Let’s Get Ready!
With our society and world so fast paced, we often forget to add balance to our life. We are a people deprived of sleep, proper nutrition, family time, and time for ourselves. Often days turn into nights, that turn into weeks and then turn into years.
We are forgetting the dance. Even for five minutes of being silly. Where no one (but our dog) can see us, a time to let loose, and let your guard down. Laugh at yourself, put a smile on your face, and while you do, we will teach your puppy to wait.
Happy dancing!
Kim & Christina
As we have talked about the wait before, now is time to add the movement. We stay with our baby steps and start with our duration, but now we need to shake it up. We need to have our puppy understand they must stay where they are while we move away.
You can choose a release word, whether it be “okay” “your free” or whatever you like. Practice this is all different ways. As you add movement, turn around, sit down, clap your hands whatever you can, and release your puppy from all different scenarios. If the puppy doesn’t wait once you start moving around, go back to asking for the duration. Remember your counting as it helps to keep the puppy focused.
And remember…just dance and have fun! Your puppy won’t laugh, in fact you will create a great source of confidence not only in them, but in yourself as you express your inner child.
Dogs Barking
Begin practicing the wait with a refresher. Do a couple ‘waits for duration’ each time you start. This helps your puppy get into the ‘mindset’ of staying in one place.
When we begin turning our backs moving away from puppy, it can be a little confusing. With that in mind, don’t expect your puppy to be able to stay put if you start off with the funky chicken or try to walk out of the room. That’s too much too fast.
Start by turning to the side and immediately back. Then turn your back. Work your way up to turning all the way around. Then start adding in movement to the sides and so on, until you’re dancing the hokey pokey without your puppy turning himself around!
Don’t forget that you want puppy to be facing the direction in which you are moving. At this stage, they need to keep eyes on you. Work the wait in throughout your day. Waiting at the door, in many different rooms, while you’re folding laundry, reading the mail, etc.
P.S. Don’t forget what you’ve been learning! Continue to practice and capture focus, sitting/laying/standing, and here throughout your days. Remember that we’re training our puppies to follow the cadence of our lives. Practicing behaviors as we go about daily routines helps your puppy to learn and focus consistently and predictably because he understands what’s expected of him or her at all times. Oh, and by the way, playing with your puppy after you’ve practiced a lesson or worked on a new behavior actually HELPS them to solidify all of that information in their minds! (Like we NEED a reason to play with our puppies more!)