Puppy Train and Play

Tonight was Puppy Train and Play.  Willow has such a good time there.

Tonight we worked on Doggy Push-ups, Walking on a loose leash, Staying at our side, Paying attention to Mom, and Scarecrow.

Doggy push-ups are where you have the dog sit, then lay down, then stand up, and repeat. When your pup begins to anticipate what is coming next mix it up a bit, do lay down, sit, stand, or whatever order you feel  like doing. Of course you click and treat when they do each piece.

Similar to this is what I call Doggy Squats.  You have your pup sit, then stand, then sit, then stand.  This strengthens the back legs.  Both Doggy Push-ups and Doggy Squats have the added benefit of being fun your pup and of using up some of their excess energy.

Walking on a loose leash and staying at our side while we walk is accomplished by teaching your pup that you are the most interesting this in the world.  You do that with food.  When your pup is walking beside you with a loose leash treat.  When they wander away, stop.  When they come back to you treat and start again.

For the paying attention to mom I had the hardest time because you are supposed to sit quietly with your dog in front of you and not say anything.  When they look at you, you click and treat.  This teaches them to look at you without being asked to.  The hard part is not talking.  I never seem to stop talking.  My husband is always asking me to please talk a bit less because he can't get a word in edgewise.

Finally we worked on Scarecrow.  Scarecrow is where you put the leash on the floor and step on it.  Show your pup you have a treat in your hand and then hold both arms out like a scarecrow.  When your dog stops looking at the hand with the treat and looks at you , click and treat.  This can also be quite hard if your pup is really concentrating on the food. It may take them awhile to get the idea and your arms may get really tired.  You may have to start with if your dogs eyes move away from your hand click and treat that and gradually work up to the full turning and looking at you thing.

At the end of  class our pups got to have play time.  The big pups went outside and the little pups stayed inside.  I took a little video of Willow and Indigo playing.  One of these days maybe I'll learn to take the video with a steady hand and smooth movement.

Till next time friends...