A nose touch is the action of asking your dog to touch or press their nose onto a specific spot or target, such as your hand. A nose touch can be a useful behaviour for your dog in lots of different situations.
For example, a nose touch can be a calm, polite way for your dog to greet people and will stop your dog jumping up. A nose touch can also give your dog a focus to come back to when you recall them.
You can also teach your dog a nose touch as the start of teaching them to press buttons, or to shut cupboard doors for example.
What is Shaping?
With shaping, you don’t teach the final behavior but rather break it down into smaller steps that build toward it.