Hi {{first_name}} ,
I ran a group class with five dogs on leash and handlers who had never worked their dogs together in one class before. Partway through, one of them asked me what I was actually looking for from her dog. My answer was smaller than she expected.
Here is the part people skip when they talk about getting a dog comfortable around other dogs.
In This Issue
Why I moved the dogs to the outside of the circle before we started
The one word I gave a handler when she asked what I wanted
How we got Red into a down after he kept popping up
The weave pattern that closed out the session
Reading time: 3 minutes
One dog in the middle.
We put a single dog in the center of the circle.
Carl went first. His handler told him to stay, stepped out, and joined the circle with everybody else. I stayed in the middle with Carl and kept a foot on his leash so he had no option to leave.
The group walked one full circle around him, reversed direction, then stopped and pivoted so each person stood between their own dog and the dog in the center.
Dogs on the outside.
Before the next round I moved the handlers onto the inside track and put the dogs on the outer ring.
That was a safety call.
A person standing between the moving dog and the dog in the center takes the pressure off both of them before the first step.
Red was hesitant to go into the down.
Carl dropped easy.
Red took longer. His handler kept repeating the cue and he kept popping back up off the floor.
What worked was steady pressure held on the collar. Put it on, hold it, wait, and he lowers himself. No repeating, no raised voice.
Once he was down and settled, his handler stood up and called him in.
What I was actually after.
That was the point of the circle work.
Your dog should be neutral. That is all I am asking for from a dog in a group of other dogs.
Then we wove.
Last exercise of the morning.
Five handlers split up, three on one side and two on the other, and the dogs weaved between people who were standing still.
Then everybody moved at once, with one dog passing between each person. I had them count the pace out loud, one two three four, and stay shoulder to shoulder with whoever was beside them.
The first pass was sloppy. The second pass was much better.
3 Ways I Can Help
1. Free Training Content on My Website
If you work with shelter dogs or you're evaluating a dog for adoption, I've put together detailed guides on behavioral assessment, what to look for in an evaluation, and how to read dogs under stress. No email required. Head over to [ROBERTCABRAL.COM] and dig in.
2. Membership and community support
If you want to go deeper on any of this, everything is inside my membership. 250-plus lessons, over 85 hours of instruction, organized so you can find exactly what you need. Right now for only $29/mo. [BECOME A MEMBER]
3. The Corrections in Dog Training Masterclass: If you don’t already have it, I recently launched this course for the person who has been working with dogs long enough to know corrections matter, but hasn’t had anyone sit down and walk through exactly how they work. - [LEARN MORE]
Until next Tuesday,
- Robert
