This article will discuss how to teach your dog to balance a treat on their nose. This is a fun trick that helps your dog practice patience and self-control, as well as increase attention span.
Before you begin, ensure you have everything you’ll need. The most important component will be treats or your dog’s favorite food, broken down into small chunks. Since dogs are food motivated, you can teach them a lot with treats.
So, whether it’s cheese or chicken, load up! You’ll also need a quiet place away from distractions like noisy children. Ten minutes of training per day will also be required until your dog has mastered the technique. Once you have everything, all that’s left is patience and a positive attitude to get started!
You can use three methods to teach your dog to balance a treat on their nose, and we will go over them all in this article.
How to Teach Dog to Balance Treat on Nose?
You can teach a dog to balance a treat on their nose with the sit and hold method, ordinary vs. tasty method, and the “Yes” method.
The Sit and Hold Method
Step 1:
Bring your dog into a quiet room and a handful of treats with you. Make certain that you will not be disturbed and that your dog’s full attention will be focused on you.
Step 2:
Make your dog sit facing you. If it doesn’t sit straight away, offer your dog a treat to get its attention. Then, make certain that your dog’s gaze is fixed on you and that it is focused and ready to learn.
Step 3:
Place the treat on the flat part of its nose gradually. To ensure the treat balances, you may need to hold its head slightly straight with your other hand.
Step 4:
Reward your dog right away by saying ‘OKAY’ and handing it the treat. It is critical that you give the ‘okay’ command immediately and then lavish your dog with praise as it enjoys the treat. You must ensure that your dog understands it has done something correctly, even if it is unsure what it is.
Step 5:
Repeat the steps, but gradually increase the time between putting the treat on its nose and saying ‘okay.’ Patience is essential in this situation. Don’t give up hope; it may take several days before you can leave the treat there for more than a few seconds.
The Ordinary Vs. Tasty Method
Step 1:
Make sure your dog sits facing you, then kneel in front of it to ensure you have its undivided attention. You can then gradually bring out an average treat for which it won’t go crazy.
Step 2:
Hold your dog’s chin and slowly place the average treat on top of its nose with one hand. Then, hold the treat there for a few seconds before removing it.
Step 3:
As soon as you take it away, say ‘okay,’ and give it a different, tastier treat. Shower your dog with praise and attention, reinforcing that remaining still was the correct behavior that you desired. For the first few days, practice this for 10 minutes per day.
Step 4:
Lengthen the time you hold the treat on your dog’s nose before removing it and giving it a treat. You can also slowly remove your hand from the treat for a few seconds to ensure your dog stays still even when you aren’t holding it.
Step 5:
When you believe your dog has mastered it, stop holding its face with your hand and gradually reduce the frequency of treats. When your dog understands that it must remain still, you can not only remove your hand from its chin, but you can also take a few steps back before giving your dog the ‘okay’ command. Gradually reduce the frequency of the final treat after a week or two until your dog can hold the treat on its nose without the promise of food.
The “Yes” Method
Step 1:
Holding a treat in your hand, have your dog sit calmly in front of you. You need it focused and ready to learn.
Step 2:
Reach out your hand and touch the tip of your dog’s nose, then say ‘yes.’ After you do this, reward your dog by giving it a treat and complimenting it. You’re doing this to get your dog used to having something on its nose before putting something irresistible on its nose, like a treat.
Step 3:
Instead of your hand, use something small and flat enough to rest on its nose, such as a business card or an eraser. Leave it for a few seconds, then say ‘yes,’ and give your dog a treat and praise.
Step 4:
Increase the amount of time you can gradually leave something balanced on its nose. After a few days, your dog will understand that it must remain still and balance something on its nose until you say “yes.” Increase the amount of time you can leave something until you can leave it for 10 seconds.
Step 5:
Now that the difficult part is over, your dog’s willpower will be put to the ultimate test. If your dog has trouble resisting the treat, start with something less tasty and work your way up to something delicious, such as cheese or a treat.
This trick is intended for dogs with quick reflexes. The more a dog does this trick, the better they get at literally “catching” the treat as it falls from their head into their mouth!
Your dog’s attention span will determine the number of times you try this in a row. It only takes a couple of times for some dogs to realize what you’re asking and what they’re doing. Other dogs may grow tired of this “game,” in which case you should probably pause for a couple hours or even wait till the next day to try again.
The most crucial thing is to repeat the steps several days in a row. My final tip is never to reprimand or appear discouraged if your dog does something “wrong.” Every teeny-tiny ounce of progress is worth a billion times more praise and enthusiasm every time.
After you give them a bunch of treats, make sure you give them water so they don’t get puppy hiccups.
Benefits of Teaching Your Dog Tricks
There are numerous advantages to teaching your dog a few new tricks. Teaching your dog with a motivation-based approach is an excellent way to develop a closer, more communicative bond with your dog.
Your dog’s overall obedience and manners will most likely improve as well. This means you’ll have a dog who not only knows entertaining tricks to show off but also a dog who is more pleasant to be around in general.
Trick training can also improve your dog’s health, flexibility, balance, and concentration, as well as their confidence in themselves and you. Simultaneously, each new behavior you teach gives you another useful way to channel your dog’s energy into something positive.
