Hi Wendy! At our training classes we play recall games (alot!) as well as the following -- 1 -- Shark-infested Waters -- this game works the Stay command with distractions (so it may be a bit advanced for puppies.) 2 Rows of chairs, one for each team. The first player goes to the first chair and stands by it, instructing Fido to Sit/Down & Stay. Once the first dog is settled,, the ssecond player goes to the second chair and does the same as the first player. And so on, each player/dog duo assuming a Stay position by a chair. Once the last dog has gone to a chair, the first dog/player combo leapfrogs past the last dog and goes to the next chair (ideally, if there are 4 duos then there would be say, 6 chairs) and so forth until all dogs have gone down the row and are now on the other side of the room. If at any time, a player/dog duo breaks the Stay, the team yells "Shark-infested Waters!" and the team has to start over again. It's fun.
2 -- Dress Your Puppy -- In this one, the goal is to get pups used to being handled and having a t-shirt put on them. (Good to acclimate them to such a thing -- sometimes medical emergencies can mean wearing strange gear for a while.). Again, 2 teams. Each duo moves across the room to a chair. There, the trainer or assistant will feed the pup some really tasty morsels while the owner puts a t-shirt (or bandanna for really tiny pooches). Then the duo heads back so another duo can start. The dogs are pretty cute and funny. 3 -- Another version of this is to have the owner put the dog on a Stay or drop a tidbit and use the Leave It command while sitting in the chair and either reciting the alphabet or eating a candy bar. Best for dogs with more advanced skills. I'll ask our trainer for ideas when I see her this Saturday. Hope this helps! Catherine Young Madison WI Shadow, Mickey & Jenny *** are you a cello teacher??
