No doubt you put time and effort into training your dog to do obedience behaviors and maybe even some tricks. But have you thought about training your dog to accept handling? These are the types of behaviors that help you examine and groom your dog.
The chin rest is a perfect example. It’s easy to train and can be used at home, at the veterinarian or grooming salon, and even out in the world whenever you need your dog to stay still or calm down. Read on to learn more about why you should teach your dog a chin rest and step-by-step instructions for doing it.
A chin rest is when your dog rests their chin in the palm of your hand and holds it there until you release them. It doesn’t matter if they’re standing, sitting, or lying down as long as they place their snout in your hand. This is a great way of asking your dog to stay still which can be helpful at the vet or groomers, for example. It also makes an adorable trick. You can even transfer the chin rest to an object, such as the arm of a sofa or a towel on the arm of a wheelchair. This can be useful for therapy dogs as they position themselves for petting.
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When your dog gives you a chin rest, they hold themselves stationary. It’s a voluntary position. If you ask your dog for a chin rest, and they perform the behavior, it shows they’re willing to participate which is far less stressful than if you have to restrain them. By pairing the position with rewards, you’ll positively reinforce the chin rest. After enough repetitions, your dog will look forward to the behavior and do it readily.
Consider if your dog develops an eye infection and is prescribed eye drops. If your dog gives you a chin rest, it’s far easier to administer the drops than if you have to pin your dog down. Forcing the drops will only make it harder to give them next time around. The same would be true for an ear exam at the vet’s office or grooming around your dog’s face. Getting your dog’s cooperation with a chin rest saves everybody stress and frustration. But most of all, it’s easiest on your dog.
A chin rest can also help to calm your dog. It can be a way to give your dog a break when they find an environment overstimulating. It can also be a useful skill for reactive dogs or fearful dogs. Simply ask for the chin rest and wait until your dog has relaxed. By lowering your dog’s arousal levels, you’ll help them think more clearly. Plus, as you don’t need anything other than your hand, you can do it anytime and anywhere.
You can use the technique of shaping to train a chin rest in baby steps. Start with something as simple as letting your dog sniff your hand or moving their snout towards your palm. Mark the behavior with a clicker or marker word like “yes,” then reward the behavior. Continue until your dog is doing it reliably. Then, slowly increase the criteria until you’re only rewarding closer and closer approximations to the final behavior.
Another option is luring, which is likely a faster and easier way to teach most dogs this skill. First, ensure your dog is comfortable taking food directly from your hand, as this may cause some dogs to get nippy or anxious. If this is true for your dog, first work on desensitizing your dog to having your hands near their face. But once your dog is happy to come near your hand, follow these simple steps:
Hold your palm flat and facing upwards in front of your dog. Hold a treat in your other hand above and just behind your palm. Let your dog come to you to get the treat. They should be placing their chin over your palm, but they don’t have to touch it yet. Mark and reward your dog as soon as their chin is over your palm.
A8-dct via Getty Images
Once your dog is comfortably coming for the treats, you can lure them to the palm of your hand. Position your hands as before, but now, as your dog brings their nose towards the treat, lower the treat until their chin is in your hand. Then, mark and let them eat the treat as their chin rests on your palm.
Next, you need to fade the lure. As before, hold your fingers behind your open palm, but now they should be empty. When your dog pushes their chin into your palm, mark the behavior, then grab a treat from your pocket or a treat pouch. If possible, try to provide the treat while your dog’s chin is still in your palm to further reinforce that position. If your dog will only perform the behavior if you have a treat in your hand, try rubbing your fingers with a smelly treat, so they smell like food even though there’s nothing there. If your dog refuses to move away from your hand because that’s where the good stuff is, reset them by tossing a treat on the floor a few feet away.
Hold out your palm without any finger lure at all and see if your dog places their chin in your hand. If you’ve reinforced the position enough, they should no longer need the lure. Your turned-up palm should have become the hand signal for the behavior. If not, do a few more repetitions with an empty lure before trying again. Only add a verbal cue like “chin” after your dog is responding reliably without the lure. Simply say the word right before you hold out your palm so your dog links the two signals.
fotyma via Getty Images
Once your dog will reliably and enthusiastically place their chin in your hand, begin to add duration by delaying your marker and reward. You can also begin to add your release cue when the behavior is finished. Don’t ask for more than a second or two at first, and as you build duration, go slowly and intersperse shorter intervals with longer ones, so you aren’t pushing your dog too far, too fast.
When your dog will hold their chin in your hand for a reasonable amount of time, go back to asking for only a second of duration but begin to add the kinds of distractions you expect your dog might face. For example, move your other hand around your dog’s head, use your other hand to gently lift your dog’s ears, or hold a bottle of eye drops above their eyes. Mark and reward your dog for staying still despite these distractions.
When your dog can calmly handle distractions, combine the distractions with slowly increasing duration until they can hold the chin rest as long as needed no matter what the situation.
The post Chin Rests: Practical Uses and Teaching Your Dog appeared first on American Kennel Club.
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The chin rest is a perfect example. It’s easy to train and can be used at home, at the veterinarian or grooming salon, and even out in the world whenever you need your dog to stay still or calm down. Read on to learn more about why you should teach your dog a chin rest and step-by-step instructions for doing it.
What Is a Chin Rest?
A chin rest is when your dog rests their chin in the palm of your hand and holds it there until you release them. It doesn’t matter if they’re standing, sitting, or lying down as long as they place their snout in your hand. This is a great way of asking your dog to stay still which can be helpful at the vet or groomers, for example. It also makes an adorable trick. You can even transfer the chin rest to an object, such as the arm of a sofa or a towel on the arm of a wheelchair. This can be useful for therapy dogs as they position themselves for petting.
What Are the Benefits of Teaching Your Dog a Chin Rest?
JoeChristensen/E+
When your dog gives you a chin rest, they hold themselves stationary. It’s a voluntary position. If you ask your dog for a chin rest, and they perform the behavior, it shows they’re willing to participate which is far less stressful than if you have to restrain them. By pairing the position with rewards, you’ll positively reinforce the chin rest. After enough repetitions, your dog will look forward to the behavior and do it readily.
Consider if your dog develops an eye infection and is prescribed eye drops. If your dog gives you a chin rest, it’s far easier to administer the drops than if you have to pin your dog down. Forcing the drops will only make it harder to give them next time around. The same would be true for an ear exam at the vet’s office or grooming around your dog’s face. Getting your dog’s cooperation with a chin rest saves everybody stress and frustration. But most of all, it’s easiest on your dog.
A chin rest can also help to calm your dog. It can be a way to give your dog a break when they find an environment overstimulating. It can also be a useful skill for reactive dogs or fearful dogs. Simply ask for the chin rest and wait until your dog has relaxed. By lowering your dog’s arousal levels, you’ll help them think more clearly. Plus, as you don’t need anything other than your hand, you can do it anytime and anywhere.
How Do You Teach Your Dog to Do a Chin Rest?
You can use the technique of shaping to train a chin rest in baby steps. Start with something as simple as letting your dog sniff your hand or moving their snout towards your palm. Mark the behavior with a clicker or marker word like “yes,” then reward the behavior. Continue until your dog is doing it reliably. Then, slowly increase the criteria until you’re only rewarding closer and closer approximations to the final behavior.
Another option is luring, which is likely a faster and easier way to teach most dogs this skill. First, ensure your dog is comfortable taking food directly from your hand, as this may cause some dogs to get nippy or anxious. If this is true for your dog, first work on desensitizing your dog to having your hands near their face. But once your dog is happy to come near your hand, follow these simple steps:
Step One
Hold your palm flat and facing upwards in front of your dog. Hold a treat in your other hand above and just behind your palm. Let your dog come to you to get the treat. They should be placing their chin over your palm, but they don’t have to touch it yet. Mark and reward your dog as soon as their chin is over your palm.
A8-dct via Getty Images
Step Two
Once your dog is comfortably coming for the treats, you can lure them to the palm of your hand. Position your hands as before, but now, as your dog brings their nose towards the treat, lower the treat until their chin is in your hand. Then, mark and let them eat the treat as their chin rests on your palm.
Step Three
Next, you need to fade the lure. As before, hold your fingers behind your open palm, but now they should be empty. When your dog pushes their chin into your palm, mark the behavior, then grab a treat from your pocket or a treat pouch. If possible, try to provide the treat while your dog’s chin is still in your palm to further reinforce that position. If your dog will only perform the behavior if you have a treat in your hand, try rubbing your fingers with a smelly treat, so they smell like food even though there’s nothing there. If your dog refuses to move away from your hand because that’s where the good stuff is, reset them by tossing a treat on the floor a few feet away.
Step Four
Hold out your palm without any finger lure at all and see if your dog places their chin in your hand. If you’ve reinforced the position enough, they should no longer need the lure. Your turned-up palm should have become the hand signal for the behavior. If not, do a few more repetitions with an empty lure before trying again. Only add a verbal cue like “chin” after your dog is responding reliably without the lure. Simply say the word right before you hold out your palm so your dog links the two signals.
fotyma via Getty Images
Step Five
Once your dog will reliably and enthusiastically place their chin in your hand, begin to add duration by delaying your marker and reward. You can also begin to add your release cue when the behavior is finished. Don’t ask for more than a second or two at first, and as you build duration, go slowly and intersperse shorter intervals with longer ones, so you aren’t pushing your dog too far, too fast.
Step Six
When your dog will hold their chin in your hand for a reasonable amount of time, go back to asking for only a second of duration but begin to add the kinds of distractions you expect your dog might face. For example, move your other hand around your dog’s head, use your other hand to gently lift your dog’s ears, or hold a bottle of eye drops above their eyes. Mark and reward your dog for staying still despite these distractions.
Step Seven
When your dog can calmly handle distractions, combine the distractions with slowly increasing duration until they can hold the chin rest as long as needed no matter what the situation.
The post Chin Rests: Practical Uses and Teaching Your Dog appeared first on American Kennel Club.
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