3. úkoly

Here comes your next list. Post your questions on the tasks this week as we’re going on a catch-up break for 2 weeks then, from 29th September to 13th October, with no questions or videos during that time. I like these breaks as they take some pressure off and I can always see a huge progress after the break! It’s a great timing right now as it gives you time to really master that pivoting before taking it further. Focus on getting really independent, fast and fluent circling in both directions before going for lesson 3. Also, you definitely want to revisit recalls, playing and spend some time on socialization.

And, you definitely want to go through the pages, scan through my answers and watch some videos from your classmates – the reason these classes work so well is because you can learn A TON from other videos! So definitely don’t miss this opportunity!

Lesson 3 homework:

1. take your dog to a city center, a store that allows dogs (pet store?) and on a train station. Do some easy tricks and tape your tricks in a new environment this time, to see how they deal with distractions.

2. position yourself next to a perch and now only click for circling all the way to your leg (don’t click for steps in between) – name it with heel for one side and something else for the other and have a dog follow your leg when you move in a circle around the target away from the dog – then tell him to come to the other side and have him follow the other leg. Use different targets, try it on a very low one too.

A word of warning: when you position yourself next to the target, you need to stay at it’s side, NOT behind it (so at 3 or 9 o’clock, not 6!), meaning that you need to move from one side to another every time you ask the dog to come to the other side. If you stand behind the target, you’re practising wrong position as the dog is too much in front. The dog’s paws should be were your heels are, his shoulder at your knee and his rear end completely straight – parallel to you.

3. build your own cavaletti and walk the dog over it – you can use the drawers or boxes of appropriate size and height, put them in a row and walk the dog through, just as you can see on this video

4. try the other version of 2on2off: instead of having them go on an object and off, stop in a position and wait, let’s try stepping back into 2on2off this time. Position your dog close to a low object behind his back (maybe just a folded blanket or a low pillow first!), cue him “back” and reward for stepping on an object or trying to. Slowly, you can have a dog step on higher&higher objects – this is beginning of a handstand, but with young puppies, don’t overdo the height. Instead, you can have them back up stairs or cavaletti for example, to challenge them some more without making it too physically demanding. You need to build balance and strength slowly enough for the dog to never be sore after. You can also teach them a ”pee” trick: click when they lift one leg, searching the object – before they find it and name it, we’ll need that for the next lesson!

5. put your paw target on a drawer or doors or simply shape the paw touch to a drawers/doors and then select for stronger&stronger touches/pushes. The goal is to have the dog slam the doors or a drawer with power, to teach them that they control the movement under their feet and the sound and that it’s FUN – my favourite trick for a great see-saw!

6. don’t forget on recalls and playing!!! Also, slowly add duration to a sit up, teach crossing paws with the other paw and fade the target and check if the puppy will stay in 2on2off position until “go” even with distractions (toys and food flying around) – we’ll need that for next lesson!

2on2off progression into handstand: