Shy (the “shame” trick)
Your dog feels no shame, he is calming you down
Let's be clear from the start: your dog feels no shame at all. That famous “guilty look” you think you can read is not a confession: it is his way of defusing things the moment he senses a change in your voice or your posture. Two studies checked this by filming dogs wrongly accused of a misdeed they had not committed: told off anyway, they pulled exactly the same hangdog face as the genuine culprits (Horowitz, 2009; Hecht, Miklósi & Gácsi, 2012). The name of the trick is a joke between humans, not an emotion your dog has.
So what is it actually for? Nothing practical, and that is entirely the point. Its value lies elsewhere: short sessions in which you gently touch his muzzle, always paid for with a treat and never forced on him, get him used to being handled on a sensitive area. That does him a favour later on (we come back to it at the end of this guide). And for you, it is a genuine exercise in observation: pitching this small gesture just right means learning to watch your dog closely.
Sticky note or not: the two ways to do it
The classic method goes through a tiny bit of discomfort: a sticky note on the muzzle that your dog learns to make disappear. Honestly, that is its only downside: the benchmark in training remains learning through reward alone, without the slightest discomfort (the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, AVSAB, 2021). Kept small and removed session after session, this micro-discomfort stays gentle. But if your dog has a sensitive muzzle, or if he is a puppy, go for the no sticky note route instead. Here are the two options:
The sticky note (the classic route)
- Your dog lets you place a finger on his muzzle, relaxed, without ducking away.
- You are ready to stop at the first sign of unease (head shaking, frantic scratching, ducking away: the full list is further down).
- It is the quicker route: a few sessions are enough.
- You follow it by reading the “The sticky note” section just below.
The no sticky note route
- Your dog is sensitive around the muzzle, or he is a puppy.
- You would rather have zero discomfort, even if it takes longer.
- Same end result: the trick is every bit as good.
- If you have chosen this route, skip the sticky note steps and go straight to the “The no sticky note route” box, further down.
Before you start, run this test: briefly touch his muzzle with a fingertip, as if you were flicking off a speck of dust. If he backs off or turns his head away, build that tolerance first: for several days in a row, touch his muzzle for one second and give a treat straight away, asking nothing else of him. Once he no longer moves at that contact, you can start the trick below.
The sticky note
Very short sessions: three to five sticks at most, once or twice a day, then you move on to something else and finish on a success.
Prepare the note and test it on your hand
Cut a piece of sticky note or masking tape: big enough that your dog cannot swallow it in one go (about the size of a postage stamp), and fold one corner over so it only half sticks. Stick it on the back of your hand and peel it off once: if it comes away effortlessly and leaves no mark, it is barely tacky enough for your dog's muzzle. Never play this game while your dog is alone, and always keep an eye on that piece of paper.
Come to the muzzle without holding it, and stick
With your dog sitting or standing in front of you, get down to his level (crouched or kneeling). Hold the note between two fingers of one hand, your treats in the other. Bring the piece slowly towards the middle of his muzzle, on top, well away from the eyes and the nostrils, and place it without ever holding or blocking his head. If he backs off, do not push: slow down, or go back to the tolerance test first (touch the muzzle plus a treat) before trying again. You stick it on a dog who stays put of his own accord, never on a head that is being held.
Mark the paw as it comes up
Most dogs lift a paw straight away to get the paper off: mark with “yes!” exactly as the paw touches the muzzle, take the note off yourself, then reward. If your dog stays still or tries to grab it with his mouth, take it off yourself without marking anything, and try again next time with an even less tacky piece. Two safety reflexes, at all times: if the paper comes loose in his mouth, take it out at once and check he has not swallowed it; if the note slips towards an eye or a nostril, take it off immediately, without waiting.
Reward the movement, never the result
What you are rewarding is the paw moving to the muzzle, not the fact that the note has ended up on the floor. A dog who only learns to knock an object off will stop doing the trick as soon as there is nothing left to remove.
Shrink the note session after session
The shrinking happens from one session to the next, never inside a single session: one change at a time. When your dog is clearly getting it (the paw comes up without hesitation on several sticks in a row), cut a slightly smaller piece for the next session: the nuisance shrinks, the movement stays the same. Always stay above the size he could swallow. If he hesitates two sessions in a row, go back to the previous size.
Mime the stick with no paper at all
Once you have several successful sessions in a row with a tiny piece, drop the sticky note altogether: reproduce the same finger touch on the muzzle, in the exact spot where the paper used to be. With repetition, your dog lifts his paw at the mere touch of the finger. Mark, and give several treats at once the first few times, to underline the change. If the paw stops coming up once the paper is gone completely, put a tiny piece back for that session, and take the shrinking more slowly in the next one.
Add the cue “are you shy?”
Once the paw comes up reliably at the mere touch of a finger, several sessions running, add the word: say “are you shy?” once, just before touching the muzzle with your finger. Then reduce that touch to a smaller and smaller gesture, until a finger simply pointing at the muzzle is enough. If the paw does not come up on the word alone, drop back a notch: go back to the finger touch for a few more sessions before trying again.
Hold the pose, that is where the charm is
Once your dog responds to the cue on its own, you can polish it: delay your “yes!” slightly, let the paw rest for one second, then two, before you mark. It is that moment, muzzle tucked under the paw, that makes the whole trick. If the paw comes back down before you mark, mark anyway, even for a split second: you will stretch the duration bit by bit in later sessions.
Bonus: “hide” under the cushion
Careful, this is not a third way of getting “shame”: the movement is different. Here your dog does not bring his paw to his muzzle, he buries his whole muzzle under a cushion. It is a separate little trick, just as sweet, that you can add to your routine. Use a light, soft cushion; never put anything on his head yourself, he is always the one who burrows in. And if your dog has a short, flat nose (bulldog, pug), or if the weather is warm, keep this game very brief: he breathes less easily with his muzzle covered.
Just a light cushion on the floor and a treat, in short sessions.
Slide a treat under the cushion
Put a cushion on the floor and hide a treat underneath, in full view of your dog as you slide it in. Mark the moment his muzzle burrows under to look for it, and slip your hand under the edge of the cushion to give him a second treat, without him having to pull his head back out.
Take the treat away
Same cushion, but empty this time: mark as soon as he buries his muzzle under it of his own accord, the way he did when looking for the treat. Once he has repeated that a few times, add the word “hide” just before he does it. If he does not start again on his own once the treat is gone, put one back for two or three more sessions before taking it away again.
Respect his choice
You never put the cushion on the dog yourself, he is the one who comes and burrows under it. A dog who dislikes having his head covered has every right to say no: in that case, move on to something else and stick with the sticky note version.
What breaks the trick
At the first sign of skin irritation (redness, scratching that carries on after the session), switch to the no sticky note route for good. And if your dog shakes his head a lot or scratches his ears outside the game, that may be real discomfort: stop the trick and have him checked by your vet.
What this trick prepares: care around the head
This purely charming trick leaves you a quiet gift: your dog has learned that hands coming towards his head mean something pleasant, never a constraint. That is exactly what prepares him for care where the dog takes part instead of putting up with it: checking his mouth, his ears or his teeth simply becomes easier. You have laid a first brick without even thinking about it.
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) — Position Statement on Humane Dog Training (2021)
- Horowitz, A. — Disambiguating the “guilty look”: salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour (2009)
- Hecht, J., Miklósi, Á. & Gácsi, M. — Behavioral assessment and owner perceptions of behaviors associated with guilt in dogs (2012)
Going further
Frequently asked questions
How do you teach a dog the shy or “shame” trick?
Stick a tiny, barely tacky piece of sticky note in the middle of his muzzle, well away from the eyes. As soon as he lifts a paw to remove it, mark the movement with a “yes!”, take the note off yourself and reward straight away. Then shrink the piece of paper session after session, until the word alone is enough.
My dog already puts a paw on his muzzle, how do I turn that into a trick?
Keep treats on you, and watch for the moment he does it of his own accord (on waking, while scratching): mark with a “yes!” during the movement, then reward. After a few repetitions he does it more often; you can then add the words “are you shy?” just before he does it.
Can you teach this trick without a sticky note?
Yes, and it is even the route we recommend for a dog with a sensitive muzzle or for a puppy. Two ways to do it: you wait for him to rub his muzzle on his own and you mark that moment, or, if he already knows “give a paw”, you reward the paw coming higher and higher towards his muzzle. It takes longer, but with not the slightest discomfort.
Is the “shame” trick bad for the dog?
No, as long as you keep it small. Your dog feels no shame, it is a joke between humans. The only downside is the tiny discomfort of the note: barely tacky paper, never near the eyes or the nostrils, and you stop at the first sign of genuine unease.
At what age can you teach a puppy tricks?
You can start small ground-level tricks very early, in short sessions. For the “shame” trick with a puppy, wait for the spontaneous movement or bring the paw up step by step, never going through the sticky note: his muzzle is delicate, and the result will be just as pretty.
Do you need a clicker to teach this trick?
Not at all. A simple marker word, a crisp, cheerful “yes!”, does exactly the same job: it marks the precise instant the paw touches the muzzle. And your voice has a real advantage, it is always available and it keeps building your bond with your dog.
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