Touch!

If you're around the house in the afternoon, you might find yourself annoyed by the constant repetition of "Touch."

It's a simple game/training exercise of getting the dog to touch an object (my hand) with its paw or nose. It's pretty easy to teach and can be a fun challenge for your dog. In conjunction with treats I also use a clicker to accustom the dogs to future click-training. I think touch is usually the starting off point for more demanding skills like turning off lights, closing doors, etc.

But I have a problem. The dogs, being miniature, can't reach the light switches even if we had easily dog-accessible switches for them to try to turn off. I tried to get them to shut the cabinet door as a precursor to closing actual doors, but the loud slamming sound disconcerts them. What to do?

They do enjoy it though, as limited as it is right now. Both Ritter and Lilah love to learn and they love to do tricks, for Ritter especially if there are food treats involved. Hmm, what useful thing can I teach the to do with touch...I'll have to get back to you when I figure something out.