How to teach
your dog the
royal wave!

We’re all familiar with the iconic royal wave and most of us have probably attempted it ourselves. But has your dog ever tried?

Well now they can! Our pawsome Expert Dog Coaches have put together their guide on how to teach your dog this fun pawty trick, guaranteed to impress all their friends.

It’s important to make sure your dog is comfortable with the commands ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ before you begin to teach them a royal wave.

Knowing ‘shake’ or ‘high five’ may also be helpful but it doesn’t matter if your dog hasn’t mastered these tricks just yet.

Have some high value treats ready to reward your dog!

Begin with your dog sitting in front of you, hold out your hand in front of your dog and ask for ‘paw’.

When your dog gives you their paw, mark the behaviour immediately with a ‘yes’ or ‘good!’

Repeat this step several times.

Once your dog is comfortable with step 1, begin to move your hand up slightly so that your dog has to lift their paw to reach you. When your dog does this make sure to mark the action with your ‘yes’ or ‘good’ cues plus some high value treats!

Repeat this step several times, each time gradually moving your hand higher and higher, until eventually your dog is comfortable raising their paw above their head.

You can then start to use your hand less and less by removing it quickly so that your dog is swiping the air.

After repeating step 2 several times, your dog should start to learn to connect the two together; the appearance of your hand means it’s time to swipe the air.

Once you are confident your dog is beginning to understand this, you can add in your ‘royal wave’ verbal cue. This could also be called ‘say hello’ or ‘wave’.

Keep repeating step 3 and begin to slowly change the appearance of your hand from an outstretched hand to a waving cue. You can even do the royal wave yourself!

Once you’ve continued this step a few times marking the behaviour with with ‘yes’ or ‘good’ and high value treats you’ll soon be able to wave at your dog and ask them to ‘wave’ back at you!

Remember to keep training sessions short and always end on a positive note!

All dogs learn differently and at different speeds so be patient and your dog will soon be showing off their royal wave party trick in no time.

Make sure to share your results with us, we can’t wait to see all those royal waves in action for the Coronation weekend!