Who is this trick for?

The “Rest Head” trick is very calm and simple, making it suitable for every dog to learn. Even dogs that are health-impaired or a bit older can definitely participate and rest their heads. It doesn’t matter if your dog is very large or very small. This trick looks particularly cute in photos. If you enjoy photographing your dog, this exercise gives you a fantastic new subject!

How do I start?

Begin by getting a clicker and small, easily swallowable treats. Choose a quiet room for practice. If you haven’t used the clicker during training before, start by conditioning it. Sit in front of your dog, click, and immediately give him a treat. At the beginning, use both hands – one with the clicker and one with the treats – behind your back to avoid errors in the initial setup. Always click first and then let your dog see the treat in your hand. Ultimately, your dog should understand that a click is followed by a treat as a reward. Once your dog quickly grasps this concept through repetition, you’re ready to move on.

Step 1

Now, you can start with the actual trick. Go into a low-distraction room with your dog, where you won’t be disturbed, allowing you to concentrate on practice. Put your dog in a “down” position and lead a treat with your hand in front of him onto the floor. As soon as his head touches the floor, click and give him the treat. For some dogs, it may be useful to click even for the slight lowering of the head. See what your dog offers. If your dog reliably rests his head three to four times in a row, proceed to the next step.

Step 2

Repeat the process, but leave the treat in your hand this time. Point toward the floor as before, click upon floor contact, and only then take the treat from your pocket. Ensure that you always make the same gesture so your dog associates it with the trick from the start, becoming a visual cue. For example, you could use the flat hand with the palm facing up, i.e., away from the floor. This creates a distinction from the typical “down” hand signal – simply inverted.

It’s best to also provide the treat in the correct position, i.e., with the head lowered. If your dog lifts his head after the click, you can use the reward treat to bring him back into the desired position and feed him there. This way, he learns from the beginning that it’s worth keeping his head down, as the click and treat come in this position.

Step 3

Once your dog reliably keeps his head down until he gets his treat, it’s time to actively end the behavior. Now, you can introduce your release cue. Say your release word, e.g., “Okay,” just before giving your dog the reward treat.

You can now begin to build some distance between you and your dog, gradually moving a tiny bit farther with each repetition.

Similarly, with the duration your dog holds the position, you can extend it by waiting a little longer with each click and subsequent reward. Be patient here, as it can take many repetitions for the process to work as we envision the trick.

Additionally, introducing a verbal cue makes sense when your dog rests his head. This can be a word of your choice that you want to associate with the trick, such as “Down,” “Lie,” or “Sleepy.” Say this just before presenting the hand gesture and demanding the signal.

It will take a while before you’re standing upright and giving your dog the signal, and he performs the trick. The individual learning time varies greatly from dog to dog, so practice in small steps, not for too long, and with sufficient breaks.