How to Train Your Small Dog to Shake His Head

Make sure that your dog is calm and attentive. Ask him to sit in front of you and make eye contact. If he's a really little guy, you might want to consider getting down on your knees or sitting cross-legged in front of him for better eye contact and focus.

Place his special treat in your hand and make a closed fist around it. Make sure your dog sees this - now you'll really have his attention!

Slowly move your fist from left to right. Because your pup is small, this movement should be slightly less exaggerated than you might do for a bigger dog. Your dog should follow the movement with his head, from side to side. When he does, reward him with the treat. Make sure he follows your fist with his whole head and not just his eyes!

Repeat until he is consistently performing the side-to-side head movement, following your fist.

Now try the side-to-side motion again without the treat in your fist. If your dog follows the motion correctly, treat him immediately from your other hand. If he does not make the connection, you may need to take a step back and repeat the signal with his treat in-hand. Be patient! This step represents the biggest leap in logic - it might take practice for your dog to "get" what you're asking of him.

Practice this step multiple times, being sure to treat immediately when your dog correctly shakes his head. Try slowly minimizing your hand signal to the point where you move your fist just slightly from side to side, or with your index finger raised in an 'uh-uh' gesture. This will make the trick appear altogether more seamless.

Your hand signal can now be preceded by a 'yes' or 'no' question, which Fido will answer in the negative.

Clicker training is a way to let your dog know that he has performed a desired behavior and is going to be rewarded for it. If he is used to clicker-training, he can quickly come to associate an action with what you want him to do.

With clicker in hand, ask your dog to sit and make sure that he is attentive. If he is very small, you might want to get down on your knees or sit in front of him so he can better see your hands and make eye contact with you.

Holding the clicker in one hand, wrap your other hand in a fist around your dog's favorite treat. Make sure he sees you do this.

Move your fist from side to side in a slightly exaggerated movement (only as far as it takes for your small dog to convincingly shake his head - less exaggerated than you would do for a larger dog). When your dog follows your fist with his head, immediately click the clicker to inform him that he's done what you wanted. Be sure to give him the treat after you've clicked.

Repeat this step until your dog is consistently shaking his head in response to the movement of your fist.

Try the side-to-side motion again without the treat in your fist. Be sure to acknowledge correct behavior when your dog does it by immediately clicking the clicker and treating from your other hand. Be patient if your dog does not progress to this step right away - you might have to go back to using the treat in your fist.

Try slowly reducing your hand signal to the point where you move your fist only slightly from side to side, or with your index finger raised in an 'uh-uh' gesture. This will make the final trick look more natural. Continue to click when your dog performs the head shake correctly, and follow with a treat. Remember, to your dog, the click means good behavior, which equals a treat.

Precede your hand signal with a 'yes' or 'no' question. You should be able to ask your dog to perform the behavior now without the clicker, but be sure to praise him when he gets it right and to treat intermittently to encourage him to want to continue performing his new trick.

Ask your dog to sit and make sure that he is making eye contact with you. With small dogs, you may want to sit rather than stand, to be on his level. When your dog is fully attentive, start your training.

Have your dog watch as you close your fist around his favorite kind of treat.

Move your fist from left to right slowly while also giving a short verbal command, such as "say no way." Be sure to be consistent in the words and tone that you use from here on out. Reward your dog with the treat when he correctly follows the movement of your fist with his head.

Repeat this step until your dog is regularly following your fist with his whole head (not just his eyes) - you want to move your fist from side-to-side the distance that will cause him to appear to be shaking his head 'no.' Be sure to give the same verbal command before every gesture with your fist.

Give your command and move your fist from left to right without the treat enclosed in your fist. Your dog should follow it anyway - if he does, give him a treat from your other hand; if not, you may have to practice more with the treat in-fist.

Once your dog is consistently shaking his head, try minimizing and then completely removing the hand-signal, so that he responds to your verbal command alone. Be sure to treat intermittently when he performs the behavior correctly to keep him interested.

Finally, you can ask a 'yes' or 'no' question before giving the verbal command. Fido says, 'no way!'