train a dog to show teeth

Question
I read on one of posts that you said that it is ok to train a dog to show his teeth.  We have a dobermann puppy about 16 weeks old. we would like to train him to do this on command.  can you tell me how this would be done?  thank you

Answer
Hi, I believe I said there was nothing wrong with a puppy showing his teeth as long as it is not in an aggressive manner.  As far as training one to do that, it is very difficult.  You would have to catch him (somehow) in the act of showing his teeth, and then reward the behavior with a treat for him to understand it is actually something you want him to do.  As he is doing the behavior, give him some sort of command at the same time so that he can associate it to what he is doing and the treat he will receive afterwards.  The hardest part will be to get him to show his teeth.  Unfortunately it would be impossible for me to tell you how to accomplish that as I would have to see the puppy in person to see his mannerisms and figure out what could trigger him to actually show his teeth.  Wish I could be of more help.  You could contact a local trainer and see if they could give you some more ideas too.

Dawn