Introduction
Cute tricks, plus cute dogs, equals lots of fun for owners and their pets, and plenty of entertainment for friends and family. Teaching your dog to hide his face with his paws or against a piece of furniture is not only cute and fun, but training your dog any trick is a great relationship and obedience-building exercise for both of you. Besides, how talented will your pup look when you have a big party and can set up a scenario where your dog, “makes a mistake,” and then hides his face from embarrassment. Your dog won't really be embarrassed, of course, but he will get lots of attention for his adorable behavior, and besides getting his reward for performing this trick, he will enjoy the adoration of his fans!
Defining Tasks
You can teach your dog to cover his face with his paws, or hide his face against an obstacle, also called “playing shy”, or “peek a boo”, as a fun trick to entertain guests. It is usually not terribly difficult to teach your dog this trick, as it is not difficult for him physically, and many dogs put their paws up to their face naturally to rub eyes or remove debris, so capturing this behavior, adding a command, and reinforcing, and rewarding it can be achieved in a matter of a few weeks. Even a fairly young dog can be trained to perform this trick. You can add a command, such as “Are you shy?”, “Peek a boo”, or “How Embarrassing”, to get your dog to hide his face at an appropriate time, such as when he has made an innocent mistake, or when greeting people, to produce an adorable effect and get a good laugh from your friends. Your dog will have fun with the attention, get a reward, and endear himself to others.
Getting Started
To teach your dog to hide his face you will need lots of treats to reward him for approximations of the behavior, and eventual success. Remember this is a fun trick and learning it should be fun too, after all, it is not a matter of life or death! Do not use negative reinforcement, ignore failed attempts, keep training sessions short at about 5 to 10 minutes, so you and your dog do not become bored or frustrated. If you are using clicker training, you will need a clicker. Masking tape can also be useful to encourage your dog to bring his paws up to his nose.