Giving kisses on command is a favorite dog trick for many people, especially children. It also happens to be one of the easiest tricks to train a dog to do.
What You Need
Some yummy treats are all that you need to train a dog to give kisses. Peanut butter or cream cheese works well because it's easy to smear a small bit on your cheek or hand. You may also want to keep a towel on hand, especially if you are working with a dog known to be a big drooler, like a St. Bernard or Mastiff!
Here's How to Do It
Take a little peanut butter or cream cheese and place a dab on your cheek (or wherever you would like your dog to kiss).
Give the command "give kisses."
Lean towards your dog, and let him do the rest. He should be eager to lick the treat from your cheek.
Practice this dog trick for a few minutes several times a day. It won't be long before your dog comes over to give you a big kiss every time you give the command!
Capturing the Behavior
Another method of training a dog to give kisses is tocapture the behavior. Here's how:
Capturing the Behavior
Another method of training a dog to give kisses is tocapture the behavior. Here's how:
Anytime your dog licks you, tell him "give kisses."
You can also use a clicker to mark the behavior, just click the clicker anytime your dog kisses you.
After your dog has given you a kiss, tell him "good" and give him a treat. Your dog will soon be trained to offer a kiss on command, and all you had to do was to capture his natural behaviors.
TroubleshootingSome dogs get a little overly exuberant, and once you teach them to give kisses it can be tough to get them to stop. In this case, you can put an end to the kisses on command, too. When your dog is kissing you, tell him "enough." Wait for him to stop licking you, and then tell him "good" and give him a treat. Do this each time your dog is giving you kisses, and you'll soon be able to tell your dog to stop licking you whenever he gets out of control.
Some dogs are resistant to giving people kisses on the face. If this is the case for your dog, you can try using a treat he really loves, or you can train him to give kisses somewhere else, such as on your hand. Use the same steps as used above, but put the treat on the back of your hand rather than your face.
TipsKeep in mind that even though you may like big, wet sloppy kisses from your dog, not everyone will appreciate the affection. If you are going to try out this dog trick on your friends or visiting children, you may want to teach your dog to give kisses on the hand rather than on the cheek.
You can also use a clicker to mark the behavior, just click the clicker anytime your dog kisses you.
After your dog has given you a kiss, tell him "good" and give him a treat. Your dog will soon be trained to offer a kiss on command, and all you had to do was to capture his natural behaviors.
TroubleshootingSome dogs get a little overly exuberant, and once you teach them to give kisses it can be tough to get them to stop. In this case, you can put an end to the kisses on command, too. When your dog is kissing you, tell him "enough." Wait for him to stop licking you, and then tell him "good" and give him a treat. Do this each time your dog is giving you kisses, and you'll soon be able to tell your dog to stop licking you whenever he gets out of control.
Some dogs are resistant to giving people kisses on the face. If this is the case for your dog, you can try using a treat he really loves, or you can train him to give kisses somewhere else, such as on your hand. Use the same steps as used above, but put the treat on the back of your hand rather than your face.
TipsKeep in mind that even though you may like big, wet sloppy kisses from your dog, not everyone will appreciate the affection. If you are going to try out this dog trick on your friends or visiting children, you may want to teach your dog to give kisses on the hand rather than on the cheek.