Didn’t you know? Dogs smile, too!
Of course, their smiling has a lot of different meanings, from growling and showing teeth to panting and looking like they’re smiling.
Every dog owner will eventually try to teach his dog some fun tricks. One of the first tricks, other than our basic obedience training I taught my GSD, Milo, was to shake and smile.
Trust me… it was much harder to teach him to smile than anything else.
You see, German Shepherds are big and tough, and my Milo always looks like he’s frowning for some reason. But, I know he’s a good boi and I knew he had it inside him.
It took only a couple of tricks to teach him to smile, and I’m sharing them with you.
I hope your dog will show those pearly whites on command, too!
Before We Start…
I’d like to remind you of a couple of things that are crucial for every successful training lesson. It doesn’t matter if you’re teaching a dog to sit or to shake, these things apply to all lessons.
Here’s what you must always keep in mind:
- Keep the lessons short (approx. 10 minutes) so your dog doesn’t lose its focus
- Make sure he’s not hungry, thirsty, too energetic, or too tired for the lesson
- Train him somewhere where he won’t get distracted easily
- Give praises and treats after every well-done task
- Buy a clicker tool
Now, we can go ahead and start with the tricks.
Step #1: Introducing The Clicker
Since your dog has no idea what that clicking sound means, this is the ideal opportunity to associate that sound with something positive. In this case, you should reward your dog with treats every time he hears the clicker’s sound.
The key to success is repetition, so repeat the clicking and giving of the treats for as much as you want.
Your dog should figure out what’s going on in no time. Once he hears the clicking sound, your Fido should raise his head and wait for a treat.
Milo mastered this step pretty fast and we’ve been using the clicker for almost every lesson.
Step #2: Making Him Smile
The next thing you must do is actually stimulate your dog to smile.
No, dogs won’t understand your jokes and they won’t smile just because they saw you.
There’s a nifty little trick to make a dog raise his lips and appear like he’s smiling.
What you should do is lightly tickle your dog’s whiskers. The reflex in his body should raise that upper lip immediately. This is where you click the clicker and offer him a treat.
Once again, repetition is the key, so make sure you guys practice enough. The sign you’re doing a good job is when your dog starts lifting his lips on his own, just to get the treats.
Remember: only click and reward when your dog actually lifts his lip. Otherwise, you might confuse him or reward him accidentally for something he wasn’t supposed to do, i.e., sneeze.
Step #3: Introducing The Verbal Command
The whole point of teaching your German Shepherd to smile is to react to verbal commands. You haven’t really done much with touching the whiskers and rewarding your dog. Your GSD still doesn’t get what you’re aiming for.
First, pick your cue. It can be just smile or cheese, or you can add your dog’s name along with it. This is the time when you cut the tickling time in half. So, if you were tickling him for four seconds, do it for two now. Repeat as needed.
Say your cue word, start tickling his whiskers, and once he raises his upper lip, click the clicker and reward your dog. Do this a couple of times so your dog gets used to the cue word.
The next part is crucial. This is where you stop tickling your dog’s whiskers. You will do all the same steps, but you’ll reach for his whiskers, but not tickle them. Your dog should catch on quickly as to what you’re doing.
After a while, you can stop reaching for his whiskers and just use the cue word, the clicker, and, of course, his reward.
There you have it! A lot of repetition, persistence, and listening to your dog will help him master this trick! Next time you’re in the park, you can show everyone those little pearly whites!
If you need more help, I found a really cool video explaining this command. Videos always help me visualize things better, and I bet it’s the same thing with you, too.