[s2If current_user_cannot(access_s2member_ccap_course_003_ep)]

To view this lesson, please purchase the Empowered Puppy Raising course or log in if you have already purchased it.[/s2If]

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_ccap_course_003_ep)]

PROPRIOCEPTION (“Oh wow, I have back legs!”)

Confidence in their physical bodies can be helpful for reducing stress. It’s also great for preventing injuries in “regular” dogs and canine athletes. Have your puppy practice calmly walking under, over, around, and through different objects. Practice not just going through life at a run, but also just meandering slowly for some of the time on your walks as you practice the BAT leash skills with your puppy in his harness. You can say “Easy” as a heads-up that you are going to do a slow walk. If your puppy starts to run, use Slide and then do a Slow Stop, if needed. When the puppy has fully stopped, relax the leash and calmly suggest a new direction. Take time to let your puppy notice where and on what surface he is walking.

Here are some examples of some activities that you can set up. Obviously watch for safety and do not do the activity if it is not physically or emotionally safe for your puppy (and you). Sometimes you will need to do some treating to get the process to happen, or for safety, as in the video below, but whenever possible, get the dog in exploration mode instead of working mode. Some of the items on this list involve intense training. Remember that your primary focus at this time is still socialization and getting the puppy used to grooming and vet care, so don’t get sucked into doing tricks just yet. But I include them as possibilities to work on once your other tasks have been accomplished.

• Walk through the forest over sticks and small logs.
• Walk through a tent made of chairs and a blanket
• Walk through the forest under and along trees that have partially fallen over (only if safe!)
• Go up and down stairs, helping your puppy do them slowly. The scariest kind of stairs are the ones where there is a gap behind them or in the step itself, so the puppy can see down.
• Go up and down elevators.
• Get your puppy to step inside of a box or other container – something that involves lifting his legs over the sides of the container to get inside. You can lure, use shaping, or make it a puzzle, if you have a large enough container. A puzzle example would be to make a small corral using agility jumps placed in a square or pentagon with the bars lowered, so the dog has to step over the bars and into the corral to get to you or a toy. The same can be done with pieces of lumber or if you have a taller puppy, a kiddy pool works well.
• Use targeting or a treat lure to stop your puppy at the edge of a sidewalk with some legs on the street and some off.
• Slowly walk over short agility jumps or in and out of weave poles.
• Teach your puppy to swim. If he’s toy motivated and will go into the water after a toy, put it at the edge of the water and gradually have it further and further out, until he has to swim to get it. If not, go swimming with your puppy: start out by walking along the shore with your feet in the water. Have your puppy off leash if it is safe or use a leash that is long enough that he can reach the shore, so that he can choose to stay out of the water if he wants to. If your puppy comes in, calmly praise him and immediately walk back to solid ground again. Keep walking and then repeat, going back into the water. Gradually go in deeper to get your puppy to swim in after you.
• Teach targeting with individual legs to stand on something. FitPawz makes products for sale just for this use.
• Balance weight with front paws/rear paws/all four paws/one paw on something that isn’t solid, like a small pile of yoga mats, a pillow, or a pilates disk.
• Introduce your puppy slowly to a wobble board (basically a solid flat surface with something underneath it to make it unstable, like a tennis ball in a sock stapled to the bottom). Keep it from wobbling too much at first by using your foot or putting books underneath, gradually letting it wobble more.
• Use shaping to teach targeting of other body parts to a target (not just paws, like the hips and shoulders).
• Use shaping or hind-end targeting to teach your puppy to walk backwards.
• Use shaping to teach your puppy to rotate in a circle with the front paws stationary and rear moving, or vice versa. For example, the first type of rotation can be taught by having the dog target the front paws onto something, like a foam disk. Cue hip targeting, moving your target around the disk a little at a time.
• Use targeting to teach your puppy to walk on a treadmill. One way is to begin is to first teach your dog to maintain a chest target to your hand or a soft object mounted to the machine. Targeting is the More Please Signal – as long as the dog is targeting, you keep treating from time to time, and the treadmill game continues.Gradually add movement of the treadmill. Never tie your puppy or dog to a treadmill and carefully supervise the entire time your dog is on it. Their toes could possibly get caught if they go too far back, forward, or to the sides. Feed from the front (you can attach a bowl or pan for the treats to go) so that your dog has good posture and doesn’t curve around while walking. If your dog stops targeting at any time during his time on the treadmill, turn it off. Turn it back on again when he targets again.

Here’s a great video by Jolein van Weperen:

TIP: Social facilitation: if your puppy is nervous about doing something, bring some friends along! If he sees his friends enjoying the area or activity, that will help him build up his nerve to try it out. Just make sure his friends don’t tackle him while he’s having a new experience. Consensual play is fine, i.e., both puppies enjoying the play. Calmly intervene if it looks like any of his friends are being rougher than he can handle. While that’s true all the time, be especially ready to rescue him when he’s already feeling a bit unsure about a surface or could potentially slip off of it (like a ramp).

[/s2If]