Peekaboo

Your dog stands between your legs facing forward and stays there — a photogenic trick that also gives your dog a safe spot to be in a crowd.

🐾🐾 · ~7 days · 5 min/session

Step-by-step

1. Make a tunnel with your legs

   Stand with your feet wide so the gap between your legs is wider than your dog. Drop a treat on the floor between your feet and let them walk in and out as often as they like. Don’t say anything yet — at this stage the goal is simply for the spot to feel good.

   💡 Don’t lean over your dog or squeeze your legs around them. They must be able to leave whenever they want — otherwise the position turns into a trap.

2. Lure them through from behind

   Stand with your back to your dog and reach a treat back between your legs to their nose. Lead slowly forward until their head appears at the front between your knees, and give the treat right there. This is where it differs from a recall — the dog doesn’t stop in front of you, they carry on between your legs.

3. Hold the position

   With their head between your knees, feed three or four treats in a row, about a second apart. Each piece says “stay here” without needing a word. Gradually stretch the pause between them to three or four seconds.

   💡 Deliver the treat at the front, between your knees, never off to one side. Feed sideways and the dog steps out that way, and the position falls apart.

4. Add the cue “Peekaboo”

   Once your dog walks in confidently, say “Peekaboo” right before you reach your hand back. After a few days, wait a second after the word — most dogs will go in on their own. If they don’t, help with the familiar hand motion and don’t repeat the cue.

5. Fade the treat and add distance

   Make the same motion with an empty hand and reward from your pocket once the dog is already in place. Then cue “Peekaboo” when they are two or three steps away and wait for them to come and slot in by themselves. Finally try it on a walk or in a crowd — that is where the position earns its keep.

Common mistakes

• Squeezing your legs around the dog or holding the collar — the position becomes something forced and the dog starts avoiding it.
• A treat handed in from the side — the dog steps out that way instead of staying with their head forward between your knees.
• Leaning over the dog as they pass — most dogs read a hunched body as a barrier and stop.
• Adding the cue before the entry is reliable — the word gets attached to the hesitation instead of the confident step.

Problems & solutions

My dog is scared to walk under me.

Widen your stance and try it first sitting on a chair — the gap under a chair feels far less intimidating. Toss treats through it without asking them to stay; passing through is enough. With a timid dog this can take a week, but never pull or lift them into position.

My dog walks in and comes straight back out.

There is no reason to stay, because the reward comes too late. Feed one piece a second the moment their head appears at the front, then thin it out. Three seconds of hold is a good first target.

My dog ends up standing crossways between my legs.

Lead the treat in a straight line forward, not up or off to one side, and keep it at nose height. If they keep angling, train in a narrow hallway — the walls straighten the body for you.

Reward ideas

Small soft treats delivered at the front between your knees while the dog stays put. For duration, a run of several small pieces works better than one big treat at the end.