Leg weaves, a figure eight around you, step by step

How to teach a dog to weave through legs starts with you standing still in a wide stance. Lure your dog through and around one leg, and pay on the outside of that leg. Then link the second leg into a figure eight, and only after that add slow steps forward.

Should leg weaves start standing still or walking?

Standing still. Plant your feet wider than your shoulders so there is a real gap between them, and keep your knees loose. A wide stance leaves room for your dog to pass without squeezing, and it means no leg is moving while your dog is trying to work out the route.

Walking comes last. If you begin with steps, your dog has two jobs at once: find the path and dodge a swinging foot. Splitting those jobs is the whole plan for this trick.

A leg weave is one of the tricks to teach your dog that looks harder than it is. Each half is a single lured loop, and the eight is just two of them joined. If your dog has already learned to stand between your legs, that makes a handy starting point, though it is not required.

Pick a floor with some grip, and keep sessions short. A few paid loops are plenty for one sitting.

How do you lure around the first leg?

Work on one leg only. Everything else is added to this.

1. Set your feet wide and let your dog sniff a bite of cheese held in your right hand, down at nose level.
2. Draw the treat in toward the back of your right leg, so your dog steps in from behind that leg.
3. Keep the hand low and slow, and lead your dog around the front of the leg and out to the side.
4. Pay the moment your dog is on the outside of that leg, with the nose pointing away from you.
5. Take a breath, step your dog back to the start with a small hand sweep, and run it again.

Pay on the far side each round. The pay spot tells your dog where the loop ends, and a treat handed over mid-turn marks the middle of the loop as the end of it.

If your dog slips across in front of your shin and skips the loop, your hand has drifted too high or too far out. Lower it and tighten the curve.

How do you link the second leg into a figure eight?

Once the single loop runs smoothly, swap the lure hand. After your dog comes out on the outside of the right leg, pass the treat behind you to the other hand, and lead around the left leg the same way, back toward the middle.

At first, pay each half. One piece after the right leg, one after the left. When both halves run without a stall, pay once at the end of the full eight instead.

The hand signal can shrink later. Once your dog follows the lure through both legs, the hand can sit emptier and higher each round, a change we cover in the spin guide because the same fade applies there.

Add a word only when the eight is smooth. Say it just before you begin the lure, then lure, then pay.

How do you add steps forward?

Take one slow step with the leg your dog is about to go under, and let your dog loop behind it. Then step with the other leg and let your dog loop the opposite way. Each step carries one leg, so each step pairs with one pass.

Go as slowly as you can bear. A good first target is a single step and a single loop, then a pause and a payment. Strings of steps come later, once each single pass stays tucked in close to your leg.

Handlers who have watched a slalom between cones at a parking lot autocross will recognize the rhythm. Your legs are the cones, and your dog is the one doing the driving.

If your dog starts to wander off to the side, shorten the stride and bring the treat hand closer. Competition weave poles are a different sport with their own classes, so treat this as a living room trick.

Our freeze dried cheddar bites suit the walking stage because a full eight can be paid in crumbs. Each piece is a treat, not a complete diet, so a modest handful covers a session.