Week 5 (1) Lured Sit (2) Lured Down (3) Stays (4) Let's Go or Leash Work (5) Leave It (6) Off (7) Attention to Name

EXERCISE 1 LURED SIT (REALLY FOOD REWARDED SIT NOW):

STEP 1:  Have the food reward ready in your hand.
STEP 2:  While standing straight up (but when your puppy is close) give the "sit" command.  (you can, if the puppy is having trouble give the bent arm signal for sit)
STEP 3A:  If your puppy does sit (bum on the floor and two front feet on the floor), quickly bend down and give the food reward as saying "break" or "good boy/girl" (but remember the puppy should not release for "good" only for "break")
STEP 3B:   If your puppy does not sit, walk in a little toward your puppy and lure them from as far away as you can.
STEP 4:  Repeat

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.

EXERCISE 2 LURED DOWN FROM STANDING POSITION:

STEP 1:  Have the food reward ready in your hand.
STEP 2:  While standing straight up (but when your puppy is close) give the "down" command AS you bend a little from the waist to lure the dog down with the treat.  (NOTE:  EVENTUALLY YOU WANT TO BE STANDING AND JUST NEED TO BEND YOUR ARM INTO THE DOWN LURING POSITION)
STEP 3:  In the beginning, you will bend and stretch your hand to the ground to lure.   There will come a point when the puppy goes to the floor before you can get your hand all the way down.   This is good, then drop the treat in between the puppies paws (so that they don't pop back up into a sit).
STEP 4:   Give the release word "break"
STEP 5:  Repeat 

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.

EXERCISE 3 SIT STAYS:

(You can combine this with your puppy sit reps, as long as your puppy is consistently giving you sit right away.   If not, keep them separate.)

STEP 1:  Start with the "sit" command.
STEP 2:  If you like you can start have "sit"mean stay, or you can use an additional "stay" command (totally owner's preference).
STEP 3: When you begin, you may just wish to start with 10 seconds or so.  You will be standing by the puppy, and you want the puppy to stay in the sit command during this time.   You can tell if you are doing too much time if getting a few in a row is very difficult (IE the puppy gets up, slumps into a down, gets distracted).
STEP 4:  If the puppy is successful, give them their food reward and then the release word "break".
STEP 5:   Repeat 

If doing this individually, you only need to do four in a row for whatever time you are working with.  If you have gotten to 30 seconds, then you only need to complete the goal of 4 in a row.  If you are working up to 30 seconds, then work for either 5 minutes or at the time you get to 30 seconds and complete 4 in a row for thirty seconds whichever is shorter.

EXERCISE 4 LET'S GO COMMAND OR LEASH WORK:

STEP 1: You will want to hold the end of the leash for this one.
STEP 2:   In the opposite hand, you will want to be holding the food reward.
STEP 3:   Let your puppy get distracted.  When they go to the end of the line, just keep constant tension on until they turn towards you.
STEP 4A:  When your puppy starts to come towards you, say "good girl/boy" and then, when they get to you, give them the food reward.
STEP 5:  Repeat

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.

EXERCISE 5 LEAVE IT:

STEP 1:  First, have your puppy on their slip leash so they do not wander off. 

STEP 2: Take a food reward and put it in your closed fist. 

STEP 3:  Present your fist to the dog, but not all the way up to their nose. 

STEP 4: Say “leave it”.  If they are at your hand already, do not snatch your hand away.  Snatching your hand away ends up having the dog go after your hand in an unpleasant way later on. 

STEP 5A: If they leave your hand alone, say the release word, “Yes”, as you open your hand for the dog to take the food reward. (Later on, you can practice with the food in your open palm. You would close your hand if they go towards your hand and the food)

STEP 5B:  If they are licking, gnawing, or pawing your hand or in any way trying to get the treat, wait it out until they back off and stay off.   When they do that, say the release word, “Yes”, and open your hand to give them the food reward. 

STEP 6: Repeat

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.

EXERCISE 6 OFF:

There are a few ways this can be practiced.   "Off" of you while sitting.  "Off" of you while standing.   "Off" of something like a chair or countertop.  Also, you can set it up so the puppy is tempted to go onto something, OR you can practice this if your puppy is naturally inclined and jumping on something.

STEP 1:  Your puppy should be on their slip lead.

STEP 2:   Be sure you are prepared with kibble in your hand  BEFORE giving a command. 

STEP 3:  You can encourage your puppy to jump on your lap (if seated), jump up on you (if standing), work with them if they are already jumping on your lap or you, or work with them if you are encouraging them to jump on something, OR they are already jumping on something.

STEP 4:  If your puppy is on you, say the command "off".

STEP 5A:  If they immediately get off, you can use the marker work "yes" and give them the food as you say the word.

STEP 5B:  If they do not get off you or the object, (1) use the marker word "no" and see if they get off (2) lure them off with the food reward (you want to get off of this crutch as soon as possible) or (3) push them off and do not give them the food reward for that (although you could tell them to then "sit" as a way to reinforce the idea and then give them the food reward for that.

STEP 6:  Repeat

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.

EXERCISE 7 ATTENTION TO NAME:

STEP 1:  Your puppy should be on their either their slip lead or their long line (if you are making the goal easily on the slip leash).
STEP 2:   Be sure you are prepared with kibble in your hand  BEFORE giving a command.  At the beginning, you may need to hold the kibble to your nose to get your puppy to start to meet your eyes.  In later weeks, we can hold the kibble to the side, up in the air, or behind your back.
STEP 3:  Say your puppy's name.
STEP 4A:   Immediately upon your dog looking into your face (and not glancing immediately away), say your release word "yes" and deliver the food reward as you release them.
STEP 4B:   If they do not look to you, first try calling their name again.   Give them about 10 seconds in between so you aren't just rapidly firing off their name.   If they are just really enamored of something other than you, you could try to gently tug on their leash and see if they will turn.   You could also try to make a silly noise after you say their name.   Usually, though, once they know what the deal is with the food reward, it does not take more than three times to get them to look at you.
STEP 5:   Repeat

If you are doing this individually, practice for 5 minutes  OR until you reach the goal of 3 sets of 4 in a row.  The time practiced will be for whichever is shortest.  

If you are doing this in a group, you do not need to count how many times in a row he performs it correctly.