How to Train Your Dog to Sneeze

Oscar is a mischievous dog. You thought your young son was a menace enough, but your dog seems to have set a new bar. As soon as you’re sitting in the living room, you can hear him jumping up on the kitchen surfaces in search of food. When you take him out for a walk, he runs off at the first opportunity and refuses to return. All of this has meant you’d like to teach Oscar some obedience. But you know he isn't the best listener, so you want to teach him some easy, fun commands. This is a good way to keep things light-hearted and instill some discipline.

So one of the tricks you’d like to teach your dog is to sneeze. There’s nothing funnier than seeing a dog sneeze. Even the grumpy in-laws will crack a smile when they see your canine pal sneeze on command. It’s also a good way to channel his energy into something productive, ensuring he spends the evenings napping, affording you some much-needed peace and quiet.

Training your dog to sneeze probably isn’t as difficult as you might think. The trick is looking for situations in which he naturally sneezes. Once you have one of those, you just need to use positive reinforcements to cement the behavior. Alternatively, as you will see below, there are some measures you can take to encourage a sneeze. You can then introduce a verbal cue.

If your dog is a puppy, he should quickly get the hang of it. This is because puppies soak up information readily and are eager to please. But if Oscar is older and stubborn, then you may have your work cut out for you. It could be a week or two before he gets the hang of it. Stick with training and you’ll have the perfect party trick to show friends and family. You may also find that teaching him other tricks becomes easier too.

Before training can begin, you need to check that you have a few essentials. Make sure you have a generous supply of mouth-watering treats or break his favorite food into small chunks. You’ll also need a clicker and a toy for one of the techniques. In addition, a feather or a Kleenex will be required.

You’ll need some space to practice in. A quiet room or a yard often does the trick. Set aside around ten minutes each day for training at a time when neither of you will be distracted. Bear in mind, if you have a puppy, you should keep training sessions short or he'll quickly get bored.