Teaching ‘hide’, a great safety skill

Candi Moon

Some of us have dogs who are not so comfortable around other dogs, or who get hyper excited at the sight of a skateboarder, jogger, cyclist or running child. With these dogs it’s important that they be able to be at enough of a distance to remain calm while we work on solving the problem.

At other times we may be confronted with a loose dog who is less than friendly.

In all these circumstances we need to somehow get our dog out of harm’s way. Usually this would be by making a smart U-turn with your dog and putting some distance between you and the other dog etc.

However, at times the space is constricted and so making a U-turn and moving away is not possible. In this case your life will be much easier if your dog knows ‘hide’.

Here you teach your dog to go behind you and hide behind your legs. This has a number of advantages; if you are being approached by an unfriendly dog it cuts off their line of sight to your dog, which will hopefully make them less reactive, standing in front of your own dog sends her a powerful message that you are in charge and will take care of the situation so she does not need to, also, being in front of your dog creates a barrier between her and the exciting stimulus, helping her to calm down.

To begin teaching hide put a treat against your dog’s nose and lure him around you until he is behind you. Repeat this five or six times. Then try guiding your dog behind you making the same gesture with your hand, but without the food treat in it. If he succeeds, reward him with a food treat. If not, lure two or three more times and then try with your empty hand again.

When your dog follows your hand signal, without there being food in your hand, for the first time, you may also want to jackpot your dog (give two or three treats instead of just one), this way your dog learns that following your hand is even more rewarding than following a food lure.

Once your dog no longer needs to be lured with food and is following your hand signal you can also add your cue word ‘hide’ or ‘disappear’ or whatever you choose. At first say your cue word as your dog is already moving behind you. This will help to pair the cue word and the correct action in your dog’s mind. Gradually start giving your cue word earlier and earlier until you can give it before she begins moving and have her give the correct response.

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