How I Taught My Dog Hand Targeting... and Why Step 1: introduce the hand target - open palm the palm of your hand and place it by your dog’s nose, mark and reward when they naturally touch your hand Step 2: add distance - start a few inches away and progressively increase distance. This step might take some time. Try multiple short training sessions. Step 3: raise the bar - moving side-to-side, above your dog, and even behind them Step 4: add verbal cue - present your hand and say “touch” right