1. Start with Basic Commands: Before diving into selfie training, ensure your dog has a solid foundation of basic obedience commands such as sit, stay, and come. These commands form the building blocks for more advanced training and will make teaching your dog to pose for a selfie much easier.

2. Introduce the Camera: Familiarise your dog with the camera by allowing them to sniff it and become comfortable in its presence. Start by using your smartphone or a camera with a quiet shutter sound to avoid startling your dog. Associate the camera with positive experiences by rewarding your dog with treats and praise whenever they approach or interact with it.

3. Practice Holding the Pose: Teach your dog to hold a specific pose by using a hand signal or verbal cue paired with a treat. (We'll get into more detail on the actual pose later on)

4. Make it Fun: Keep training sessions short and enjoyable to prevent your dog from becoming bored or frustrated. Use high-value treats and plenty of praise to reinforce desired behaviours and motivate your dog to participate. Turn selfie training into a game by incorporating toys or playing your dog's favourite games before or after each session.

5. Be Patient and Consistent: Training your dog to take a selfie with you may take time and patience, so don't get discouraged if progress is slow. Be consistent with your training methods and practice regularly to reinforce the desired behaviour. Celebrate small successes along the way and remember that the journey of training is just as rewarding as the end result.

Now, lets get into more detail about "Holding the Pose"

Recommendations: 

1. Start off teaching this trick in front of a mirror, so that you could see what your dog was doing
2. Begin doing this trick against the wall. It will help discourage your dog from walking around you

The Training: 

1. Sit: Put your dog in the 'sit' position. Once seated, kneel in front of your dog
2. Paws off the floor: You need to lure your dogs paws off the floor. To do this, hold a treat in your left hand, and put it over your right shoulder, as soon as your dogs paws came off the floor, marked and reward your dog for that behaviour (because you have the mirror in front of you, you will easily be able to see and reward the expected behaviour). 
   Repeat this step a number of times to get your dog used to this behaviour  
3. Paws on shoulder: the goal of this step is to get your dogs paws onto your shoulder.
   So to do this, continue with the lure from step 2, but increase the height, mark and reward the second your dogs paws touch you - you want your dog to know that her paws touching you is what you want them doing. 
   As soon as your dogs paws touch my shoulders increase the reward. 
   You want your dog to know that this was a major part of the training process and what they're doing is fantastic. 
4. Relax (phase 1): This step is to get your dogs head to relax next to your head. To do this, continue the lure over into the position you want.
   Once in the correct position, mark and rewarded the behaviour
5. Relax (phase 2): Remove the lure so I had a free hand to take the photo 

The result:

With a bit of patience (and by following these steps), you can train your dog to take a selfie with you, creating lasting memories and adorable photos to share with your friends and family.

By building on your dog's existing skills and making training sessions fun and rewarding, you'll be capturing Instagram-worthy selfies with your furry companion in no time.

So grab your camera, strike a pose, and say cheese—it's time to capture the perfect selfie with your four-legged friend! Don't forget to tag us on Instagram and use the hashtag #DHPawsAndPose