Cross your paws
Cross your paws is an elegant, wonderfully gentle trick: lying down, your dog lays one front paw over the other and holds it there. You always guide him with a target, never by taking hold of his paw. A great choice for an older dog, with no jumping and no twisting through his joints.
A precise move, not a physical effort
Here, each front paw is doing something different at the same moment: one moves, the other stays perfectly still just underneath. That is an unusual thing for a dog to do, and it tires his mind far more than his body. Holding the position afterwards asks for a little more self-control: staying crossed means staying settled.
What you need before you start.
0 / 5How to teach him to cross his paws
Start with his easy side, most dogs have one: in these examples, the right paw goes over the left, so swap everything round if the other paw comes more naturally to yours.
Get him to tap the target with his right paw
With your dog lying down and relaxed, hold the target just in front of his right front paw. If he already knows "give a paw", ask for it, but offer your flat hand low, resting on the floor in front of his right paw, not held up as usual: if you hold your hand up in the air, he lifts the paw upwards and will not be able to cross it. Never close your fingers around his paw. If he knows how to tap an object instead, put a piece of sticky tape in the same place, on the floor; if he knows a word for it ("touch"), you can say it, otherwise let him tap of his own accord. The moment he touches the target with that paw, mark it with a "yes!" and give the treat on the floor, between his two front paws.
Move the target towards the other paw
Shift the target a few centimetres towards the left front paw, which is still resting on the floor, in tiny stages. His right paw has to go over the left one to reach it: mark exactly at the moment of the cross. Only widen the gap after three or four clean crosses in a row. If he lifts the paw and puts it back down in the same place without going across, or if he sits up to follow the target, you have gone too far in one go: drop back a stage and reduce the gap.
Fade the target, then add the word
Reduce your help over several repetitions, without saying any word at first. With the flat hand: guide the paw less and less, and offer your hand for shorter and shorter, until a small horizontal movement of your hand, held low in front of him and in the direction the paw needs to travel, is enough to trigger the cross. With the sticky tape: slide it under the still left paw, cut it down to a tiny scrap, then take it away, so that he crosses on that same small hand movement. Once he crosses reliably on that little remaining gesture, and only then, add the word "cross", said once, just before the gesture. Never fade the help and add the word on the same try.
Teach him to hold it
Reward him in position, on the floor: two seconds first, then five, then ten, with a clear release ("ok!"). Only stretch the time out once he has held several successful reps at the current stage. If he uncrosses before your release, do not mark it: go back to a shorter time, one he was already holding, and build up more gently. It is the held cross that gives the trick all its class.
Move on to the other paw
Once this side is smooth, on the word and held nicely, run through the whole method again in mirror image for the left paw over the right. It is often much quicker the second time round: he has grasped the idea, all he is discovering is the new direction.
This is a trick worth favouring for an older or arthritic dog, meaning one whose joints are worn and painful: a precise move with a single paw, no jumping and no twisting, asking for plenty of concentration without tiring the body, an observation trainers make often. A small bonus: asked of a dog who is already lying down, the held cross often stretches out his quiet moment.
Going further
Frequently asked questions
How do I teach my dog to cross his paws?
Teach it with a target, never by taking hold of his paw. With your dog lying down, hold the target (an object to tap, or your flat hand if he already knows "give a paw") just in front of one front paw, then move it a few centimetres towards the other paw so that it has to go over the top. Mark the cross with a "yes!", fade the target and add the word "cross". Finish by building up the duration: he holds the cross for two seconds, then five, then ten.
Is the paw cross a good trick for a senior dog?
Yes, and it is particularly well suited: a precise move with a single paw, no jumping and no twisting, plus some real mental work, exactly what an older or arthritic dog needs. Work on a rug to spare his elbows. And if he always refuses to cross on one side while the other comes easily, have your vet check him: it can be a sign of discomfort.
How do I teach this trick to get a lovely photo?
What makes a lovely photo is the held cross, with a slightly tilted head or his chin resting on his paws on top of that. Ask for the cross once your dog is properly settled and calm, then reward him gently, with no sudden movement that would make him shift. That stillness is what gives the portrait all its charm.
Do I need a clicker to teach this trick?
No, no gadget is needed. A simple short marker word ("yes!"), said at the exact moment the paw goes over the other one, does the job perfectly and leaves your hands free to guide and to give the treat.
How long does it take a dog to learn to cross his paws?
It depends on the dog and on how often you train, there is no guaranteed timescale. The rule that works: very short sessions, one difficulty raised at a time, and you only move on to the next step once the previous one is smooth. Three good minutes beat twenty laboured ones.
My dog gets up instead of crossing, what should I do?
It is almost always the target moved too far, too fast: he crawls or gets up to reach it instead of crossing. Drop back a stage, move in centimetres, and check that he is starting from a nicely relaxed down, hips rolled to one side, not a tense down ready to spring up.
Updated on
Read nextNext in this pathTeaching "shake it off" and head nodsReadLoading your progress…