Take a bow

PetSmart - Debbie McKnight, Accredited PetSmart Trainer
October 30, 2009

Teaching your dog to “Take a Bow” is fun and easy! A doggie “bow” is when the dog’s front elbows are on the floor and his back end is in the air, like a big stretch. You’ve probably seen your dog do this when he is playing or when he wakes up.  It’s a natural behavior for most dogs and a very cute trick.

• To begin, grab some great treats and take your dog to a quiet area.  It is easiest to kneel or squat down beside the dog.  Using the clicker is the easiest way to teach this trick, but it can be done with a verbal marker (like “Yes!”) as well. 

• With your dog standing, put the treat right at his nose (you can even let him lick or nibble on it). 

• Move the treat, with his nose following, down towards the floor and in towards the middle of his front feet.  Make sure you move the treat slowly so he doesn’t back up. 

• As his front end lowers and his elbows get closer to the floor (assuming his back end is still in the air), click and treat.  Keep practicing until you can get his front elbows on the floor while his back end stays up. 

• Once you can easily get him in the “bow” position, you can start to tell him “Take a Bow” right before you lure him to bow.

Some dogs will tend to drop their back end quickly after they lower their elbows.  To prevent this, click (or say “Yes!”) right as his elbows lower, and then quickly toss the treat away from the dog so he has to stand up to reach it.  This will prevent your dog from lying down when he gets the treat.  The other problem that may occur is your dog continues to back up, rather than bow.  If this is the case, use a stool or your leg and lure the dog under it, until he is in the bow position.  As he gets the idea, you can gradually decrease how far you lure him under the stool, until you don’t need it at all to get him to bow.

Teaching tricks are a great way to keep your dog’s mind engaged and they are so much fun to show off.  Remember, even old dogs can learn new tricks so don’t ever stop teaching your dog!

To learn more advanced tricks, check out PetSmart's Click-a-trick training class.

Comments

15 Nov 2009 11:42 pm

pittbull2 said:

i didnt know that they done that i always thought my dog was stretching.