Targeting - Details to Teach Basics

It's a good idea to teach a full set of basic targeting behaviors. I explain in detail here how to teach hand target (touch), foot target (target), and race to target (go). Not all of these steps will be necessary for every dog. Likewise, you may not need to train to the full level of detail I have described, based on your needs and goals.

Remember, you can also teach your dog to nose target and follow a target stick, anti-target, and to target other body parts, such as her paw on your foot. Foot targeting is the beginning of teaching your dog how to play flyball. It can also be a great way to exercise your dog.

Teaching target to your hand – touch
Extend your hand in front of your dog's face a couple of inches away and click/treat for any interest. Most dogs will start with a full touch to investigate what you may have in that hand, if not click/treat for any interest from a glance to a head turn. Click whatever you get and continue from there until you are getting full repeated touches with your hand directly in front of your dog.

If your dog shows no interest then you can squeeze a small bit of food between your fingers to stimulate interest; this is not preferred, as you will then have to fade the food.

When your dog is repeatedly touching your hand held right in front of her nose, work through the following:

• move hand farther away in small increments until your dog has to stretch to touch it. click/treat for any effort to stretch out and touch the hand and gradually shape for more.
• other positions, such as to either side or up and down from your dog's head, requiring greater head movement to touch your hand.
• different positions of your hand (be sure to use either and/or both hands) and the dog relative to your body, i.e. not always with the dog in front of you or an outstretched hand in front of you or on one side.
• work for multiple touches before click/treat (don't always make this harder and harder, rather vary randomly)

Now gradually encourage your dog to follow your hand, first one step, then more steps.

• in the hand following phase your dog need not actually touch your hand, but rather actively follow/chase your hand, but not jumping to touch it.
• gradually move your hand up from in front of the dog to a position comfortable for you to maintain while moving normally
• gradually extend the distance the dog must move before the click/treat
• either leaving your dog on a sit/wait or having someone restrain your dog, move away then call your dog and extend just one hand and click/treat for the dog orienting to and following the extended hand.
• work toward having the dog looking for, finding/orienting on and following whichever hand is extended regardless of where you are, how far, or your relative position to the dog

Teach your dog to follow one hand and then switch to another smoothly

• with your dog coming in to one hand held at the front of the body, slide the other hand in to join it, then move the second hand out away from you while smoothly fading the first hand up the front of your body. your dog must follow the second hand - do this repeatedly switching from either hand to the other and back again
• practice this same maneuver with your dog coming from either side and from behind - this will require you to rotate your body so that the dog ends up on the other side of you

Teaching send to plastic target - "target"
Use a plastic margarine lid as your target. Hold it in front of your dog's face a couple of inches away and click/treat for any interest. Depending on your dog "any interest" may be anything from a glance toward the target through a full touch. Click whatever you get and continue from there until you are getting full repeated touches.

When your dog is repeatedly touching the target held directly in front, move it slightly further until he has to stretch to touch it, work through the following:

• move target father away in small increments until your dog has to stretch to touch it. click/treat for any effort to stretch out and touch the target and gradually shape for more.
• other positions, such as to either side or up and down from your dog's head, requiring greater degrees of head turn to touch target.
• focus on holding the target below your dog's head moving closer to the ground. as you move the target to the ground, the dog may switch to paw touches, this is perfectly acceptable
• different positions of target and the dog relative to your body, i.e. not always with the dog and target hand in front of you, on one side or with the dog facing toward you as it touches

Now move target to the ground and encourage your dog to turn away from you and touch the target, first one step, then more steps.

• the best way to increase distance is to gradually take small steps back and away while your dog is turned away from you and going toward the target.
• don't let your dog fake you out and start abbreviating the send to the target
• if your dog starts running around the target to face back to you before touching, reduce the distance and/or use barriers to prevent a turn before touching.

Then teach your dog to go over or through an obstacle to get to the target

• start by sending your dog between two jump standards to get to the target, then place a bar on the ground between the jump standards, gradually step up to a low jump, "go"
• send to the target through short tunnels, "go tunnel"
• place the target on a pause table, "go table"

With your dog at your side, place a piece of food on the target, making sure he knows it is there, then walk away. get ready with more treats in your outside hand, encourage your dog with "are you ready?" and send him to the target, racing him and then while telling him what a good dog he is, continue by placing the extra treats on the target one by one (never be a "one cookie wonder") -- and while feeding the treats onto the target, discreetly take your dog by collar or tab leash

• if your dog leaves the target without waiting for the other treats, bring him back and show him the other treats he missed and then quickly continue dropping treats on the target while he's eating the others.
• then go back and try again, if necessary put a drag line on your dog so you can limit his options by stepping on the line, though carefully - this is not intended as a punisher, only to limit options and help your dog succeed

This can be a good way to exercise your dog. You can set up several targets and stand between them. Then send your dog to a target by pointing at it (you'll need to teach this direction). When he touches the target you click, then he runs back to you for the treat. Then send the dog to one of the other targets or the same one again - keeping it random. If the dog goes to a target you didn't direct, he just doesn't get a click/treat. As you add distance, your dog will be running back and forth at your direction and getting both mental and physical exercise.  Start with just 3 feet and gradually shape to 20 feet.

Teaching race to plastic target - "go"