in different scenarios such as upon waking up or inviting another dog to play. To ”capture” a behavior you need to, therefore, be very observant and patient. You should always also try to keep some treats handy so you may reward immediately after your dog takes a bow.
As opportunistic beings, it is natural for dogs to repeat behaviors that are rewarded. If you are diligent enough in capturing your dog in the process of taking a bow, and rewarding immediately after, your dog will come to realize that the action of taking a bow is what you are asking for. Once your dog seems to understand the concept, then you can put the behavior on cue. This means the moment you notice your dog is about to take a bow, you will say ”take a bow” and reward immediately after. After several repetitions, your dog will respond to your command and you will no longer need to capture the behavior.
How to Use Luring to Teach Your Dog to Take a Bow
Luring is a training technique where a lure is used to help your dog learn a new behavior. The lure can be anything a dog likes, such as a toy or a treat. Because many dogs are food oriented, treats are more commonly used. In this training guide I will show you how to use a treat to encourage your dog to position itself to take a bow.
Start with your dog in a standing position. Bring the treat at your dog’s nose level and slowly bring it down between your dog’s front paws. Your dog will follow the treat. The moment the dog’s elbows touch the ground and right before the dog’s bottom touches the floor immediately praise and give the treat. Should your dog’s bottom touch the floor, give a negative marker, such as ”eh-eh!” which will tell your dog he has made a mistake, and therefore, will not get a reward, but must try again. Repeat until your dog understands that its rear must stay up in this exercise in order to be rewarded.
Once your dog follows the lure and ”takes a bow” repeatedly, it is time to add the cue. Do this by saying ”take a bow” right before using the lure to position the dog into a bow. When your dog has this down well, you can then ”fade the lure”. This technically means that you will gradually make the hand signal less and less distinct, up to a point where you can remove the hand signal altogether and primarily rely on your verbal command.
How to Use Shaping and a Combination of Techniques to Teach Your Dog to Take a Bow
Shaping is a training technique where a behavior is broken down in small segments and taught gradually. Your dog will therefore learn the behavior in successive approximations starting by asking low criteria and then gradually raising the bar. The best way to shape is by using a clicker. If your dog is clicker savvy, he already knows that every click is followed by a treat. He may also be quite flexible in offering new behaviors.
If your dog is not clicker-trained, you will need to introduce him to this training philosophy by ”charging the clicker”. This means your dog will have to learn that after each click a treat follows. You can start this by simply clicking and immediately giving a treat several times in a row. Your dog does not have to learn anything in particular at this stage other than associating the clicker with treats. You know this happens once upon hearing the click, your dog looks for its treat. At this point, your dog is ready and you can start clicking for behaviors.
The training method of shaping can be used in different ways. Using treats and prompts may help expedite the learning process. I have found the use of a chair helpful for dogs who have a hard time learning to take a bow in the most traditional ways.
You basically start by having your dog in a standing position in front of the chair. You then place yourself behind the chair and use a treat to lure your dog under the chair. As your dog attempts to take the treat under the chair, he will gradually position himself almost as if taking a bow. You therefore, start clicking and rewarding for dipping the front legs slightly, then you click and reward for dipping the front legs halfway, then you raise the criteria until your dog dips its legs down completely with the elbows touching the floor and its rear up. I personally like to give dogs a jackpot once they get the behavior right by surprising them with a handful of treats.
Taking a bow is a cute trick that will surely attract an audience. If you are into the sport of Canine Musical Freestyle, you will find that taking a bow is a great addition to your choreography, especially at the beginning or end of your performance. Best of all, taking a bow is also beneficial for your dog, as it encourages him to stretch and release tension from those tight muscles. So teach your dog this cool trick, and your dog will be shortly on his way to taking lots of bows in front of an amazed audience! Happy training!