Have you ever felt the excitement of a day you have been looking forward to so much you haven't slept? Now imagine if someone asked you to do long division while you are trying to get ready to do the thing you are so excited for. This is what it's like when our dogs have all beans and no brain which we referenced in the last chapter. Ideally you won't have to do much redirection, as your dog will have had their beans spent during the day. An important thing to note is that not all beans are physical, running around a field is a great way to get those out but the mental beans have gone nowhere and are just as important. We need to get their grey matter working as well so that when they need to make decisions they are not clouded by the need to expend energy.
Sniffer game
Get a small container which is big enough that they can't eat it whole.
Make holes in your container so that it isn’t airtight.
Put something smelly inside. Ensure it is both dog safe and not something they would expect to eat like a treat. Birch oil is usually recommended, cloves also work well but it's vital they can’t eat them so be careful with the holes in the box
Start by letting them sniff at the container and rewarding when they do.
(optional extra step) You can get them to indicate to you they have found it by sitting or barking for example. To do this add that step before you reward. So Sniff - Sit - Reward.
Get them in a sit & wait or if they aren't able to hold that long enough yet, get someone else to stay with them.
Go hide the container somewhere fairly obvious.
You can increase the difficulty when they have shown you that they need more of a challenge.
Let them go look for the container staying with them so they can show you when they have it, and so you can reward them straight away when they find it.
Push the button
Setup
Identify a suitable toy or a purpose built button. We use a small tyre toy.
Have your dog follow your hand with a reward.
Lead them over to the toy.
Just as they are about to touch the toy, say the command e.g. Button or push the button.
As they touch the button, give them a reward.
Repeat steps 2-5 multiple times. They will learn the command and the reward.
Use
Have them in sit engaged with you.
Give the command.
If they go and press the ‘button’, mark with “Yes!”and reward.
If they don't, offer vocal encouragement and a correction if they get distracted.
If they still don't touch the button as desired it just means it's too soon for them to know the command by heart, so we go back to the set up steps.
Tug/Drop It
Playing tug with your dog is a great way to get frustration out while building some important skills. Use a toy designed for Tug to avoid damage to their teeth, and save it just for this game so that it keeps its value.
With your dog sitting and engaged with you, start wiggling the toy and release with “go on then”
Your dog should start biting and tugging, if they don’t then encourage them with more/different movements of the toy and with your voice. Get them to bite down and try to keep hold, but you are not trying to wind your dog up. You are letting them get energy out, not putting energy in.
Praise them heavily while playing, and be enthusiastic to keep them interested
After a minute or so, or whenever their mouth gets too close to your hands, suddenly change your tone and say “Drop It” while holding the tug toy still.
As soon as they do, mark with “Yes” and reward them by starting to play again.
