Everyone wants their dogs to be a calm greeter to friendly strangers, but how do we help get them there? There are many strategies to achieve this, but today we’re going to talk about the hand touch greeting.
First practice your hand targeting cue with your dog. You can teach that this way:
Next, we will transfer this behavior to targeting someone else’s hand rather than your own. With your dog on a leash, have a helper approach you and your dog but stopping just out of reach of your dog. Ask your helper to extend their hand out, then you can tell your dog to “Say Hi” or “Greet” cueing them to target the friendly stranger's hand. If you need to start by using your target cue first, like “touch,” that is perfectly fine to help your dog get the idea.
Then as your dog targets the stranger’s hand, mark (verbal “yes!” or using a clicker) and reward your dog while taking a step or two back. This is encouraging the dog to return back to you after targeting the stranger’s hand in order to keep the excitement under control. Practice this with a variety of friends and helpers before introducing the behavior to a complete stranger.
Then when you are at the brewery and the next time someone asks if they can pet your dog, you can say “Yes, but please hold out your hand and I will have my dog greet you.” I guarantee the stranger will be so impressed with your dog's friendly greeting!
Want to learn more options for teaching polite greetings? Check out the whole YouTube playlist dedicated to this topic here.
See you next week for our next blog in this series of essential brewery manners skills!
