Being a super hero I need to have certain tricks up my sleeves and on my tool belt. Tricks that can get me out of sticky situations, help me combat evil, and well, make me quicker and more agile when shimmying down groundhog holes! It’s because of this that I have learned to army crawl!

Teach Your Dog to Army Crawl

Learn to be stealth, agile and quick on your feet! Most importantly, fit down those groundhog holes with ease.

What you need: A handful of training treats, clicker

Step 1: Place a high value treat (something your dog really loves) in the palm of your hand, making sure that he knows it is there.

Step 2: Ask your dog to lay down by placing your hand on the ground in front of him.

Step 3: Slowly inch your hand away from your dog, encouraging him to shimmy across the ground after the treat. As soon as he moves closer to your hand (without lifting his front legs out of the lay down position) click and reward. If your dog pops up out of his lay down, ask him to lay again, and repeat the process until he does it properly.

Step 4: Continue asking your dog to inch along the ground until he understands what is wanted, you can then begin adding a verbal cue, such as the word “crawl”, and asking him to shimmy across the ground several times before getting his reward.

Congratulations, your dog can now army crawl. Now meet me at the groundhog holes, we’ve got some shimmying to do! 

Disclaimer: The Let’s Get Tricky blog feature is designed to provide general information, instruction, and techniques that may not be suitable for everyone. Please note that we are not liable for any of your activities while attempting to teach your dog the techniques listed on this blog. Please train responsibly.