Step 1 – Green Dog

12 Week-Old Puppy

The goal of this session is to have the puppy engage with a stranger and bite a little tug.

Please note:

• If you do not have a Helper, you can do these games by yourself. You can use a Flexpole
• The Helper starts at a distance. The tug is close to the puppy. The puppy chooses to close that distance. The Hander lets go of the leash. Good for the little one!
• Slow measured movements of the Helper. No frantic throwing of the tug. The puppy is set up to be successful in catching the prey. We are building confidence.
• Different pictures for the puppy. In the beginning, the prey is on the ground. Later, the prey is off the ground like a sleeve would be. Even a short escape is introduced – 01:10 sec.
• Once the prey is caught – 00:43 sec, the Helper cheers the puppy on and the puppy returns to the Handler. Always remember that it is the Handler/Dog team together against the Helper.
• The Handler holds the puppy gently to increase drive and releases to prey – 00:53 sec.
• The Helper tugs very carefully as not to pull the prey away from the pup – 01:06 sec. We are not working on frustration. We are working on confidence.
• Once the puppy is more and more confident, the leash comes off the tug and there is a minimal distance between the dog and the Helper.

The whole session is 2 minutes. Please do not overdo it.

It is best not to have a clasp at the end of the leash attached to the bite pillow. It is a safety measure.

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10 Week-Old Puppy

This puppy is a little bit more confident and engaging. Tobias still allows a comfortable distance between the puppy and himself but moves much faster than in the first video.

The Handler activates the Helper by saying “Helper” – 00:10 sec.

Tobias makes it super easy for the puppy to grab the tug – 00:40 sec. We are not working on technique at this age but attitude.

This puppy has a little bit tighter grip so we can play a little tug – 00:47 sec. He can carry the tug all the way in the circle around the Helper. Actually, once he latches on, he keeps it to the very end.

Tobias shows how to cradle the puppy to calm him down – 01:25 sec. You can see that he has his hand under the puppy’s chin to prevent movement.

The reason we focus on calming this puppy down – there is a lot of kill motion going on. The shaking of the head.

The whole session is just under 2 minutes.