The Nose Touch

The nose touch (also called "hand targeting") is one of the most useful basic skills you can teach a dog — it's the foundation for calling a dog back to you, redirecting attention away from something distracting, and building focus for more advanced training later. It's also genuinely easy to teach, usually within a handful of short sessions.

What you'll need

• A handful of small, soft training treats — small enough to give many in a row without your dog filling up
• A quiet space with minimal distractions to start
• 5-10 minutes, a couple of times a day

Step by step

1. Present your open palm a few inches from your dog's nose. Most dogs will naturally sniff toward a new hand near their face out of curiosity.
2. The instant their nose touches your palm, mark it with a clear word like "yes!" and immediately give a treat from your other hand.
3. Repeat 8-10 times in a row, keeping sessions short and upbeat. Most dogs pick up the pattern within the first session.
4. Add the word once they're reliably touching your palm — say "touch" right before presenting your hand, so they start associating the word with the action.
5. Increase the challenge gradually — present your hand a little farther away, to the side, or lower down, so they learn to actually move toward your hand rather than just react to it being right in front of their face.

Why this skill matters beyond the trick itself

Once reliable, a nose touch becomes a genuinely useful tool: you can use it to redirect your dog's attention away from another dog on a walk, to guide them into position without physically moving them, or as a quick check-in cue that reconnects their focus with you in a distracting environment. It's also a common building block for more advanced training, since it teaches a dog to actively move toward a target rather than just wait for a cue.