Bow, caught from a stretch or lured from a stand

How to teach a dog to bow can begin with a stretch your dog already offers. Mark the moment the elbows dip while the rear stays up, and pay at the mouth. If stretches are rare, lure one from a stand: the treat travels from the nose down toward the chest, and you pay while the rear is up.

Can you teach a bow by catching a stretch?

Yes, if your dog stretches where you can see it. Keep a few pieces within reach of the spot where your dog naps: a closed jar on a shelf, or a pouch on a hook. Then the next stretch finds you ready instead of empty-handed.

The picture to wait for is the front half going low, elbows bent, with the rear end still up. Say your marker word the instant the elbows dip, then bring the piece to the mouth. A stretch can be over in a blink, so the mark has to be quick. The treat can arrive a moment later.

Capturing has no schedule, and that is the whole charm of it. You are not asking for anything. You are paying for something your dog already did, so the jar stays on the shelf and you stay alert. Once you catch stretches often, say the word just as your dog starts to lower, so the word and the shape get introduced to each other.

How do you lure a bow from a stand?

Bow is one of the tricks a standing dog can learn, so the setup is plain: a standing dog, one small piece, and slow hands. Use a rug or grass so the paws do not slide.

1. Start with your dog standing and the piece held at the nose.
2. Drop your hand toward the floor and drift it back a little, under the chest, slowly enough that the nose stays with it.
3. The moment the elbows bend and the rear is still up, mark.
4. Pay at the mouth while the front end is still low.
5. Take a step away so the next round starts from a stand again.

The hand does less than you might expect. A small, smooth travel beats a big sweep, and a hand that stops moving once the elbows dip makes the payment point easy to read.

What if your dog lies all the way down?

Something went too far or came too late. Either the lure traveled past the point where the elbows dip, or the pay arrived after the rear had already started to fold. In a down the rear lands too, which is a different trick, and the lay down guide covers it.

Three changes help. Pay sooner. Move the hand less. And start from a slow walk, so your dog is already going forward when the hand dips.

Keep your hands to the lure only. Never slide a hand or an arm under the belly, and never touch your dog into the shape. If the bow only happens when you help, it is not yet your dog's trick.

The cheddar bites handle the paying part, as long as dairy suits your dog. They are a reward to hand out, not a complete diet, by our listing's own description.

When do you add the word and a bow of your own?

Word first, signal second. Say "bow" before the hand moves, then lower the hand as before. Over many rounds, watch for the front end starting down on the word, before the hand has traveled far. That is the cue to shrink the hand's part.

Some handlers add a bow of their own as the hand signal: a small dip forward with one arm across the middle. It suits a trick taught for fun, and it is easy to see from across a room. A bow also makes a tidy ending to a spin, so the spin lesson pairs well with it.

Give bow a word of its own, one that sounds nothing like the cues your dog already knows.