Dog Training: Teach Your Dog to Hide in a Box

With this trick, you teach your dog to get in a big box and eventually hide in it by laying down. The tricks you teach your dog can be simple or complex, depending on your dog’s drives and your interest. You can teach some tricks in an afternoon whereas you’ll need more time for others. With your help, each trick can be a showstopper with your dog’s personality shining through.

Needed: A cardboard box and treats

Make sure the box is big enough for your dog to get into and lay down. Save one from a delivery or visit a store that lets you take one. Close in the flaps to add stability and so the box doesn’t have a top or flaps to deter your dog. Make sure the box isn’t too high that your dog can’t leap into it later.

Use treats easy to toss, such as cheese-flavored corn puffs, popcorn, or something special and fun. Be careful about overdoing the snacks. If you feed a kibble, you can use your dog’s kibble too at meal times.

Command: Get In

Command: Down

Sequence 1: Introducing the box on its side

The steps in this sequence help your dog get acquainted with the box:

1. Set up your box and lay it on its side, so the opening isn’t on top but rather an easy walk in.
2. Toss a treat into the box and say “Get it” and then release with “Okay” as Buddy eats the treat.
3. Repeat over and over until Buddy willingly goes in the box for the treat.

   Turn the box if it isn’t a square box, so he’ll go into the box to get the treat on any side. You can move the box around the room too, so the box changing location isn’t a concern for Buddy.

4. Step behind Buddy as he goes in the box, so he doesn’t just back out.

You want him to wait until you say “Okay.”

Sequence 2: Standing the box correctly with opening on top

This sequence may take a bit of help, especially if Buddy isn’t a leaper. We find helping him into the box and having him leap out helpful. Just follow these steps:

1. Without fear or frustration, gently put Buddy into the box, lifting him up and placing him inside.
2. Immediately give him a treat and then say “Okay” to release him and give him another treat for leaping out. The leaping out will only get a treat when you put him in the box by lifting him in. After he gets in the box himself, you’ll only treat him while he’s inside the box, not after he comes out. You want him to go in the box, so only reward him for going in, not for coming out.
3. Drop a treat or two into the box and say “Get in your box.” If he doesn’t try, lift him in so he can eat the treats inside of the box. Then say “Okay” to release him and play with him outside the box. Dogs know when you’re pleased if you let him know you’re pleased. We often hear people say their dogs always repeat a behavior if they laughed at their dog for doing something because your dog reads your laughter as being pleased. Laughter is praise to a dog. Have fun with trick training.
4. Keep practicing until Buddy gets into the box on his own. Toss treats inside and encourage him to leap inside as in the following figure.

If you’re tossing treats and he won’t go and you’ve lifted him in a few times and he still won’t do it, tilt the box over with the treats inside and have him go in for them. This shows him that the treats are there waiting for him.

Get In Your Box is the command. Add it as your dog leaps inside. “Okay” is the release for your Get Out Of The Box command.

Sequence 3: Adding the Hide command

You can wait for another day to work on this sequence. Make sure your dog is willingly getting in and out of the box on your commands before moving on to this sequence:

1. Review your Down command outside of the box. When he goes down, he’ll look like he’s hiding in the box.
2. Say “Get in your box” and toss a treat inside.
3. Say “Down, Hide” and raise your arm as your signal.
4. Praise and give another treat for laying down.
5. Say “Okay” to release him from the box.
6. Praise, praise, praise.
7. Repeat the Down, Hide combined command until Buddy starts responding to just the Hide command alone.

Sequence 4: Putting it all together

Now that you have a dog who will get in, wait for you to release him with “Okay” to come out, and will lay down in the box when asked, it’s time to make it a performance:

1. Have Buddy get in the box and raise your arm as you say “Hide.” After he hides, say “Okay” to release him to get out.
2. You can use your imagination to make this into a bit of a celebration and show by leaving your box out and playing this trick anytime you want.

Trick training and training in general makes for a dog who is always listening and watching you.