Teach Your Dog High Five: Step-by-Step in 3 Steps

High five is an eye-catcher that builds on paw. Instead of holding your hand horizontally, you show your palm vertically. Your dog lifts the paw and taps against it. The trick looks spectacular but is easy to train because your dog already knows the basic movement.

In the Hundeo app, this trick is called "High Five." Your dog learned during paw training to lift the paw deliberately and press it against your hand. High five uses exactly this movement. You only change your hand position: from horizontal (paw) to vertical (high five). For your dog the difference is small, but for onlookers it looks like a completely new trick.

The 3 Steps

Step 1: Transition from paw to high five. Have your dog sit and give the paw command. As soon as he lifts the paw, slowly rotate your hand from the horizontal to the vertical position. Your palm now faces the dog. When the paw touches your palm, mark immediately and reward. 10 to 15 repetitions. Pause briefly between rounds so he does not just power through.

Step 2: Offer the vertical hand directly. Now hold your hand vertical from the start, palm facing forward. No paw command beforehand. Wait until your dog lifts the paw and taps against it. The treat comes from the other hand. This way he links the movement with the new hand position, not with visible food. If this works in 9 out of 10 attempts, you are ready for step 3.

Step 3: Introduce the command and solidify. Say "High Five," hold the hand up, mark the hit. In this phase, always say the cue word before the gesture so he links the word with the action. Then practice in different locations: kitchen, hallway, garden, park. Only when the exercise works everywhere is the trick truly learned.

Common Problems and Solutions

Dog scratches instead of tapping. Some dogs strike hard or scratch at the hand. Only reward gentle touches. If he gets too wild, briefly remove the hand and wait a moment. He learns: calm tapping brings the treat, scratching does not.

Dog offers paw instead of high five. He falls back into the old pattern and places the paw on your hand instead of tapping against it. This happens when the transition was too fast. Go back to step 1 and rotate the hand more slowly.

Only works with one paw. Most dogs have a preferred side. You can train both sides separately, but then you need two different commands or hand signals. For starters, one side is enough.

Variations for Advanced Trainers

Once high five is solid, you can expand the trick:

Double high five: Hold both hands up at the same time. Your dog jumps slightly and taps both paws against them. Only for dogs that already stay securely in sit and have no joint issues.

High five while standing: Instead of from a sit, your dog can also perform the trick while standing. Hold the palm slightly higher so he has to stretch.

High five is one of many tricks that build on the basic commands. In our dog tricks overview you will find more ideas for trick training.

The exercises in this article are an excerpt from the Hundeo course "Tricks." With Hundeo Pro you will find all tricks as video tutorials in multiple difficulty levels, plus training tracking and personal help from real trainers if you run into problems.