Smile! immerses its readers in canine culture in a manner that provides incredible insight into human behavior. It is about reducing tension, communicating clearly, leading the way and honoring pivotal differences. It is about practicing kindness, dumping bad habits and finding happiness. It is about the energy we share and the state of mind behind that energy. It is about Smile! immerses its readers in canine culture in a manner that provides incredible insight into human behavior. It is about reducing tension, communicating clearly, leading the way and honoring pivotal differences. It is about practicing kindness, dumping bad habits and finding happiness. It is about the energy we share and the state of mind behind that energy. It is about letting go of the stuff that isn’t working, and it is about teamwork.
If you equate training your dogs with frustration and failure, fear not! This book’s commonsense, canine-savvy, smile-based approach will be of great help, and it will bring meaning and enjoyment into your life. After all, if you aren’t happy, your dogs can’t be their best! . more
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If you can relate to learning something new and feeling “Wow! I wish I knew this years ago!” that’s how you will feel when you read Smile! Chapter after chapter, it’s the perfect combination of human psychology and canine psychology, and the practices Dr. Swanson teaches works really, really fast. I did what she recommended, and my dogs responded as if they were saying, “Thank you! It’s about time you got what we’ve been trying to say.”
Smile! is practical and straightforward (yet thought-provoki If you can relate to learning something new and feeling “Wow! I wish I knew this years ago!” that’s how you will feel when you read Smile! Chapter after chapter, it’s the perfect combination of human psychology and canine psychology, and the practices Dr. Swanson teaches works really, really fast. I did what she recommended, and my dogs responded as if they were saying, “Thank you! It’s about time you got what we’ve been trying to say.”
Smile! is practical and straightforward (yet thought-provoking), and I like that you can apply its wisdom moment-to-moment. Unlike other books on animal psychology, it doesn’t get bogged down in scientific terminology and paragraphs on apes and chickens. And it is smile-based! Why is that so neat? To quote from the book (Chapter 2):
“We reward our dogs with sincere, relaxed smiles. What, no dog biscuits? No “good dogs?” No clicker clicks? That’s right, smiles ninety-five percent of the time. Why is that? Because smiles don’t lead to mouthiness the way treats can. Smiles don’t elevate a dog’s energy the way “good dogs!” often do. Smiles are always with you. They can’t be dropped by arthritic hands, and they don’t leave crumbs in your pockets. Smiles can be used selectively when working with multiple dogs, and we don’t even have to be looking at a dog for them to send their message. Plus, giving smiles to others helps us let go of a lot of our unwanted stress, through the release of endorphins (our very own happy-molecules). This further helps us to communicate with our dogs! Because dogs aren’t happy where there is tension. Dogs just don’t love the drama. Have you ever tried to smile and be dramatic at the same time? Fortunately, it is hard!”
You have to love Smile’s cover, too. It’s got a picture of two smiling goats hanging out with a happy little dog and three smiling dobermans!
According to the back of the book, all the proceeds from its sale go to dog rescue and public library projects. Pretty cool. Check this book out, especially if you have issues with your dogs that you wish to solve! I found it at givesmiles dot us, though I know it is available elsewhere. . more
Dogs can learn a great many tricks, and smiling is just one of them. However, getting your dog to follow commands is not always easy, and many people are not well skilled at training their pet. We have assembled a short guide to help you teach your dog how to smile in just a few steps with a good chance of succeeding. We’ll discuss the steps as well as go over some tips and tricks you can use to improve your chance at success. Here’s how to teach a dog to smile!
The 5 Steps to Teach Your Dog to Smile:
Smiling is one of the more unusual tricks you can teach your dog, and it will definitely impress anyone who sees your dog’s cute smile since many people don’t realize it’s possible. It will take plenty of patience, and it will be easier with a dog that likes to learn, but you can teach almost any dog.
Image Credit: Marliese Streefland, Unsplash
1. Be Attentive
Happy dogs already show their teeth on occasion, so all you need to do is give them a little push. Watching your dog attentively will give you clues about what makes them show their teeth with excitement. It could be that you have their favorite treat in hand, or they know it’s about to go for a walk or a ride in the car. Some dogs will show their teeth when they know they are about to eat sour food like a lemon. Keep accurate notes so you can track these events and use them in your training.
It’s important to note that we are not talking about the teeth showing that often accompanies growling and other aggressive behavior. Training your dog to be aggressive can be dangerous.
2. Reward System
Once you know what makes your dog show its teeth, you can use it to train your dog to smile by setting up a simple system. For instance, if your dog shows its teeth when you grab the key because it thinks it’s going for a ride, you can grab the keys, say “smile,” and give your dog a treat when it shows you its teeth. After a few times, depending on how clever it is, your dog will catch on and begin to smile on command. Don’t forget to shower your pet with praise while giving it a treat, so it knows it did something right.
Image Credit: Kaganovich Lena, Shutterstock
3. Repetition
The key part of training your pet to smile is repetition. The more times you grab the keys, say “smile,” and give your dog a treat when it shows its teeth, the better chance your pet will catch on and start to follow your commands. You must never act like you are disappointed if your dog doesn’t respond correctly to the command. If your pet feels like it is disappointing you, it will be less interested in training, and you might never get your dog to follow your command. It may also prevent you from teaching your dog other tricks.
4. Consistency
One of the most important parts of a successful training system is consistency. We recommend holding your sessions at the same time each day for maximum effect. Your dog will begin to form a routine and expect you to participate. Missing days of training at different times could confuse your pet, increasing the amount of time it takes for your dog to learn. Training sessions should be no longer than 10 or 15 minutes, and you should only try the same command a few times. Don’t try to teach too many tricks at once. 5 – 15 tries should be enough for one day, or you risk confusing the dog or causing anxiety.
Image Credit: Sarit Richerson, Shutterstock
5. Other Tips
- Make sure there are no distractions in the area where you are training.
- Make sure your dog is comfortable and happy.
- If you don’t see your dog showing its teeth when it’s happy, you can try to gently use your fingers to put a smile on their face while repeating the command “smile.”
- You can also demonstrate the smiling action yourself while repeating the “smile“ command.
- If your dog is squinting or has a closed mouth, it could be showing signs of stress, so pack it up and try again tomorrow.
- You can use the smiling command as a way to brush your pet’s teeth. Regularly brushing your dog’s teeth can also make it easier to teach this command.
- Don’t hold the treats in your hand while training, so your dog learns to follow orders at all times.
- Change your body position when you are training, so your dog doesn’t think it only has to follow commands when you are in a specific stance.
- Once your dog begins learning, move the training sessions to other locations, so the dog doesn’t think it only needs to follow orders in a specific location.
- Switch up the rewards, so your dog doesn’t only follow orders for treats. Alternative rewards will also help avoid weight gain. Extra time with their favorite toy, car rides and walks are just a few examples of rewards your dog will like as much as a treat.
Summary
While teaching your dog to smile is one of the less common tricks, it can be especially useful for brushing your dog’s teeth. Dental disease is common for dogs, and as many as 80% of dogs over the age of three are afflicted. Smiling also makes many dog breeds look extremely attractive, and it’s sure to bring applause from anyone who sees it. Patience and consistency are your best tools to train almost any dog to smile or perform any other trick.
We hope you have enjoyed reading over this guide and found it helpful for getting your dog to follow your commands. If we have helped you teach your dog a new trick, please share this guide to teach a dog to smile on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured Image Credit: Crystal Alba, Shutterstock
Ed Malaker is a veteran writer who has contributed to a wide range of blogs that cover pets, tools, guitars, fitness, and computer programming. When he’s not writing, Ed is usually performing DIY projects around the house or working in the garden. He’s also a musician and spends a lot of time helping people fix their guitars and composing music for independent films.
Although not an essential part of dog training, teaching your dog to smile on command can be a cute and fun party trick. Because this behavior doesn’t come naturally when your dog is calm and relaxed, it is an intermediate to advanced skill, but it is quite doable.
Why Dogs Show Their Teeth Naturally
Generally speaking, dogs usually bare their teeth for one of two reasons:
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- Showing A Submissive Grin
- Snarling
Dogs will submissively grin when they’re nervous or dealing with a stressful situation. It’s kind of like the human version of putting your hands up. A snarl will also show off your dog’s teeth, but this is a sign of aggression…not the behavior you want to reinforce when teaching a “smile.”
Different Meanings of Different Smiles
Like we just mentioned, a dog bearing its teeth can mean several things, and it’s usually associated with their body language. Look at the photo below. One is a submissive grin, one is a snarl, and one is a cued smile.
In the photo on the left, the dog is showing a submissive grin. She is sitting, her eyes are slightly closed, and the ears are back which is a “calming signal.” In the middle photo, the dog’s body weight is forward, and the ears are not pinned back. This is an “aggressive signal.” In the picture on the right, he’s in a neutral sitting position, looking with his ears naturally falling. Sure, he seems a little funny. But this is because his owner trained him to smile by tickling his whiskers or lifting his lips. This is the method we’ll outline here.
- Hold a treat in your hand. Use a “high-value” treat, something your dog really loves. Hold it up to one side of your dogs mouth right above the lips. Most dogs will lift their lips on that side in anticipation of the treat. If not, gently brush your hand against his whiskers. This should get him to raise his lip. While doing this, give a happy, upbeat verbal cue…”Smile!” Once he raises his lip, praise him and give him the treat. Once he has accomplished this successfully several times, switch the treat to your other hand and practice this on the other side of his mouth.
- Once he is lifting the lip on each side of his mouth consistently, begin holding the treat directly above the center of his snout, over the nose. Give the happy, upbeat verbal cue…”Smile!” As he lifts his lips on both sides of his mouth, praise him and give him the treat.
- After he is consistently lifting his lips on both sides, gradually phase out the treats and use only the verbal cue “Smile!”
Remember that every dog is different. Some may show only their bottom teeth while some will show all of their teeth.
It’s important to note that since baring their teeth in a calm, relaxed situation isn’t natural, training for this trick could take quite a bit longer than most training. Because of this, it’s essential to keep training sessions short. Extensive training sessions can mentally drain both you and your dog. When the mind is tired, the training is less likely to stick. Also, extensive training means A LOT of treats. Although training with treats is an effective method, training for extended periods of time means over-indulging on treats. Keep training sessions short and always keep them upbeat.
On TikTok I’ve seen a lot of Golden Retriever owners teaching their dogs to smile on command. The dogs do quite a snarly looking smile, and this isn’t something that Phoebe and Frank would naturally do, so I’ve adapted the trick and it looks super goofy.
Frank has always been used to me checking out his teeth – Phoebe is less of a fan of you shoving fingers into her mouth. To teach Frank this trick, I used some high value treats, and continued to practice the command in short bursts over the space of a week. Phoebe is a little slower on picking up the trick, but is learning to show off her meggies!
Teaching your dog new tricks can strengthen your bond, and offer much-needed mental stimulation for your dog. Plus, they’re pretty cool to show off to their mates down at the dog park. Just be sure to keep practice sessions short and sweet, and make it worth your dogs’ while with their all-time favourite treats.
This is how I taught Frank to ‘smile’.
Step 1: I would hold my finger in front of Frank’s mouth and reward when he touched it with his face by himself.
Step 2: What I didn’t want was for Frank to lick me, as this wouldn’t show off his pearly whites. I would wait until he’s still and calm, and gently push up his top lip to expose his front teeth for a second, rewarding and offering praise.
Step 3: When Frank got used to this, I added the ‘smile’ cue, so he would associate the word with the trick, and reward positive experiences.
Step 4: Now all I needed to do was get him comfortable holding the pose. As Frank is quite chilled, he was more than happy to continue smiling for around 15 seconds, and got lots of cuddles for providing top quality entertainment.
Good luck teaching your pooch to ‘smile’ and be sure to tag us in your photos on Instagram!
How to Teach Your Dog to Smile requires you to be on good terms with your dog. Smiling is not a natural position for them. Typically, they show their teeth when being submissive or angry.
Again, don’t do this if you’re uncomfortable with your fingers around your dog’s mouth. Try another trick if that’s the case.
To keep your dog in one spot, it is a good idea to start in the dog sitting position.
STEP 1
Start with your dog in the seated position and relaxed. After a good play time is ideal.
This trick is best taught when your dog is a little tired and not full of energy. You can do it with them in the standing position, but we’ve found seated is much better.
STEP 2
Lift your dog’s lips on both side while saying “SMILE.” Then, PRAISE and REWARD them.
The goal of this step is to get your dog to asscoiate the “SMILE” with their lips going up. As we said earlier, this is not a natural position for your dog, so some may have trouble with it.
Keep trying and award successes with a verbal praise and a tasty treat.
STEP 3
Slowly make it harder for your dog to earn a treat so you just say “SMILE” for them to pull their lips back. When they do, PRAISE and REWARD them.
In this step, you want to nail down the association of”SMILE” with the act of moving their lips up.
FOLLOW ON:
How to Teach Your Dog to Smile might take a little time since it is not natural for your dog to smile. But, with time and effort you can make this happen.
Your final objective is to get your dog to raise their lips with just the verbal command. If you can do this, you are on your way to a trick dog.
Let everyone know about your successes and challenges in the comments below.
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Steve Larrivee
As a dog lover since his youth, Steve Co-Founded Athenas Pets with his son Kevin to promote dog training to the masses. Athenas Pets, focuses on training products and providing the “know-how” so the average dog owner can train their dog like a pro.
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Dogs have their way of expressing happiness and a relaxed state of mind. Most of us have seen the dog’s mouth wide open and tongue hanging out. This gesture is an act of being happy for canines. It can also indicate they want to play with you.
So if you’re thinking of teaching your dog to smile with teeth, then you have come to the perfect place. Making them smile with teeth is not the easiest thing to do, but it is achievable provided you follow the correct process . Once you master the same, it will be a heartwarming experience seeing your beloved buddy brighten your day with a wide smile. There are also some good mental health benefits for dogs when they smile.
In this article, we will go through various tried and tested techniques (effectively training sessions) to make your dog smile. Let’s get started with dog training.
Ways To Make Your Dog Smile
Before initiating your “ Mission Doggo Smile ,” ensure that they are comfortable in your home environment. If they feel uncomfortable and you still go ahead with their obedience training session, the chances are they will get aggressive or bite you.
Is there anything better than a dog smiling? Teach your dog to smile. It’s worth it.
Sometimes they open their mouths and put their tongues out while they’re panting or snarling in anger too. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze your dog’s current mood before you embark upon making them smile.
Positive Reinforcement
Just like us, dogs also need a reason to be happy. Whenever they showcase positive behavior, reward them with treats or shower praises ( Positive Reinforcement ). This will encourage them to repeat the action and lead to a smile in most cases.
Using the same logic, when they smile the next time, feed them their favorite treats, and you can expect more smiles from them in the days to come. Assigning a physical command that makes them smile is also a good idea. It will make it more straightforward for them the next time you demand a smile.
Whisker Tickling
Another method is to try ticking the dog’s whiskers . As a response, they will lift their lips. At that moment, you can provide them a treat. So the next time you tickle their whiskers, they will give a smiling expression. They may even lift their lips on their own to receive more treats.
Identifying the ticklish spots in a dog’s body can be an intelligent way of making them smile or give a submissive grin. You can even get a camera ready to capture the natural behavior for some fun memories.
This step may succeed in a few minutes, or it can take weeks. The important thing is to be patient and never use force or other forms of violence to make the dog smile. Punishing them for not responding to training will only make things worse. They will lose interest in the whole process.
Using A Clicker
Clickers are small tools that emit a high-frequency sound that captures a dog’s attention. Next time your dog smiles, hit a training clicker and give them a treat . You can remodel their behavior in this way.
The next time they hear the clicker, they will be inclined to smile to get a treat. With sufficient repetitions, they will start associating the sounds to actions they need to perform.
Transition From Physical To Verbal Command
Once you have gained a good grasp on making your dog smile via a physical cue, you can think of making a switch to a verbal cue . This change will also help you take photos or videos in parallel while the dog smiles.
Please keep in mind to make the transition slowly and steadily instead of rushing things and nullifying the progress made so far.
Please start the process with the same physical command that made them smile. In addition, use the verbal command along with it. With time, the sound of the verbal command will be a part of the whole command in their mind.
Follow this by gradually stopping the physical command and only use verbal cues. Assess the success rates while doing so. If your dog is responding well so far, stop the physical element completely. And there you have it; your dog will now start to smile at your verbal commands alone.
At the end of these steps, reward your dog handsomely to reinforce this significant achievement.
Points To Remember
There are a few pointers to consider while you attempt the above steps for better results. We will list them in this section:
- Each dog has their learning curve . Respect and accept that fact and never use violence or haste to make your dog smile.
- Keep the training sessions limited to 10-15 minutes regularly divided throughout the week.
- Limit the number of treats . Providing treats each time they smile can lead to it being considered as a bribe. Giving random treats once in a while is a good ploy.
- Alter the treats . Feeding them different treats will keep them guessing and cement the behavior even further in their mind.
- Regularly assess their moods . Never continue to train your dog if they start getting moody or aggressive. Stop the session right away when you sense this.
- Do not stop the regular physical training or cognitive exercises of your dog. Ensure that goes as planned along with the smile training.
Teaching Your Dog To Show Teeth
A dog’s smiling and showing teeth can be two separate phenomena. For instance, dogs can show their complete set of teeth while in aggressive behavior. It can be a warning or a sign of showcasing dominance.
On the other hand, when dogs smile, they only show a few teeth, and the expression looks more like a grin. Here, we will discuss the steps involved in getting your dog to show their teeth.
Offer A Reward
Let them know that they’re working for a gift by demonstrating it. This action will boost their interest in the activity. You may start by feeding them a treat to lighten their mood.
Define A Command Word
Use any word of your choice. But ensure it is short and easy to understand for the dog. Start by uttering the word, then move their lips apart for them.
Separating The Dog’s Lips
Once the dog is comfortable moving the lips apart, try to open their lips from the front and sides slowly. Keep using the same command applied in the previous step. Feed them treats each time their teeth are visible.
Repeat The Process
Repeat the above three steps until the dog is comfortable to do so themselves while given the correct command. Unlike the smile, the teeth-showing movement does not come naturally to them and requires some time.
After a few repetitions, they will tend to move their lips and show the dog’s teeth.
These are the general steps you can try to make your dog display their teeth. In the upcoming section, we will be talking about some of the commonly asked questions regarding dogs and their smiles.
Once you’ve mastered the basics of dog training, you may be ready to teach your dog some advanced tricks. Getting a dog to smile on command is an excellent way to make your friends and family laugh, but it does take some effort. Keep reading to learn how.
Table of Contents
Why Dogs Naturally Show Their Teeth
Before we break down how to teach your dog this trick, let’s discuss the reasons a dog would naturally show their teeth. Generally, dogs do so for two reasons:
- Submissive grin: A nervous dog may display a submissive grin. You can think of a submissive grin as a diffusing tactic; it’s a way for the dog to show that they don’t want to engage an aggressor. Dogs with submissive grins often have difficulty making eye contact, and they pin their ears back.
- Snarling: On the other hand, snarling signals aggression. A dog that’s snarling or growling often displays body language showing they’re ready to engage: their ears may move forward, and they tend to make intense eye contact.
Regardless of which behavior the dog displays, it’s clear that baring its teeth is a sign of discomfort. As such, you want to avoid teaching either of these two behaviors to entertain friends and family. You will make your dog feel uncomfortable, which is never a good thing, and it also becomes challenging to determine if your dog actually feels threatened.
Cued Smiles
So how do you teach this trick without putting your pet in a stressful situation?
Pay close attention to their body language to avoid bad behavior like biting. A comfortable dog displays relaxed body language and neutral ears, and they give you a funny, cued smile.
How to Teach a Dog to Smile
Now that you understand the importance of teaching this trick properly, let’s break down each of the steps for getting your dog to smile.
Things to Keep in Mind
As mentioned above, it’s unnatural for dogs to show their teeth when they’re calm or happy. For this reason, teaching this trick may require a lot more training than others. Here are some other things to keep in mind as you teach your dog to smile:
- Long training sessions are exhausting for both parties and may become counterproductive. It’s best to keep things short for maximum effectiveness.
- Long training sessions also mean lots of treats. As you already know, eating too many treats can be detrimental to your pup’s health, which is another reason to keep sessions short.
- Some dogs may show all their teeth, while others show only the top teeth.
- It’s vital to practice this trick in several different locations. Switching up your environment helps prevent your dog from associating the trick with just one place, so move from room to room as much as possible. You can also practice while walking or playing at the dog park.
- Change treats every now and again to keep things interesting. When your dog never knows what to expect, it’s more likely they’ll smile hard to make sure they get every treat they can!
- If your dog shows aggression during training, it’s time to end the session. Aggression may be a sign that you’re trying to do too much, so you may want to break down the steps even further or only work for a few minutes at a time.
Conclusion
Some dogs will never want to show you their teeth, no matter how much you train them. In this case, it’s best to avoid unintentionally reinforcing snarling or submissive behavior and move on. Impress your friends by teaching your pup to speak, play dead, or hug instead. You’re sure to get a good laugh without risking putting your dog in an uncomfortable situation.
My name is Chris and I am the co-creator of Oodle Life. My wife and I love playing with our active miniature Labradoodle Max. We want all Oodle puppies to be healthy and happy, have lots of fun and be part of the family.
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Dogs put a big smile on our faces, and frankly, who wouldn’t want to see their dog smile back?
Teaching a dog to smile on command can be a little more difficult than other tricks like “sit” and “stay”. This is because there are various instinctive reasons why dogs appear to smile that may or may not be out of happiness.
Before you learn how to teach your dog to smile, it helps to understand why your dog sometimes smiles. Below are some of the reasons, as well as how to train your dog to smile on command, and a few important tips.
What Does Your Dog’s Smile Mean?
Aggression
Dogs will curl their lips back and show their teeth to snarl in aggression. Your dog may do this when a stranger or another dog approaches him. Even though it may look like a smile because of the natural upward curvature of dogs’ lips, you can tell it’s a sign of aggression from the accompanying growl or snapping.
Your dog will also have his ears alert, his tail raised, his body tense, and look ready to spring forward. This is definitely not a display of happiness, nor how you want to teach your dog to smile.
Instead of snarling, some dogs may react to a stranger or other dog with a sort of smile of submission. This shows they’re uncomfortable and afraid and want to be left alone. The submissive smile is usually accompanied by pinned back ears, sitting, and tucking the tail between the legs.
Instead of moving towards whatever is causing their distress, like the aggressive snarl, your dog’s body language will show that he wants to move away from whatever is causing his fear. This is a peace-making gesture, as your dog is showing whoever he’s smiling at that he’s not a threat and want to be left alone, but is also a warning to back off as this could escalate to aggression.
Excitement
Not all reasons why dogs appear to smile are for negative reasons. Dogs also tend to pant with their mouths slightly open as a sign of happiness or eager anticipation, like during playtime or when they know they’re about to receive a treat.
This association with smiling can make it easier for you to teach your dog the smile command. Usually, your dog’s tail will wag, and he might jump up and down when he’s smiling out of excitement.
Just because there are many reasons why dogs appear to smile doesn’t mean that it’s bad or impossible to teach your dog to smile on command.
It just means that he naturally already associates what we think of as smiling with aggression or fear, as well as happiness. You just need to be sure you’re timing your training correctly so that your dog knows what it is you want him to learn to do.
Training your pup new commands can be a fun bonding experience for both you and your dog when done correctly.
How to Teach Your Dog to Smile: Training Tips
Step One
Wait to train your dog to smile when he’s in a happy, calm, and relaxed state, such as after playing or cuddling. Then, while saying “Smile!” in a happy voice (your tone is important because you don’t want your dog to think he’s being punished), use your fingers to lift the back of his lips upwards like a smile. This is how your dog can start to associate the command with the movement of his mouth.
Step Two
Hold a treat in one hand while using the other hand to hold your dog’s lips up and saying the command “Smile!” in a happy voice. Then give your dog the treat, scratch his favorite spot and praise him. Repeat this several times.
Step Three
Do a fun or relaxing activity with your dog, like a walk, playtime, or cuddling. Then command your dog to smile in the same happy voice and give him a treat. You may need to use your fingers to make him smile again, but soon he should learn to do it on his own and associate the behavior with the smile command and a treat. This interval between training will keep him happy and help him remember the command later when you aren’t training.
Important Tips
1. Don’t attempt to teach your dog to smile if he’s a biter. He will first need to be trained not to bite. Much of training your dog to do this trick revolves around you putting your hands around your dog’s mouth, and if you have an aggressive dog you may get bitten. Also, don’t try to teach any dog this trick while he’s eating a meal, even if he’s not aggressive, as he may accidentally bite you without meaning to.
2. You’ll probably have better luck teaching your dog other commands first, such as “sit” and “roll over”. Once he has mastered these more basic commands, you can move on to teaching him how to smile.
3. Train in short bursts instead of for long periods of time. If your dog isn’t understanding the command, leave it for a while and come back to it. Training for short intervals works best and keeps your dog from becoming confused.
4. Don’t punish your dog if he doesn’t catch on to the command. This is counterproductive and he will associate training with punishment and will make him afraid of learning not only the smile command, but other commands as well.
5. You should be giving your dog lots of treats while teaching him a new command. Use small treats designed for training. You don’t want to be rewarding your dog during training with giant rawhides or even the normal-sized treats that you may give him once in a while as a bribe or reward. There are treats that will say they’re designed for training on the packaging and are very small (usually about the size of one piece of dry dog food, or just smaller than a dime).
About the author
Li-ran believes that dogs can teach us more than we could ever teach them. He is passionate about holistic pet care, natural alternatives, and cooking homemade meals for his dog, Richie.
Bringing my puppy Marlie home was an incredibly exciting time in my life, especially when I started to think about all of the amazing tricks she could learn. After teaching her how to sit, lie down, and give me her paw I thought it would be great if I could learn how to teach my dog to smile. There are plenty tricks that I found during my research, but only a few worked with Marlie.
At first, I assumed that dog training was a fun activity, but as she grew older, I learned that it is an important part of obedience training as well. After teaching Marlie a variety of commands, I began to notice that she was listening to me more often with other things such as staying out of the kitchen and sleeping in her own bed. I also learned that while training I was able to help her develop socialization skills, simply because each session was enhancing her psychological capabilities.
If you’re looking for a way to create a stronger bond with your dog, training the dog to smile is important, and you should use this guide to master it easier.
What You will Need
Reward or Rewarding Device (Treat, Training Clicker, or Toy)
One of the most important tips while training is to make sure your dog has respect for you as an authoritative figure. By standing tall and keeping your chest out, they’ll understand that you are the dominant person in the family.
It’s also important to keep your hands in view at all times so your dog will know that you’re commanding them to do something, whether you have treats or not. I found that this made it much easier to motivate Marlie to obey my commands even when I didn’t have a treat available.
3. Use a Toothbrush to Show Teeth
If you’ve found that your dog doesn’t smile naturally, it’s time to use the toothbrush. This step will be particularly easy for pet owners that regularly brush their dog’s teeth because most dogs will show their teeth and “smile” when they see the familiar toothbrush.
Bring the toothbrush close to the dog’s mouth and when they show their teeth say “Smile”, then reward him/her with a treat.
4. Repeat the Command 5-15 Times Per Day
Now that you have the right behavior established, you can begin to command your pet without rewarding them with a treat. I found that it was easy to have Marlie listen to me even when I didn’t have a cookie in my hand. Instead, I chose to give her a pat on the head and a “Good girl” every time she obeyed.
This is important simply because it’s unrealistic to continually feed your pet a treat every time you want your dog to do something. Treats can still be rewards every now and then, but your dog should not expect them.
Conclusion
With the help of the tips presented above, training my dog how to smile was easier than I could have imagined. Personally, I preferred the toothbrush method, as she typically doesn’t smile on her own, unlike other breeds. With the right amount of motivation, you can teach your dog to do relatively anything your hearts desire!
Have you seen some viral pictures of dogs showing their white pearly teeth? Now you want to teach your pet the same? Then, don’t worry, I am here with the tricks you can teach your dog how to smile. This training is not that easy, so you have to take proper information before starting. So here is the answer to the question of how to teach your dog to smile .
Unlike other tricks, teaching a dog to smile is complex and requires more work, but it is achievable. Keep in mind that a smiling dog is not always a happy dog. Somehow, this is an awkward trick for your pup to learn. Still, this is such a cute and full of fun trick to teach your puppy how to say cheese! So let’s begin!
How to teach your dog to smile in 2022
You need to follow the following steps:
1. Dog Comfort
Before starting, the foremost thing you have to check is whether your dog is comfortable or not. Suppose he is in a good mood or not. If you make him feel uncomfortable during the training, you may get bitten—so better start after playing with him or when the pup is getting scratched in his favorite areas. Smiling behavior in dogs is not the same as in humans. Dogs mostly show this impression when they have to do mild panting.
Moreover, it is also possible that the dog is either snarling or showing a submissive grin. Dogs submissively grin when they are nervous and are in a stressful situation. So make sure before starting your training that your dog is in a happy mood or not.
2. Give him your Favourite food
So, you have to charge your dog before starting the training. Are you wondering how to assess your dog? Don’t worry. It means you have to show your dog his favorite snacks or anything as a treat. Make sure that he will be awarded his favorite treat if he does what you are commanding about when you are sure that now your dog knows that you have promised him a treat. Then, he will do anything for you. So, after making him sure about the treat, feel free to experiment.
3. Use a Whistle Tracker
The best of all is to use a whisker tickle. In this trick, you have to scratch gently in his whiskers. This thing will make him lift his lips when he leaves his lips to award him with a treat. He will click this act that he is awarded a treat whenever he lifts his lips. So, whenever you tickle him, he will raise his lips. But technically, his smile depends on the physical stimuli to smile or show his teeth. So, repeat this trick again and again whenever you see your dog lift his lips and award him with a treat whenever he smiles. However, to earn more treats, your dog will start to lift his lips on his own.
You don’t have to do this step fast. This step can take five minutes or even five weeks, depending upon the savviness of your dog. The first thing you have to keep in mind is to do fun training. If you and your dog are frustrated, then none of you will get succeeded and will end up disappointed. Don’t use punishment, force, or something wrong if he doesn’t get it. It is pretty standard. Punishment mistakes will make him less interested in training. If you start getting frustrated and your pup is not clicking the movement, then end that session early and go to enjoy the party.
4. User Verbal Commands
After step 3, you have to slowly fade away the physical stimulus and use verbal commands to make him smile. To start this, you have first to follow the steps and know your dog with a verbal cue like ‘smile my dog’ or ‘say cheese’. The verbal cue depends upon your choice. Then tickle him and award him with a treat when he lifts his lips. Repeat this process several times, and he will get familiar with this verbal cue. After getting familiar, whenever you pronounce this verbal cue, he will respond to you by showing his teeth.
Remember that treats are payments for lifting the lips of your pup. So always award your puppy when he does his task perfectly. This will appreciate him, and he will practice this trick more and more to get more treats. Practice this behavior for more challenging situations like in front of the guests or at the park.
The other trick to make your dog show his smile is by lifting his jowls slightly. For some dogs, it is easy for us to teach them how to smile. All you have to do is touch his cheeks or jowls, and he will lift his lips. After connecting your dog’s cheeks gently and smoothly, lift your dog’s upper lip to show his teeth. At this time, your dog has responded to you either by physical clues, and you have to provide him a massive treat as a reward.
Read an excellent guide about the top dog harness
Frequently asked questions
What is the benefit of a dog smiling?
The benefit of a dog smiling is that it keeps your dog healthy. In addition, dog smiling tells you that your dog is happy, relaxed, and in a good state of mind.
Can I make my favorite pal smile?
Yes, you can make your dog smile by following the above procedure. We have created an easy guide for our viewers that can help them to achieve their goal of a dog smiling.
If you want to teach your dog some tricks read this guide.
Conclusion
Remember that smiling is not a natural process in dogs as in humans. So some dogs show this response because of annoyance resulting from tickling we do to lift their lips. In addition to this, as it is not a natural response in dogs, your pup may tire or get bored quickly. So to maintain his interest in training, you have to provide him a treat whenever he lifts his lips, either by a physical stimulus or by listening to your command.
This training requires a lot of practice. First, practice many times by providing him with physical stimulus or by tickling. Then slowly fades away the physical cue and makes verbal clues more prominent. With time and practice, there will be a time when he will only listen to your command and smile. You can also read about dog food for Shih Tzu with a sensitive stomach .
1 Pack a Picnic Dinner and head to the dog park after work. Where this plan often fails to get off the ground is in over-thinking the proceedings. The picnic need not be fancy; throw together a cold dinner of cheeses and charcuteries, perhaps some leftover tabouleh, potato salad, or cold roast chicken from the night before, and you’re ready to go. The idea is to get to the park fast and enjoy the remaining light, not to mention to free oneself from the kitchen. Once at the park, set yourself up in a quiet corner, unfurl a blanket, and let loose the hounds. Bringing a fetch toy for the dogs and a disguised bottle of chilly rosé for yourselves (how civilized) just might
2 Fill a wading pool with water for your dog to play in/lounge in/drink from. This pop-up dog pool from DOOG makes for a quick and easy cooling station.
3 Make pupsicles! We have all sorts of delicious, fast, healthy frozen summer treats you can whip up for your dog in a jiff. All you need is five minutes, a few ingredients, and a freezer. Find the recipes here:
4 Freeze treats and toys into your dog’s water dish or an empty five-quart ice cream pail. Add a rubber squeaky toy or two, drop in a food-stuffed Kong, sprinkle in a few non-sogging treats like buffalo jerky bites, cover with water, and freeze. Once solid, briefly run under warm water to remove from dish, and give to your dog—outdoors, of course.
5 Hire a dog walker for a once-a-month excursion. Rates and services vary, from half-hour group walks with Manhattan’s Pet Club NYC to two-hour mountain hike group excursions with Release the Hounds in Vancouver, British Columbia. Group outings like these provide your dog with exercise and a new socialization opportunity, and you with a day’s reprieve from feeling that perhaps your dog didn’t get as much stimulation and exercise as he wanted. Money well spent, if you ask us.
6 Go for a cruise with your dog. If you have a high-energy canine pal, biking is the perfect way to let him run off some steam. A Bike Tow Leash Attachment makes cycling with your dog safe and enjoyable for you both. If your dog is smaller, older, or just not up for expending that much energy, she can still come along for the ride in a pet bicycle basket or trailer. To the beach—under your own steam!
7 Fulfill your/your dog’s latent desire to be an artist. Fit him with a clip-on collar camera like the Eyenimal videocam or Uncle Milton Pet’s Eye View camera and hit the streets.
8 Keep your dog engaged and mentally sharp—play a brain boosting game together. Interactive brain games are a fun way to socialize and bond with your dog, while encouraging healthy intellectual exercise at the same time. For fun games like the shell game and teaching your dog his ABC’s (bonus: activities like these fight Canine Cognitive Dysfunction), as well as boredom-busting toys that require problem solving, check out these links:
9 Get some exercise and support local small businesses. Clip on your dog’s leash, take a stroll to your neighbourhood dog store, and let your dog pick out a new toy or little treat.
10 Treasure hunt! Put your dog’s talented nose to work. Make your dog wait while you hide little treats throughout your living room or back yard, then let her loose to find them. We do this a couple of times a week for the MD office dogs, making them wait in the lunchroom while we secret treats throughout the office, then give them the cue to start the search. It never gets old for them and it’s pretty darn fun for us to watch, too.
Believe it or not, dogs can smile just like humans. During everyday life, when Max is happy, you might catch him with a relaxed body posture and a big grin on his face. Just like how you teach Max to sit, come, speak and stay, you can teach him to smile on command. This makes for great photo ops and allows you to enjoy his smile at the drop of a dime.
Step 1
Arm yourself with dog treats and sit across from your dog in a quiet area that’s free of distraction so you have his undivided attention.
Step 2
Push his upper lip up above his gum line with the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand. Mimic the motion you would make if you were inspecting his gums and teeth. Then say “smile” while you’re holding his lip in a smiling position. Put a smile on your face too, to encourage your pet companion to copy you.
Step 3
Repeat this several times, and immediately after each time you help him smile, say “good boy,” and reward him with a treat. Consistently do this so he associates curling his lip back with pleasant consequences and is encouraged to repeat the smiling motion.
Step 4
Continue to teach Max to smile during everyday situations. If you know that your pet companion smiles when he’s scratched in a hard-to-reach area, scratch him and say “smile.” When he smiles, give him treats and praise. Do this each time a situation emerges in which your dog might naturally smile, and always use the same command to avoid confusing Max.
Step 5
Practice the “smile” command daily for several minutes at a time, and lavish Max with praise and treats when he smiles on command. Over time, gradually decrease the amount of treats you give Max. Give him treats after every third or fourth smile so he’ll continue to smile in the hopes of getting a possible treat.
You don’t have to teach your dog the “smile” command to get him to smile, because pleasant situations might make him naturally smile. Some fun playtime, where he gets to run and pant, might result in some funny smiley faces. Show him a few new dog toys or irresistible dog treats and watch his face light up. Take good care of your dog and spend quality time with him so his inner happiness is reflected on the outside. Also, make sure to have your camera ready to catch your pet companion’s happy faces.
Teaching your dog to lie down is useful in everyday life for times when you want them to be still, e.g. when you’re grooming or examining them, when visitors come to your house, or for times when you want to take your dog out to a restaurant with you.
It is a relatively easy behaviour to teach – as long as you have something that your dog likes, such as a treat or a toy. Remember, if treats are used, please remember to take them out of your dog’s daily food rations, and grade them according to your dog’s stage of learning, and/or the environment.
Steps to teaching your dog to lie down
- Choose a quiet place in your home to enable the dog to concentrate
- Start with the dog near to you and sitting facing you. You may consider using a lead for more control, if the dog is inclined to wander off
- Get the dog’s attention by using their name
- Make sure that you have something in your hand that the dog wants, such as a treat or toy, and place that hand just below your dog’s nose
- Move your hand slowly down to the floor in a straight line, so that your dog follows it with their nose – slowly move it along the floor away from them but make sure they are still following with their nose
- As soon as your dog lies down, they need rewarding for doing the right thing. Say ‘yes’, smile at them, praise them with your voice, stroke them, whilst also giving them the treat or a game with the toy
- Once your dog has the idea of lying down, when you move your hand down towards the floor luring them with the treat or toy – place your treat or toy in your other hand, but otherwise repeat everything you did before, so that they are learning to perform the behaviour on a hand signal alone
- Once the dog is reliably performing the down when you move your hand down to the floor, start using the word ‘down’, just before the hand movement, so the dog is learning to perform the behaviour on a verbal cue. After a few repetitions, begin to reduce the hand movement, so that the dog is learning to be able to perform the down just when you say the word ‘down’. Fade the hand signal out altogether by saying the word ‘down’ and just waiting a second for your dog to lie down. If they don’t, they are not yet ready for the hand signal to be removed altogether, so be ready to back up the word ‘down’ with the hand signal, to ensure your dog still gets it right
- To teach the dog to stay lying down for longer – keep the smile and verbal praise going, but withhold the treat or toy for a second or two until you are ready, not forgetting the release word ‘yes’ as you give them. Don’t push your dog too far too fast, just a few seconds at a time – you don’t want them to get up before you are ready to release them
- To teach the dog to remain lying down when you are short distance away from them, start taking a step or two away from them, immediately returning to reward them in position
- To make it more difficult, start increasing the distractions around your dog or change your position in relation to your dog, or by asking them to sit when out in your garden or on a walk. You may have to go back to the beginning and re-teach with these changes
- To make the ‘down’ command really useful, re-teach in a variety of environments until the dog really gets the idea that the word ‘down’ means the same wherever they are, and that they should stay in the down position until released. You can really have some fun with this, with a bit of imagination, which will help your control when out in public and faced with other dogs and people
- Some dogs are more difficult to teach than others, because their bottoms pop up as their heads follow the treat down. Teach under a coffee table, or under your bent legs when sitting on the floor
Please note: there are many different ways to train your dog. This is just one method of teaching. If you are ever in doubt, please seek professional advice.
For more information and advice, you can find training classes with The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training scheme , browse our full list of The Kennel Club Accredited Instructors or find a dog training club near you.
A new study indicates dogs can learn to distinguish a smile, even on the faces of some strangers. This ability to learn to recognize smiling faces may have been important to the success of dogs living with humans, the researchers noted in their study.
What is the hardest trick to teach your dog?
25 Dog Tricks: List of Most Difficult Tricks and Commands to Teach Your Dogs Wait. Bark or Speak or Howl. Army Crawling. Spin. Sit Pretty. Go and Fetch. Stand Tall (On Hind Legs) Say Your Prayers.
Can dogs be suicidal?
It is uncommon for dogs to succumb to depression. A dog’s strong survival instinct should always take over in dangerous situations. However, dog suicide persists because of numerous reports over the years. In Italy, pets who have been left alone for weeks claimed to have been so upset and depressed.
Do dogs like when we smile?
It’s official – dogs absolutely love it when you tell them they’re a good boy or girl. New research shows that dogs’ facial expressions change when humans look or smile at them. ‘Brow raising, which makes the eyes look bigger – so-called puppy dog eyes – was the dogs’ most commonly used expression in this research.
How many words can a dog recognize?
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the “super dogs” (those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence) can learn 250 words, Coren says.
What are the 7 basic dog commands?
More specifically, a well-behaved pup should respond to seven directions in order to become a good canine citizen: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Heel, Off, and No.
How many commands can a puppy learn at once?
You can train them on more than one command in a day but try to stick to just one for each session. An exception might be if the session is not going well and you want to get your dog to do something it knows so that the session will end on a positive note.
What’s the most depressed animal?
Arturo (polar bear).
Does declawing a dog hurt them?
No. Declawing your dog doesn’t just mean to cut its nails, but it means to cut off the end of the toe permanently to remove the nail. Dogs need their toes to help their walking in balance and grip. Performing this surgery, and declawing your dog, is considered animal cruelty, and prohibited in many countries.
Why do dogs wink at you?
“Winking can be a sign of affection, that the dog is at peace, seeking attention, or possibly mimicking their owner if this is an action they do frequently,” says Dr. Conrad. Dogs may even wink to signify submission to another human or dog.
Do dogs get embarrassed when you laugh at them?
Dogs are very sensitive to the tone of your voice and so they will soon know if you are laughing at them. They will sense if this is an enjoyable moment. Dogs show you they are enjoying your laughter with sparkling eyes, a toothy, broad mouth and even a funny, panting noise.
How do dogs pick their person?
Dogs often choose a favorite person who matches their own energy level and personality. In addition, some dog breeds are more likely to bond with a single person, making it more likely that their favorite person will be their only person.
Is it bad to smile at dogs?
A new study has found that smiling directly at your dog makes the dog feel warm and fuzzy, much the same as humans do when someone smiles at us. When we smile at our dogs and they respond positively to us it creates a mutual oxytocin release that makes us both happy.
What is the stupidest dog breed?
The 10 Dumbest Dog Breeds and Why They’ve Been Characterized as “Dumb” Afghan Hound. The Afghan Hound is the “dumbest” dog. Basenji. Basenjis also make the list of dumbest dog breeds. Bulldog. Bulldogs are known for their stubbornness. Chow Chow. Chow Chows can also be difficult to train. Borzoi. Bloodhound. Pekingese. Beagle.
What words do dogs like to hear?
Top 5 words dogs love to hear the most Walkies. Dinner/food/eat. Treat. Get it. Fetch.
What’s the smartest dog?
1. Border Collie: A workaholic, this breed is the world’s premier sheep herder, prized for its intelligence, extraordinary instinct, and working ability. 2. Poodle: Exceptionally smart and active.
How do you teach a dog a lesson?
Training Lessons Be ready with a small piece of your dog’s favorite treat. Stand facing your dog or puppy. Holding the treat in front of your dog’s nose, move the treat up toward the top of his head. If your dog lifts his front feet off the ground, you are holding the treat too high.
What is the first thing I should teach my puppy?
Young puppies have short attention spans but you can expect them to begin to learn simple obedience commands such as “sit,” “down,” and “stay,” as young as 7 to 8 weeks of age. Formal dog training has traditionally been delayed until 6 months of age.
Should only one person train a puppy?
If the puppy or dog is enrolled in a Puppy Kindergarten or obedience class, the entire family should participate. Dogs love and thrive on the support of their pack. If the trainer does not allow more than one person per dog, don’t waste your time and money. Find another trainer.
How long it takes to train a dog?
You’ll need to spend four to five weeks building some good attention and focus skills in your puppy. Bonding, playing structured games, and if you haven’t trained a dog before, learning the skills you need to teach your dog the skills they need.
What is the angriest animal?
Top Eight Most Aggressive Animals in the World Barracuda swimming in the ocean. Black mamba, Africa’s most feared snake, is also the world’s fastest snake. An angry chimpanzee. An African buffalo in the Masai Mara, Kenya. A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), in the Chobe river, Chobe National Park, Botswana.
Who is the laziest animal?
Top 10 Laziest Animals koala. Koalas are known for their laziness and sleeping abilities, spending only two to six hours awake every day. Sloth. Opossum. Hippopotamus. Python. Echidna. Giant panda. Nurse shark.
Which animal that never drinks water?
Answer: Kangaroo rat The tiny kangaroo rat located in the south-western deserts of the United States does not drink water for its whole lifespan. Kangaroo rats represent an integral part of desert life.
Can you Denail a dog?
Declawing is an extremely serious and rare procedure that can cause severe pain for your dog. However, one condition where declawing might be considered is with serious recurring nail bed infections. These could be symptoms of a nail bed disorder or infection.
Do vets Declaw dogs?
Do vets still declaw? Some vets still declaw cats, but it’s become increasingly rare. Most vets won’t declaw dogs unless they have a serious nail condition that provides no other option. Some vets remove dewclaws if there’s a chance that they might cause injuries.
At what age can you declaw a puppy?
When Are Dewclaws Removed? In many cases, dewclaws are removed when a newborn is between 3 and 5 days old. If the procedure is not done during that time, it is recommended to wait until the pet is at least 12 weeks old.
This rationale is still quite prevalent, despite pretty thorough debunking by experts across multiple fields. And unfortunately the corollary that you must prove that, no, you are the alpha leads to some pretty unpleasant ways of teaching and enforcing doorway protocol, among other things.
Many such methods focus on stopping the unwanted behavior, rather than teaching an alternative. So they set the dog up to start walking through the door and then get corrected for it—be it by walking into the dog, yelling and clapping, spraying the dog in the face with a squirt bottle, throwing an object at the dog, or choking, poking, or shocking with a collar. Almost nobody actually enjoys doing these things to a dog, and in dogs as in children, the use of physical punishment carries the risk of some well-documented side effects, ranging from apathy to fear to aggression.
But let’s not throw the puppy out with the bathwater. There are a lot of perfectly valid reasons to teach your dog how to behave around an open door. Especially in the urban environment, there’s endless trouble a dog can run into by darting across the threshold before you’ve had a chance to scope things out. Every dog who lives in an elevator building, for instance, ought to learn how to wait before entering the car.
Fortunately, it’s easy to teach a dog what to do instead of dashing through an open door.
Start your lessons with a door that doesn’t lead anywhere dangerous or incredibly tempting. Put your dog on leash if you need to work at an exit that goes to an unsecured or particularly fun area, but keep the leash slack—think seat belt, not reins.
Open the door just a crack, then toss a small treat your dog really loves on the floor behind the dog. Close the door and wait for the dog to eat and reorient to the door. Repeat.
If you’re working at an elevator, push the call button, walk back 10 feet, and simply start feeding the dog just as the elevator door opens. Don’t walk toward or get on the elevator; just continue to feed until the door closes, then stop abruptly when it does. Repeat.
If your dog likes the treats you’re using, he’ll quickly start to make some associations:
- The door opening predicts treats, and
- Those treats will come from my human’s hands and/or appear a few feet behind me
Anticipation will begin to change what your dog does when you open the door. In most cases, he’ll start to shift his weight back and/or look at you as the door opens.
Observe what he does that you like—whatever’s incompatible with running through the open door—and begin to mark it with a yes or click from a clicker before delivering the treat. The more specific you can be about what you mark, the faster the training will likely go.
When your dog has confidently offered this lovely behavior four or five times in a row, begin opening the door a little bit further. As the response becomes reliable at each new level, open the door incrementally wider.
If at any point the dog walks through the door, don’t click, don’t treat, and don’t head out for a walk. Simply invite the dog back inside to try again. If the dog fails once more, back up your criteria a little, use better reinforcers, or both.
When you can open the door wide enough for the dog to move through, and he chooses to plant his front feet or look at you instead, you can add a verbal cue, such as “wait.”
You don’t really need a verbal cue if you only want this behavior when you open a door—the door opening will become the cue to wait. But adding a verbal cue lets you quickly teach this behavior at other doors, doorways without actual doors, car doors, curbs, and other locations. You can even use it to stop your dog in his tracks with no doorway in sight—say, if he’s heading for a dropped item on the kitchen floor.
Pretty quickly after teaching the wait cue, teach the dog that there’s another signal that means it’s time to go through the doorway. Reinforce the behavior of moving out of position, at least initially, with a treat or play as well as access to whatever’s on the other side of the door. Putting the release on cue, if the cue is a promise of extra reinforcement for a behavior that the dog already wanted to do, makes moving out of position less likely when you haven’t given the cue.
Here’s a video of Stella, a border collie mix, a former client of mine through Animal Behavior Training Concepts, responding to “hold up” and release cues taught earlier in the same session at an interior doorway. Because the release cue is an opportunity to earn the treat, giving the release cue reinforces the wait, and the click/treat strengthens both the release behavior and the wait.
If your dog doesn’t pay attention to treats when there’s a chance to go through the door, that doesn’t mean this method won’t work for you. Reinforcement value is relative, and for Stella, when we took her “hold up” to an exterior door, the chance to go through the door trumped any food or toy we had to offer. So did we resort to punishment? No; we simply used what she told us she wanted, a win-win for dog and human.
1. Teaching your dog tricks give them something to do. A hobby so to speak. It is often more fun for a dog to learn a trick than practice obedience training, although both have similar benefits.
2. It builds a stronger relationship between you and your dog.
3. Trick training is a positive and fun thing to do and can be used to redirect a dog’s energy from destructive or harmful behaviors.
4. It teaches the dog that communication and socialization are positive and rewarding things.
Why Do it?
All dogs can learn new tricks if they are motivated and willing to work for you. The most rewarding part of learning and performing tricks for a dog is pleasing you and making you smile. If you’ve got your treats and you’ve got your dog, here’s how to teach a few iconic tricks that everyone will love!
“Spin” is a great trick because it can be used to teach your dog left and right. After teaching to spin one way, you can teach him to “reverse” and spin the other way.
Use food to lure your dog to turn in a circle, initially just turning to the side, and eventually spinning all the way around. The lure should basically be glued to your dog’s nose, rather than held out in front of him. If the lure is too far away from the dog’s nose, he will have a more difficult time completing the turn.
“ROLL OVER”
“Roll Over” is a classic, but seriously underestimated trick. Dogs don’t always like exposing their belly, so some may have trouble learning this one. Remember your treats and your positivity, and your dog will soon realize that rolling over is a fun and rewarding trick.
1. Like with the “Spin” trick, having your dog’s nose glued to a treat lure will help him succeed in learning to complete the trick. Lure your dog’s nose to his shoulder blade towards the direction you want him to roll so that he is inclined to flop onto his side. Mark this behavior with a “yes!” and treat.
2. Once your dog is used to shifting weight onto his side, continue to lure him further to expose his belly, and eventually, roll all the way over. Reward all your dog’s progress with a verbal marker and a yummy treat!
For more information, Kelli explains “Roll Over”
“STICK ‘EM UP!”
This trick requires luring , bridging , and a lot of practice for your dog. You are asking him to stand, fall, and get back up on que. This is more complex than the “Spin” trick, but it’s still a lot of fun and will get a lot of laughs
- Using a lure, get your dog to raise his front two paws off the ground so that he is “standing”.
- This trick is also sometimes called “Sit Pretty” (although here the command will be “stick ‘em up!”) and is a fun addition to playing dead.
- You will need to bridge this command with the rest of the trick you are about to teach your dog.
For more information, Kelli McCoy explains step by step how to teach your dog to “Stick ‘Em Up”
Some tips
1. Learn tricks step by step! If your dog is having trouble learning or completing the trick, try breaking it down and teaching it in smaller parts. In the training world, we call this process “bridging”. Bridging builds on each little step of the trick and makes it easier for the dog to understand once all the small steps are finally put together.
2. Your every-day basic obedience training also serves as a bridge when trying to teach your dog a new trick. For example, your dog already being familiar with the “down” command will certainly help him to easily understand “roll over”.
3. When getting your dog to try new things and learn new tricks, try using high-value treats to really motivate them to work for you. Eventually we want the reward to be our verbal praise, but your dog’s favorite food is a great way to get the learning process started. Treats can also be used to lure the dog into doing the behavior you want, and then given as a reward after the dog has completed the behavior.
4. Make sure to mark the behavior you want. In addition to high-value treats, a verbal marker like the word “yes!” or a training clicker will help your dog understand what you are wanting him to do.
5. Keep trick training positive! Learning tricks shouldn’t necessarily feel like work for you or your dog. This is a fun activity; praise and reward as much as possible!
And remember…
Often times our dogs come with funny quirks and unique personalities. It’s why we love them so much! Some of the distinctive behaviors we find in our dogs can be used as inspiration to teach them fun and silly things to do on command.
Tricks are a dog’s hobby. Learning tricks is a fun and productive thing for you and your dog to do together and should be a rewarding experience for you both. When learning new behaviors, remember that timing is everything. Reward your dog verbally or with food IMMEDIATELY after he does what you want, or he will miss the concept of performing for you.
Teach tricks to your dog as slowly and positively as possible. Enjoy yourselves!
It may come as a surprise, but dogs too can smile! The internet is full of such videos so go ahead and have a look – it’s sweetness overload, guaranteed!
People tend to think that making a doggy smile is not a real thing but, like anything in this world, it can be taught. Of course, you need a lot of patience and determination, and a pooch that listens to commands but it’s not impossible.
In fact, if you take the time to do it, it will turn into something that you could die for. A smiling dog is the loveliest thing you’ll ever see. Let’s find out a few methods about how to teach your dog to smile.
The teeth showing method
Every happy dog around will show his/her teeth on certain occasions. It’s their way of showing you they’re being excited. They do it either as a reaction to the sight of their favorite foods or even maybe their favorite chewy toy.
In these cases, they are trying to show you they love that particular thing and they most likely want you to give it to them.
How to encourage this method
1 st action: Pay attention to what exactly makes them show their teeth. Is it when you show them their perfect chewy bone? Is it when they see the leash in your hand, getting ready to take them on a walk? It can even be when you show them lemons or citrusy foods as they have the same reaction as humans – we like it, but it still makes us scrunch.
2 nd action: Whenever you see your dog showing their teeth as a reaction to something, make sure you give it to them and reward them with a delicious treat as well.They will make the connection between what they feel when they show their teeth and your behavior, encouraging them to do it more often when they feel the same way.
Also, don’t forget to say the command. It’s real training after-all! For example: show them the leash if that’s what they react to, then say ‘show me your smile’, and just after that give them the treat they enjoy. As soon as they’re done with that, put the leash on and take them out.
3 rd action: Your dog is a very smart creature. Just be persistent as well as consistent in your behavior until he/she will get the hang of it. Dogs learn by repetition, so the more often you do it, the faster you’ll get your pup to smile.
There’s one thing you must be careful about, and that is the way the teeth are being shown. Dogs could show their teeth as an act of aggression if they feel threatened. So, if teeth showing is accompanied by furious growling, nose wrinkling, body tension, and/or refusal to meet your eyes, then you must stop this method of training. It’s dangerous for you, your doggy, and other people or pets as well.
What if my dog is not showing his/her teeth at all?
First of all, everything and everybody can be taught so don’t despair. If your dog doesn’t show their teeth naturally, then you may have to demonstrate it. This will take longer than expected but again it will be totally worth it.
- To do this successfully, you must find a comfortable, happy place for your dog, and you should keep it consistent at first until your dog associates that place with the particular training you’re trying to give him/her.
- Sit next to them, and while you’re playfully petting them or rubbing their belly, show them your teeth and smile as an act of happiness and enjoyment. Then, using your hands, gently paint a smile on their faces and say your command ‘show me your smile’.
- Don’t forget to say the magical words: ‘Good girl/boy’. Dogs react very well to positive verbal reinforcements. In this case, they will know that you approve and encourage smiling when they feel happy.
Repeat the steps until you see improvements and make the treats mandatory to get faster results. As soon as you see them learning, you can slowly decrease the number of treats so that your dog doesn’t do what you want only for food.
Last tips and thoughts
Besides being a human’s best friend, dogs are highly intelligent animals that react a lot to how we behave and how we treat them. You should start training them as early as possible, so they understand that commands are rewarded if followed. Your dog just wants to make you happy so with determination, consistency, and most importantly patience from your side, they will listen to your commands and learn how to smile.
When it comes to successful training, it’s important to do it according to your pup’s attention span. Only do it for a few minutes 2 times a day at most and when your dog is the least distracted by other things. Choose to do it in consistent environments so that they associate that environment with training. This will make them focus and will guarantee results.
Also, avoid punishment or strong dominating commands. Your dog won’t react well to that, as you will give them the feeling of fear.Just make sure you use positive verbal reinforcements and commands, as well as plenty of treats or toys.
Your doggy will love your training sessions and could turn out to be a bonding time between you two. If you feel you’re getting nowhere, don’t give up. It takes time for your dog to learn the patterns of your training. Be patient and consistent, and you can be certain you’ll have your best friend smiling at you in a little while.
Ever wish your best buddy could help you celebrate with a high five? Turns out he can! Teach your dog to high five you with these high five dog training tips.
Getting your dog to give you a high five is a cute trick that makes everyone smile, and it’s also a fun way to bond with your four-legged best friend. Fortunately, this is a fairly simple trick to teach your pup. Here’s how to teach your dog to high five.
Before you begin, select a quiet spot for training sessions where your pup won’t be distracted. You’ll need a lot of treats, so pick some that are small or break soft and chewy treats up for multiple uses. Time to start high-fiving!
1. Get Fido to Sit
If your dog already sits on command, you’re off to a good start. Otherwise, you might need to spend some time teaching him to sit before moving on to the high five. To get him to sit, simply hold a treat in front of his nose and slightly out of reach until he sits down. As soon as he sits, give him the treat. After he does this a few times, start telling him to sit as you hold the treat in front of him. Keep practicing until he learns to associate the word “sit” with the action and starts doing it on command.
2. Get Him to Paw Your Hand
Once your pup is sitting up, hold a treat in your fist and hold your fist in front of his nose until he lifts a single paw and touches your fist without leaving the sitting position. Give him a treat as soon as he does this correctly, but only when he does it correctly. If he stands up, or jumps up on your fist with both paws, return to starting position and try again. Keep practicing until he does it the right way consistently.
3. Take a Break
By this point, your student might start to get bored or tired and start refusing to cooperate. If this happens at any time during the training, don’t force him to keep going. Take a break and pick it back up after your pup’s mood has improved.
4. Present Your Hand for a High Five
Once Fido is consistently tapping your fist with his paw, it’s time to present your open hand in the high-five position. Keep it there until he touches it with his paw. Be patient. It might take a while for him to make the connection and understand what you want. You might need to let him smell the treat residue on your palm or hide a small piece between your fingers in order to motivate him. As soon as he touches your hand with his paw, reward him with a treat and praise.
5. Introduce the High Five Command
Once your dog starts performing the high five action consistently, start introducing the command by saying “high five!” every time he touches your palm. Gradually phase out the treats by rewarding him instead with praise. After practicing a few times, start saying “high five!” as you present your hand, rewarding him with a treat only when he performs the action on command.
6. Keep practicing!
While this is a fairly easy trick for your dog to learn, it takes repetition and consistency for him to retain it. But with patience and practice, your doggie will be ready to show off for your friends in no time.
My very tame American Eskimo, Jersey, (who wouldn’t hurt a flea by the way) used to show his teeth. But it was only when our new little puppy, Destin — and then years later our newest puppy, Tenor — would get on his nerves.
So out of frustration, Jersey would simply bare his teeth as if to show some sort of dominance to these young pups. It was if he was saying, ‘Okay, I’ve had enough… stay away… I’m done playing.’
It was cute. But it can actually be a scary situation if you don’t know you’re dog’s own limits and how to read a dog’s body language.
That said, we ended up putting a ‘name’ to this unique behavior. And now my dog will ‘show teeth’ on command!
Here’s how to teach your dog to ‘show teeth’…
A Unique Dog Trick
I’ll be honest, if your dog doesn’t already do a similar type of behavior — that you can put a “name” to and turn into a “command” — then it will take a bit of time to teach this particular dog trick.
- Simply watch your dog’s own behavior.
- At the very moment that your dog displays some form of teeth baring (maybe a funny smile), then immediately REWARD that behavior and call it something.
- Try to encourage your dog to do it again. (He probably won’t.) Don’t force the behavior. It must happen naturally in order to make sense to your dog.
- From this point forward, any time you see your dog doing something even remotely similar to ‘showing teeth’ make sure to always call that behavior the same thing and always reward it.
That’s how to get your dog to do it on command in the future.
2 Fun Ways To Teach Your Dog To Show Teeth
#1 – If you get your dog used to teeth-brushing on a regular basis, your dog might become more accustomed to showing teeth on command — simply because it’s part of the routine. It’s pretty much a required behavior in order to get the teeth brushing done. That, and the fact that some dogs don’t like the taste of the doggie toothpaste and may make a face like this as a reaction to the strange tasting toothpaste.
#2 – If you try introducing a new dog-safe human food to your dog for the first time, you might notice your dog showing teeth or making a funny face that’s similar to showing teeth. You never know. It’s most likely to happen with really strange or bitter-tasting foods that are safe for dogs to eat — like some fruits & vegetables.
Videos Of Dogs Showing Teeth On Cue
Here are some videos of others getting their dogs to bare their teeth or ‘Show Teeth’.
If you’re wanting to teach your dog this cute dog trick, perhaps you will find some clues in these videos:
A 6-month-old Boxer dog reluctantly ‘shows teeth’ on command…
Sometimes, simply displaying a specific hand gesture causes the dog to ‘show teeth’…
Sometimes ‘show me your teeth’ is all it takes…
If your dog ‘smiles’, then reward that behavior…
The more you reward, the bigger the smile…
As with most dog tricks… a dog is never too old to learn a new trick. However, the younger your dog is when you start teaching a new trick like ‘show teeth’ or ‘smile’, the quicker they catch on and the easier it is.
Here are my best tips for teaching any dog any trick any time!
I like to help Dog Parents find unique ways to do things that will save time & money — so I write about “outside the box” Dog Tips and Dog Hacks that most wouldn’t think of. I’m a lifelong dog owner — currently have 2 mixed breed Golden Aussies that we found abandoned on the side of the road as puppies. I’ve always trained my own dogs and help friends train theirs, as well. Professionally, I worked at a vet and have several friends who are veterinarians — whom I consult with regularly. (And just because I love animals so much, I also worked at a Zoo for awhile!) I’ve been sharing my best ideas with others by blogging full-time since 1998 (the same year that Google started… and before the days of Facebook and YouTube). My daily motivation is to help first-time dog owners be better prepared from the first day your new puppy enters your home. I like to help dog owners understand what’s ‘normal’ and what you can expect in terms of living with and training your dog — how to get through the ups & downs of potty training, chewing, teaching commands, getting your dog to listen, and everything else that takes place during that hectic first year! When I’m not training, walking, grooming, or making homemade treats for my dogs, you will find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites). To date, I’ve written over 600 articles for dog owners on this site! Many of them have upwards of 200K shares.
Quick — take a picture of your dog smiling before it disappears!
Your four-legged friend looks happy, but whenever you see their little smirk, you may wonder, if dogs can actually smile for real? And if so, why do dogs smile, anyway? It surely makes you happy to see your pet with a wide grin, whether it be at snack time or during a belly scratch, but you’re not sure whether you’re imagining it or if your dog is actually happy.
Here’s the lowdown on dog smiling so you can know once and for all whether your pet is beaming at you with joy or whether their mouth just turns upward.
Why Do Dogs Smile?
There are many reasons why you might see a dog smile. Maybe you’ve just returned home from a long day of work while your dog’s been home alone. Maybe your dog hears the shake of their bag of food. Many people think their dog smiles widely when they’re in a car enjoying the feel and smell of the breeze.
But, just like humans, the reasons a dog may smile are subjective. What makes one person — or dog — smile is different from what will make another person or dog happy.
Can Dogs Smile?
For many years, animal behaviorists largely agreed that animals weren’t smiling because they were experiencing joy, but instead because of a muscular reflex. Because of this, most people also believed that dogs didn’t smile as a way of showing their emotions. That belief, however, has been challenged.
While there are new studies that indicate that some animals might be smiling to express emotion in the way that we perceive smiling, as humans, we need to adjust our mindset slightly when we question whether or not a dog’s smile is real.
For example, if you’re watching a movie and a character says something funny, you’re likely to crack a smile or laugh. Don’t expect the same from your pet. Your dog isn’t smiling because they find something humorous. Instead, they’re smiling because they are calm and relaxed and, because of that, one could venture that your pet is happy.
Similarly, some dogs will appear to smile if they are showing submission to their human counterparts. This relates to the dog being in a relaxed muscular state.
How Do I Know If My Dog Is Smiling?
Do you see the corners of your dog’s mouth lift slightly? A dog’s smile looks similar to a human’s.
The ASPCA explained, “A relaxed dog will likely have his mouth open and may be panting, with no facial or mouth tension. The corners of his mouth may be turned upward slightly.” It’s important to understand that while you may see their teeth when they smile — which is commonly a sign of aggression in dogs — the rest of their body language should indicate how the dog is feeling.
A great example of this is the submissive grin. The ASPCA noted, “This is also a gesture where a dog shows his front teeth, but a smiling dog is doing just that. He usually shows a lowered head, wagging tail, flattened ears, a soft body posture and soft, squinty eyes along with those teeth. Teeth don’t always mean aggression—it is important to consider the whole body and the context to understand what a dog is saying.””
While we might be guessing as to whether or not dogs actually smilea, we can now know for sure that being relaxed and content may lead to a smile from your pet. Pay attention to what makes your dog feel the happiest if you’re trying to make that grin appear more often.
If you have a dog, you’ve probably seen that endearing look—the relaxed face, soft eyes, and wide grin. It’s hard to believe that your dog isn’t smiling at you, but do dogs smile like we do? If so, why?
Can Dogs Really Smile?
Most behaviorists don’t really consider a dog “smiling” to be a true grin in the way we think about a human smile.
Many canine expressions can be seen as a “smile,” including wide-mouth panting, relaxing with their tongues out, and submissive grins. Even aggressive baring of the teeth can be mistaken by some as a friendly greeting.
However, most of the time when dogs smile, they are indeed happy, so it’s easy to relate that expression to human smiles.
Most scientists think the canine smile stems from a combination of evolution and the fact that dogs are masters of analyzing human behavior. They know exactly how to make us happy. Since most humans react when they see a dog smile—either by smiling back, making approving noises, or providing treats—the dog is rewarded for this behavior and does it more often.
Genetically, this behavior may come from neoteny, which means when animals become domesticated, they retain some behaviors from puppyhood in adulthood. This includes emotional greetings, jumping, tail-wagging, licking, and yes—the adorable canine smile.
Do Dogs Smile at Other Dogs?
Sometimes, we smile at other people as a social ritual just to express friendliness. Domesticated dogs will do something similar, but they go beyond facial expressions. Dogs use their entire body posture to communicate a message to other dogs, such as “I’m friendly and just want to play,” or, “This is my owner; please keep your distance,” or, “Take one step closer and I’ll let you have it!”
Just as we can tell when people are giving us a “fake” smile, dogs can tell what messages are being conveyed by reading the body language of another dog.
Do Dogs Mimic Our Smiles?
Dogs don’t really mimic our smiles, but they may be triggered to smile more when they see us smiling. Most dogs really like the happy reaction they get when they please humans and quickly learn how to trigger that happy emotion. For some dogs, that includes smiling.
The phenomenon that causes a dog to smile when we smile at them is similar to “laughter contagion.” Just as one person laughing heartily can trigger another person to start laughing, a happy person that smiles can trigger a happy dog to smile back. Vice versa, a grinning dog can trigger an oxytocin release in humans and a happy response.
It is important to remember, however, that every dog is an individual and responds to varying situations differently; what may cause the smile reaction in one animal may not trigger it in another.
Do Dogs Like When People Smile?
Most dogs love pleasing their owners and know that smiling is human body language for happiness. The majority of dogs are very good at interpreting human body language. They can tell when we are pleased, sad, or disappointed.
They also know that our happiness often means extra attention, treats, and fun time for them. Not only do they like making us happy, but they like how we treat them when we are happy!
Dogs tend to read the body language that goes along with a human’s smile. They often instinctively understand that smiling and showing teeth is not a human form of aggression (as it might be with other dogs), even if the person is a stranger.
Do Dogs Smile With Their Teeth When They Feel Guilty?
You’ve probably seen videos of a dog that’s gotten into something, and when the owner finds out, the dog responds with a “grin.” Is this a sign that the dog actually feels guilty for what they did? Probably not.
Once again, a dog’s body language is key. Not only are they showing their teeth with their lips drawn back, but they are also usually lowering their heads and squinting their eyes. Often, their ears are flattened, their tail is wagging, and their body posture looks submissive.
Grins in response to naughty behavior are not actually signs of aggression nor guilt, but rather submission. Generally, the dog is aware that you are not happy about something that they did, and they are responding to your emotions. Dogs use submissive grins to defuse aggression and reassure you that they don’t pose a threat.
How Can You Tell If Your Dog Is Happy If They Aren’t Smiling?
Not all dogs will smile, even when they’re happy. So how do you know if your dog is happy?
Look at your dog’s body language. A happy dog will have a relaxed body posture and often, a wagging tail. Their face will look soft and calm, and if they’re playing or running, you’ll often see a wide, panting smile.
Most dogs aren’t particularly subtle when they’re happy, and they will reflect your happiness, as well.
Amy Bender is a dog training expert and writer with over a decade of experience working professionally with dogs. She owns a dog training business and is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers.
Dr. Bartley Harrison is a veterinarian with more than 15 years of professional veterinary experience treating dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds, and small mammals, with a specific focus on Emergency Medicine. Dr. Harrison is part of The Spruce Pets’ veterinary review board.
You have probably seen a dog bare its teeth at one point or another. You might have thought it meant “stay away” and you were probably right. But what does it really mean when a dog bares its teeth? Do some dogs smile? If your own dog shows his teeth, is it aggression or is he smiling?
When a dog bares his teeth he is using body language to communicate. It’s important to have some understanding of dog body language so you can understand what your dog is trying to tell you.
Definition
In dogs, the term “bared teeth” simply means a dog is showing teeth. A dog bares his teeth by curling his lips back to reveal his teeth. It is a reflexive action that occurs in reaction to certain situations. Bared teeth in a dog is often a warning.
Message
In most cases, when a dog bares his teeth he is sending you a clear message to back off. Think of bared teeth as a warning: “I am going to use these teeth if you don’t stop it.” This behavior may be a precursor to more serious aggression. This type of dog body language is often accompanied by vocalizations, such as growling and snarling. You may also notice body language that indicates a dog is becoming aggressive, such as erect ears, a rigid body posture, and a tail that is held high and moving back and forth rapidly. If your dog’s warning is ignored, the behavior could progress to snapping or biting.
Dogs display aggression for a number of reasons, such as fear, feeling overwhelmed, pain or anticipated pain, overstimulation, resource guarding, and territoriality. No matter the reason a dog becomes aggressive, bared teeth are usually a sign he is being pushed past his comfort zone. If you see a dog with this type of body language, it’s best to leave this dog alone. Avoid eye contact and carefully step away from the dog.
Occasionally, a dog bares his teeth without any aggressive tendencies behind it. This is referred to as a submissive grin or a smile. It is usually accompanied by non-threatening body language such as lip licking, an averted gaze, a relaxed body posture, and ears sitting flatter against the head. The submissive grin is a type of appeasement gesture intended to calm down a situation. For some pets, the submissive grin can indicate stress and anxiety so it is important to always pay close attention no matter how long your pet has been doing it.
Many veterinarians associate averted gaze and lip licking behaviors with stress and anxiety. If you notice averted gaze or lip licking in your dog during a presumed ‘submissive grin’, attempt to remove the stimulus that causes it as we always want to avoid encouraging stress or anxiety in our pets.
In general, submissive grins are not very common but for few pets can be ‘normal.’ However, if your dog is grinning because he is stressed or afraid, he could eventually feel threatened enough to get defensively aggressive.
The Spruce Pets/ Ashley Nicole DeLeon
How to Respond
If your dog is baring his teeth at you or someone else, take a look at his other body language.If you are uncertain of the cause or it appears that the teeth are bared in an aggressive manner, you should carefully remove yourself and/or your dog from the situation. Then seek the help of a dog professionals which may include a combination of a dog trainer, behaviorist, and veterinarian to rule out a pain related/medical issue. It’s important you act quickly before your dog bites someone.
If you are unsure whether your dog is exhibiting a submissive smile or becoming aggressive when he bares his teeth, your best bet is to call in the help of a professional dog trainer or behaviorist. These experts are specially trained to detect the most subtle clues in your dog’s body language and behavior. It’s always a good idea to put safety first.
If you feel absolutely certain that your dog is simply smiling and his body language otherwise appears submissive, you probably don’t need to be alarmed. However, it is important that you keep watching your dog determine if he becomes uncomfortable or nervous in his current situation. You should also keep observing to make sure you are not misreading the signs.
Training Dogs to Smile
In dogs that truly do smile, many owners are able to train their dogs to smile on cue. This is best taught by capturing the behavior and rewarding it while attaching a cue word like “smile.” Just be absolutely certain that the dog is definitely smiling—and not showing aggression—before you teach your dog to do it on cue! Also, make sure you are not inadvertently reinforcing signs of fear or anxiety in your dog since some dogs will display this grin when they are nervous.
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When I first adopted Aspen, my Lab/Pointer mix, I wondered if I would ever again see the days of relaxing on my sofa after a long day at work, sleeping past 7:30am and feeling like my shoes/remotes/toilet paper rolls/ pens were safe from the mouth of a slobbery lab. She was full of jumping, bouncing, whining, running and any other high-energy activity you can think of. When you have a dog like this, you can burn yourself out trying to provide them with enough exercise. No matter what you do – multiple daily park trips, running, or day care – nothing seems to be enough to tire your pup out. Sound familiar? Well, the answer is that it is not all about the physical exercise…Sometimes what your dog really needs is to learn how to chill.
Producing a chill dog that will relax when you relax and play when you play is a skill. Not all dogs come hard-wired with the ability to self regulate their emotions. In particular, many dogs find it difficult to control excitement when it creeps up on them, unless they are taught to do so.
At The Peaceful Dog, we have 3 techniques for teaching dogs to chill out:
- Practice and reward low key, chilled out behavior
- Food Projects
- Adequate Exercise
Technique 1: Reinforce Low Key Behaviors
Exercise #1: Use “The Magic Carpet” to teach the behavior “Settle”
- Purchase a special training mat or blanket, your “Magic Carpet”
- You will keep this blanket in the closet when you are not training
- Take your dog for a long walk or exercise activity
- Come home and get a bowl of their food
- Take out your “Magic Carpet” and sit down on the sofa with the food in a bowl on your lap or on an end table
- Lie the blanket at your feet
- Encourage your dog to come lie down on the “Magic Carpet” by luring him on the blanket with a treat. You may want to keep your dog’s leash on the first few times you practice this exercise to prevent him from walking away or jumping around too much. The leash should give him approximately 6 feet to work with.
- When he gets his whole body on the blanket, calmly praise him and give him a treat
- Take a deep breath, relax your body and lean back into the sofa
- In the beginning, every few seconds, calmly say “Goooood Boy!” or “Niccccce Job!” and deliver a treat between your dogs paws on the mat slowly and quietly
- Make sure you are very slow and calm with all your body gestures
- Gradually increase the duration between treats from every couple of seconds to 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds etc.
- If your dog gets off the mat, ignore him and stop all treats
- When he comes back over and gets on the mat, calmly praise him and give him a cookie between his feet on the mat
Exercise #2: Capture the Calm — It’s All in What You Teach
As dog owners, we tend to spend a significant amount of time engaging in highly energetic activities with our pups. Whether our daily bonding activities include playing fetch or running through the park, we tend to feel like we need to be in constant motion when we are giving our pups attention. While these activities are, no doubt, essential to our relationship, we also need down-time together if we want a balanced dog — a dog who wants to go to the park to play fetch for a couple of hours in the afternoon and wants to spend the night curled up on the couch watching TV with you. However, we often find that the concept of down-time doesn’t come naturally to some dogs, and it is actually something that they must learn over time.
Following these easy steps below from The Peaceful Dog will help your dog learn that they can be rewarded for being calm too:
- For one week observe your dog
- Give yourself a one-week period in which you focus solely on trying to reward your dog when he/she exhibits a calm behavior voluntarily (Yes, even the most energetic dogs have their moments!). This will require that you always have easy access to treats (either in your pockets or in open containers around the house). Each time your dog lies down on his own, calmly praise him and maybe give him a slow gentle pat on the back
- Each time your dog approaches you, and sits on his own without you having to ask, smile and tell him “Good Job.” Maybe even pop him a cookie if you have one handy.
- If your dog gets excited around meal time, ignore all his usual crazy behavior, and capture and reward a few seconds of calm behavior. Some examples of calm behavior might include 4-feet-on-the-floor (instead of jumping or dancing), absence of barking, or a sit.
Exercise #3: Institute Nap Time
- Invite your dog on the sofa or into your bed
- Cuddle them and, if they enjoy petting, give them a light massage on their shoulder blades
- Take a nap or watch a movie with your dog by your side. Not across the room or on a dog bed, but next to you.
- Breath slowly, pet them with long, calm strokes.
- Believe it or not your breathing and touch and can rev a dog up or calm them down. Its all in your energy.
Video Demonstration: Coming soon
Technique 2: Food Puzzles
Food Puzzles are toys that can dispense your dog’s daily meals. Instead of letting them gulp down their food in 20 seconds, slow down the process and make it a game. Food Puzzle Toys are like crossword puzzle for dogs because they require focus, problem solving and can be quite tiring.
Some of our favorite puzzle toys at The Peaceful Dog are:
- JW Amaze A Ball: http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Puzzler-Medium/dp/B00106VC32
- Twist and Treat: https://www.premier.com/store/Products.aspx?cid=3&pid=34
- Kong: http://www.chewy.com/dog/kong-classic-dog-toy/dp/38414
If you want to learn more how to use Food Puzzles check out our video on Food Projects for Dogs: Coming soon!
Technique 3: Make sure your young dog receives Adequate Exercise
Don’t completely ditch the physical exercise as you are teaching your dog to chill. A young adult dog, basically under the age of 3, should have at least 2 one-hour outdoor play sessions a day. This often means running with you in the morning, off leash hours in Central park, a doggy play date, or a visit to the dog park. Walking casually around the neighborhood is good for bonding and enrichment but it doesn’t count as exercise. Exercise means you dog is moving quickly, panting and breathing moderate to fast. Just as window shopping along Madison Avenue doesn’t count as a trip to the gym, a walk around the neighborhood doesn’t replace a 3 mile run in Central Park.