-
Along with the attention pattern games we also worked to build engagement in the very first in home session.
WEEK 1 – Practicing Engagement at Home
Working dogs such as Shelties tend to be overly sensitive toward any kind of motion. They are mesmerized by it, and it can be difficult for them to disengage from staring and or barking at moving things.
Before we can even start to think about our dogs to do anything at all for us, we need to make sure our dog will engage just for the treat’s sake.
HUNTING FOOD ON THE FLOOR
1. Have several treats in your hand
2. Toss them left and right for your dog to chase
3. Play on a surface where your dog can easily see the treats
4. This should be pure fun, we are not asking for eye contact, sit, down etc. this will come later
5. Play this game in different rooms of your home
HUNTING FOOD IN YOUR HAND
1. Show your dog that you have treats in your hand
2. Let him chase you a little bit for these treats
3. You can face toward your dog, face away, go in a straight line, a circle, zigzag etc.
4. Vary the chase to make it fun but do not run away too fast or too far
5. Be generous with your treats
FOOT TARGET – PAWS UP
1. Teach your dog to step onto objects with his front feet; pick objects that are low, stable, and wide enough such as an old phone book, low stepping stool etc.
2. Stand facing your dog with the object between you
3. Lure you dog onto the object with his front feet
4. Feed him treats for being in position
5. Toss a treat to the side to reset your dog and start over
6. Move the object around and to other rooms of your home
7. Add your cue word “paws up”, “target” etc. once your dog very consistently
offers the behavior
MAT WORK 1
1. Have several treats ready
2. Lure your dog onto the mat and feed for position 5 treats one at a time
3. Reset your dog by tossing a treat about 2 feet away from the mat
4. Repeat 5x
5. Your dog should be coming onto the without lure now
6. Once your dog easily goes back and forth between mat and floor ask him to lie down on the mat
7. Feed 5 treats between the front paws on the mat for lying down
8. Reset your dog by tossing a treat about 2 feet away from the mat
9. Repeat steps
10. Vary your position (kneeling, standing) to help your dog build a more comprehensive understanding of the exercise
11. Practice this in different room of your house (use a mat that you can easily carry)
12. Once your dog gets good about returning to the mat and lying down, you can add your cue word such as “go to mat”, “bed”, “relax” etc.