How I Taught My Dog To Pray (Say Prayers)

Over the course of several years and raising different dogs from puppyhood through their senior years, I’ve managed to teach all 3 of 5 my dogs how to PRAY.

It’s a 6-step process to teach a dog how to “pray”.
All 6 steps will probably NOT be achieved on the same day.
It’s simply a matter of praising your dog anytime they put their chin on the floor.

This is Tenor, our youngest dog, learning to say his prayers on our bed at night

Tenor, our youngest puppy, is still trying to find his ‘spiritual self’. But our older 2 dogs learned to say their prayers really quickly!

(Don’t miss my update at the end… our 2 newest dogs are now praying as well!)

How To Teach Your Dog To Pray

STEP #1: Tell your dog to SIT. (Give your dog a treat IF it’s not normal for your dog to “sit” on command yet.)

STEP #2: Motion for your dog to LIE DOWN. (Give your dog a treat IF it’s not normal for your dog to “lie down” on command yet.)

STEP #3: Wait (for however long it takes!) until your dog places their chin on the ground ON THEIR OWN.

I’ve found that forcing your dog to place their chin on the floor just confuses the dog. So, it might not happen the very first day you try this. But keep doing Steps 1 through 3 above on repeated days UNTIL you notice that your dog has placed their chin flat on the ground ON THEIR OWN. And then…

STEP #4: The MINUTE your dog’s chin hits the ground, speak softly and calmly to your dog saying: “Good PRAY!!!!” Look your dog in the eyes (here’s why) — as if you’re helping them connect the dots on what they’ve just accomplished. Then, give your dog a treat.

Do those first 4 Steps for several days (or weeks) in a row until your dog is resting their chin flat on the ground WITHOUT any prompting from you.

STEP #5: The NEXT TIME you notice that your dog has placed their chin on the ground on their own, immediately speak a little more loudly and excitedly to your dog saying: “GOOD PRAY!!!!” And give your dog a treat. (The key here is to reward your dog EVERY TIME you see them doing whatever it is that you want to associate a word / command with. This way, you’re working in “baby steps”… and at the dog’s own pace.)

The final step is the most difficult… getting your dog to REMAIN in that position with their chin flat on the ground until you say “Amen”.

STEP #6: After your dog is lying down AND their chin is on the ground, wait a few seconds before you say excitedly: “AMEN!” “Amen, Buddy!” And give your dog a treat. The goal is to get your dog to REMAIN in that position — for a longer period of time each time — until you say “Amen.”

Here’s my “cheat sheet” that explains the steps involved with each new “command” you teach your dog.

Teaching Our 3 (Now 5!) Dogs To Pray

In these first photos, Jim is teaching our oldest dog JERSEY (an American Eskimo) how to pray.

When Jersey puts his head down on the floor, he gets a treat — as long as he doesn’t lift his head off the floor until we say “Amen.”

**Jersey, our American Eskimo, has always been receptive to learning new tricks! Here, Jim is lightly coaxing Jersey to put his chin on the ground.**

Sometimes Jersey would enjoy the training sessions so much, he didn't want to STOP... he wanted another treat! — **Jersey, our American Eskimo, has always been receptive to learning new tricks! Here, Jim is lightly coaxing Jersey to put his chin on the ground.**

In these next few photos, Jim is teaching our middle dog, DESTIN, (a Lab mix) to pray.

In one photo, it looks like Jim is forcing Destin’s head down quite hard, but he’s really not. Still, this is where we learned that “trying to force the dog’s chin on the ground” isn’t really the way to go. It seems to just confuse the dog.

Instead, it’s better to immediately praise the dog any time you catch them resting their chin on the floor ON THEIR OWN — without even being asked. (It’s super effective if you can catch your dog with their chin on the ground while they’re patiently waiting for the “okay” command to enjoy something they like! You can see in the first picture… that’s what Destin is doing with the ice cubes.)

Each time you catch your dog with their chin on the ground for whatever reason, quickly say “Good PRAY!” You are simply “associating” a word with a behavior — and praising your dog along the way with words and treats.

Destin was a little more stubborn about learning to pray -- he needed to be coaxed with ice cubes on the rug before he actually "got it". — **Destin was a little more stubborn about learning to pray — he needed to be coaxed with ice cubes on the rug before he actually “got it”.**

Here you can see that Jim is trying to lightly force Destin to place his head on the floor. (He wasn't doing it too hard -- I promise.) — **Destin was a little more stubborn about learning to pray — he needed to be coaxed with ice cubes on the rug before he actually “got it”.**

Well, what do you know?… It appears that our youngest dog, TENOR (a Lab mix) has watched his siblings pray long enough that he’s finally learned how to say prayers by himself too!

Tenor has actually turned out to be the most consistent of the 3 dogs to “faithfully” pray (on command) every time he’s asked to — anywhere, anytime.

**Here, Tenor is praying while Destin is watching the training session.**

The rare case where BOTH of our dogs Destin and Tenor are praying at the same time. They're saying prayers on the kitchen floor! — **Here, Tenor is praying while Destin is watching the training session.**

**One of the FEW times we were able to get Tenor as a puppy to pray on command. (He waited until his teen years to pray religiously.)**

Tenor is SO good at praying on command he even lets our niece give him the command to do so. — **One of the FEW times we were able to get Tenor as a puppy to pray on command. (He waited until his teen years to pray religiously.)**

UPDATE:

I wanted to show how well these tips for teaching your dog to pray actually work… over time.

So I’d like to introduce you to the newest additions to our family:

HARLEY (female Golden Retriever mix)
RIVER (male Golden Retriever mix)

They’re siblings that we found on the side of the road when they were super young.

(Our previous 3 dogs have all passed away.)

As you can see, my prayer-teaching tips have worked perfectly with these 2 dogs as well! River and Harley will PRAY just about anywhere and at any time I ask them to.

River has a mind of his own -- he's more like a cat than a dog. But as you can see, he prays on command! — **River has a mind of his own — he’s more like a cat than a dog. But as you can see, he prays on command!**

Harley is the people pleaser -- she will do anything you ask of her at any time. — **River has a mind of his own — he’s more like a cat than a dog. But as you can see, he prays on command!**

My #1 Tip

Reward your dog whenever you catch them in the act of doing it WITHOUT you asking them to do it.

That is the best time to start teaching your dog a new trick! Why? Because it’s easier for them to repeat something they’ve already done, than it is for them to learn something entirely new from scratch.

You’re simply getting them to associate a specific word with a specific activity they’ve already proven they know how to do AND it’s clear they are comfortable doing it because they chose to do it on their own!

Easy peasy!

Ready To Teach Your Dog More Tricks Like This?

Here’s how I taught my dog to STAY on command (to remain seated where they are while I move farther away from them).

This is how I taught my dog to LEAVE IT — how to walk right by something they’re truly interested in.

Here’s how my friend Carrie taught her dogs to RING A BELL when they need to go outside to potty.

Another useful trick is to teach your dog to BRING you the TV remote control (or anything else specific).

I also taught my dog to FETCH me the mail from the mailbox!

There are lots of good reasons to teach your dog how to SHAKE HANDS (or give a high-five).

Got a dog that drools a lot? Here’s how I taught my dog to LICK HIS LIPS on command.

I use this one a lot… I taught my dog how to WHISPER instead of barking loudly.

Another great trick is to teach your dog to do a FULL-BODY SHAKE on command. (It keeps the rain and wet fur OUTSIDE instead inside your house!)

Here’s a fun one… teach your dog to “BE SHY” OR “PLAY PEEK-A-BOO” (whatever you want to call it).