Growing Up FDSA Ebook PDF

Growing Up FDSA
Surviving Your Dog Sports Puppy!
A collection of “must have” articles from

the instructors of Fenzi Dog Sports Academy
Copyright to Fenzi Dog Sports Academy (FDSA) and the individual instructors as
referenced in the articles. You are welcome to use and distribute as desired as long as
all author and FDSA copyright references are retained and visible.
Growing Up FDSA
Table of Contents
Surviving Week One Know When to Hold’em.....................52
Teaching
your puppy the Collar Grab
To Own a Dog..........................................4 Barbara Courier
Denise Fenzi
Puppy Recalls........................................54
Bringing a Puppy Home........................7 Chrissi Schranz
to Your Multi-Dog Household
Loretta Mueller Surviving Year One
Start Them Right.................................. 11 Annoyingly Adolescent.......................58
Andrea Harrison Kamal Fernandez
Puppy Socialization:............................14 Hand Targets for Puppies...................61

What happens in the brain? Julie Flanery
Jessica Hekman, DVM PhD
The Get Down Game...........................64
Touch Matters: ......................................17 Restraint
Manners for Puppies
Handling and Touching Puppies Julie Daniels
Lori Stevens, CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC
Exercising Puppies...............................67
Prevent Separation Anxiety................20 Debbie (Gross) Torraca, DPT, MSPT, CCRP
Nancy Tucker, CPDT-KA
The Magic of the Treat Magnet..........70
Growing Up...........................................22 Hannah Branigam
Minimize the Incidence of Developmental Sport Games..........................................73
Orthopedic Diseases in Your Puppy Building the Foundation
Sue Yanoff, DVM Julie Symons
Surviving Month One “Spot” Games........................................76

for Agility Puppies & Dogs
Puppy Focus...........................................26 Amanda Nelson
Deborah Jones, PhD
Release the Hounds..............................79
Touch Me Please!..................................29 Using a Release Cue
Husbandry Care to begin with your puppy Laura Waudby
Heather Lawson
Earning a Paycheck..............................82
Puppy Play Retrieve.............................34 Teach
Puppy to “Push the Button” for rewards
Mariah Hinds Lucy Newton
The Power of Eye Contact...................37 Tricks.......................................................85
Shade Whitesel
for Body Awareness & Relationship Building
Puppy Energy!.......................................40 Sara Brueske
Tiring out your puppy with Nosework Socializing..............................................89
Stacy Barnett
The Future Nosework Dog
Just Walk................................................43 Stacy Barnett
Sarah Stremming
Puppy Parkour......................................92
Building Relationship:........................46 Melissa Chandler
The Play Way! It’s a Puppy Not a Problem.................96
Amy Cook, PhD Denise Fenzi
My Puppy is Biting Me.......................49
in play
Denise Fenzi
©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 2

Surviving Week 1
Growing Up FDSA
S u rv iving Week On e
To Own a Dog
Surviving Week 1
Denise Fenzi | www.denisefenzi.com
© Lisa Sproat
Think about this for a minute. What it is to have a dog, another species, for a friend. A companion
who will be there with you, day after day, asking little more than something to eat and a safe
place to live.
I can take my dog’s leash off and know that she’ll return to me. She will chase critters, smell
good smells, snack on fresh grass or play ball, but always with an eye on me. When she is done
with her most current adventure, we’ll go home together.
I can ask her to come to me and remain by my side, and she will choose to respond because it’s
our habit to cooperate with each other, even though she has freedom to choose otherwise. Yes, I
trained these things but she does not follow my requests out of obedience. She follows because
it works for both of us, to live in harmony together.
My friendship with this dog affects other people as well. Walkers, cyclists, and equestrians all
smile as we pass by. My dog’s joyful leaping and running infects other people with her happiness;
a reminder of the pleasure of being curious and free. I am gratified to realize the power I have to
make another living creature so joyful as she bounces and runs on our way out. Alone, it’s just
a walk, but with my dog it’s our shared adventure.
And then I see people smile when we return. Now my dog walks quietly at my side, keeping
me company. Everyone is happy to see our companionship. Things feel right in the world when
a person is out with their dog, together with friendship.
©Denise Fenzi ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 4

Growing Up FDSA | Surviving Week 1
Surviving Week 1
There is no comparison between a person walking alone and a person walking with a dog. I
have all of the benefits of solitude; time to think and breathe, but none of the disadvantages of
being alone. I am not alone.
Not all dogs are so beautifully balanced, but a lot of dogs are, or have the potential to be. How
amazing this is, a species that is not considered rare or valuable – just a dog that we take for
granted, willingly staying in our homes and by our side. Dogs are widely available; many people
can have one, which means that you can go out and adopt or buy a friend. Think about that.
You can adopt or buy a friend. Doesn’t even matter if you’re a nice person – you can still have
a friend.
I put in some time to get to friendship, but that wasn’t work. As with all relationships, part of
the pleasure was finding ways to have both of our needs met. I enjoyed her youthful silliness as
well as the training time that gently helped mold her maturity. And now, as my dog approaches
her twelfth birthday, I marvel at the connection we’ve built with little more than the natural
capacity of our species to fall in love with each other.
I can pet her soft fur, share a snack, or we can walk. I can work on my computer and she’ll be
found asleep under my desk. And when I go to bed for the night, I know she’ll sleep nearby.
She is always there, waiting for me, for the price of her name.
In exchange for a few meals, the occasional walk, and a hand on her head when she asks for
attention, I have a friend. Day after day, that’s all it takes for my dog, a different species, to choose
me. An animal living contentedly in my home and giving back to me in ways too numerous to
count. A bit of a miracle, really.
If everyone had a dog for a friend – not because they thought they should get a dog, or to do dog
sports, or to guard the house, or because families have dogs – if people got a dog for a friend,
and then learned to treat that dog as a friend, the world would be a very different place. A
kinder, warmer and better place.
What follows in this book is a compilation of articles to help you find friendship with your new
puppy - a gift from Fenzi Dog Sports Academy (FDSA) and all of the participating instructors.
You may share this book as you wish with others who may benefit; we ask only that you retain
the author’s name for any article that you choose to share, and that you identify the source
of the article or materials as the “Growing Up FDSA” e-book, published by Fenzi Dog Sports
Academy Publishing.
Read through the articles and ask yourself...does this make sense for your situation? How might
you integrate what you read here with what you already know or believe to be true?
What you do next; that is up to you. There is no single “right” way to raise a puppy. Even
within FDSA and our staff you will find lively discussion about what is “best” - not all of the
instructors will agree with each other and that’s okay! Indeed, our belief at FDSA is that our
diversity within common parameters is a benefit which allows us to grow as trainers and dog
lovers.

Surviving Week 1
If you find yourself uncomfortable with new information, don’t throw it away! Give yourself a
little time to consider...might it be worth re-examining long held beliefs? Find a path, a route,
that allows you to reach the level of friendship and communication with your dog that works
best for your team. Find your way.
We hope this book helps you to do just that.
And on a personal note, I’d like to thank each of the contributing authors. I feel privileged to
spend my time working with such bright, compassionate and ultimately human individuals.

Bringing a Puppy Home
Surviving Week 1
to Your Multi-Dog Household
Loretta Mueller | www.fulltiltagility.com
© Leigh Smith
When you have other dogs, it can be tough knowing just what to do when you bring home a new
puppy. Some older dogs LOVE puppies, but many think they are annoying and emotionally
draining. I am going to discuss the things I learned to do, after much trial and error, to help
integrate a new puppy in with your older dogs.
First, let’s talk about goals with puppy introductions. Your goal should be to make it easy
on your older dogs, while still giving your puppy the education and enrichment they need.
Remember, your older dogs didn’t sign up for the puppy, you did. So my main goal is to keep
the disruptions that a puppy brings into the household to the least amount of chaos possible.
With that goal in mind, you next need to consider what kinds of dogs are in your current
household:
© Loretta Mueller
© Loretta Mueller
Puppy Lover: Indifferent:

No personal space issues, loves the (aka not sure they want to admit that
puppies, shares all the things, YAY the puppy exists): I don’t really see
PUPPIES! you. Go Away.
©Loretta Mueller ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 7

Surviving Week 1
Your dog could be somewhere in between all these.
© Loretta Mueller
It can also depend on the circumstance: outside vs.
inside the house, toys vs. no toys, around food vs. no
food. Depending on the situation, any of these photos
could happen, even with dogs that LOVE puppies in
other situations most of the time. But like most dogs,
your dog will have tendencies towards either liking or
not liking puppies. Taking those into account before
you bring puppy home is an important step toward
reducing chaos.
Puppy Hater:
Don’t come within 3 feet of me, you
are evil, I hate you.
In order to keep the dogs in my household from the added stress of the new puppy, I utilize an
exercise pen (x-pen for short). When I am not actively working or pottying the puppy, I have
them in the x-pen.
© Loretta Mueller
The x-pen is filled with toys that the puppy cannot
destroy. This serves several purposes:
• Keeps puppy contained, even if they don’t want

to be
• Keeps the adult dogs in your household from

being harassed by the puppy.
• Teaches the puppy to self-entertain and not

require your constant attention.
It is very important for your adult dogs to have the freedom of choice to interact with your new
puppy or not. The x-pen allows the other dogs in the household to get used to the puppy’s
presence without the pressure of HAVING to socialize. If I do have the puppy out, I will attach
them to me using a leash. This way, my adult dogs can either choose to interact with the puppy
OR they can keep their distance. This is an easy way to let your adult dogs choose what they
wish to do.

Surviving Week 1
© Loretta Mueller
© Loretta Mueller
© Loretta Mueller
© Loretta Mueller
Puppy good = dogs around
Puppy not good = dogs not around
As the puppy is accepted more and more, you will notice that the dog or dogs in your household
will start to relax. It is then that you can start introducing them in a controlled way. I normally
do this on walks and/or with chewies (where the puppy is on leash if it attempts to steal things
from the other dogs).
During all these interactions, always supervise the puppy and intervene whenever there is
conflict. It is normal for older dogs to correct a younger dog on occasion. But if the puppy is not
respecting the older dog, or the older dog is being a bully to the puppy, it is your job to remove
the puppy from the situation. Many behaviors can be prevented by just removing the puppy
from a bad situation before it becomes a habit. As puppies get older, they naturally will mature,
and most of the time, the older dogs will accept them.

Surviving Week 1
Behaviors I do not allow from the puppy:
• Bullying the adult dogs (biting, chasing, jumping on or barking at—unless they are truly
playing)
• Stealing toys
• Stealing food/bones
• Excessively rough playing
Behaviors I do not allow from the adult dogs:
• Bullying the puppy (knocking them over, attacking, chasing)

• Playing excessively rough.
• Guarding the owner (many times this can happen when a new puppy comes in).
• If a multi dog household, ganging up on the puppy.
By planning, giving your older dogs freedom of choice with the use of tools like x-pens and
leashes, and careful monitoring and supervision during the first several months after you bring
your puppy home, you can ensure that your entire household is introduced with as little fuss as
possible.

Start Them Right
Surviving Week 1
Andrea Harrison | www.andrea-agilityaddict.blogspot.ca
© Kathy Velek
“Start them right.”
“Make sure you do your foundation work.”
“Build those blocks.”
Those are the types of things you can expect to hear when you get a new puppy, and they can
cause you to worry! Are you doing it right? What will happen if you do it wrong? Can your
puppy live up to your expectations? Can you raise your puppy to meet the expectations of your
friends, coaches and trainers? Will the breeder appreciate your hard work or be disappointed in
you?
Worry can be about your puppy, your training or yourself. Is your puppy progressing fast
enough? You may fall prey to the “All His Siblings Can” head game. Or perhaps you’ll worry
about soundness, or a health concern. Maybe you’ll wonder if you are capable of raising this
puppy. (Spoiler: you are!!) But – and this is really important – it’s a totally human, natural and
expected response. No matter if your puppy fell into your lap from the neighbour around the
corner or was flown over an ocean to you after years of careful looking, worry is likely to walk
beside you some days. You want to do WELL. You want to do ALL THE THINGS. You want to
protect your puppy from all harm and risk
How can you head these concerns off?
Slow down. Think. Plan. Then Do.
©Andrea Harrison ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 11

Surviving Week 1
Develop both process goals and outcome goals for your journey together. That lovely MACH,
or podium placement that you have always wanted – those would be outcome goals – and
having them can provide good end goals. But between puppy’s arrival and those goals lies a
whole lot of learning, exploring and laying foundations piece by piece – the process goals!
Process goals need regular attention – are they still

realistic? How are they progressing? How can you
measure your success with them? Record-keeping can
become a very important step to seeing progression
– when combined with process goal-setting they can
reassure you that progress is in fact being made.
But know that all the planning and doing in the world
won’t protect you from worry. And that’s OK. At some
point a worry will probably creep into your psyche.
How do you relieve the concerns? Thoughtfully!

Notice your worry and decide on a plan of action to
test. If the first strategy doesn’t work,don’t fall into a pit of despair. Test a different strategy.
It is important to prevent the creation of an anxiety chain – where one concern leads to another
worry, which snowballs into anxiety about something else and so on. To help you through the
worry about your puppy, let me remind you of 4 key concepts that have helped me and many
of my students:
Stop comparing. Love the one you live with. Other people’s experiences can be guide posts,
but don’t let them be your measuring stick. Your experience is your own. Your relationship with
your puppy is unique, special and precious. Do not be disappointed if your puppy is a little
slower at times than another puppy. Celebrate it! You are becoming a better trainer and observer
with every puppy you raise. Don’t let comparison be a theft of your joy!
Have Fun! Your dog is only a puppy once. If going to puppy camp and spending lots of money
learning stuff together makes you happy, that’s awesome – do it. If instead it causes you grave
stress (either financial or emotional), do a simple local puppy class (if possible) and don’t sweat
it. Do your socialization thing but do the bits that make you happy and are doable. You do not
need to tick 300 items off a great checklist to raise a wonderful puppy – but if that degree of
planning helps you, go for it!
Let it Go. Worry is not you. Worry is a thought in your head – a guest as it were – and you
control your thoughts. They don’t control you. You can suggest that the worry “guest” leave.
Test Andrea’s Rule of Five: how long will the worry concern you? Five minutes, hours, days,
weeks or years from now will you still be worried? That consideration alone can be enough to
move beyond the emotion of worry.

Surviving Week 1
Reframe. When your concern feels overwhelming or is creating negative feelings like frustration,
think about how you could reframe them. Concerned your puppy is slow to learn something?
How about being grateful you are learning alternative training techniques? When your breeder
asks you too many questions and you feel judged, consider what a compliment it is that they
entrusted you with someone so precious to them, or be grateful that they care enough to ask.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly:
Your puppy is your puppy – your baby canine, an infant! Focus yourself on the things that
truly matter. Celebrate the zoomie fits and occasional mistakes. Plan some time to just enjoy
your new friend. Build your memory bank for that day – far off, we all hope – when all the
memories become precious to us.

Puppy Socialization:
Surviving Week 1
What happens in the brain?
Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD | www.dogzombie.com
© Alla Podkopaeva N Porsche

The first few months of your puppy’s life are an incredibly important time for helping her grow
into a friendly, confident dog. This socialization period is a time when experiences have much
greater and longer lasting effects than at any other time in a dog’s life. Socialization is essential
at this time to teach your puppy that strange people, dogs, and places are not scary, so that she
will be able to function at her best in the bustling competition environment. But why? What is
going on in your puppy’s brain to make these weeks so important?
All animals need to tune their brains to respond appropriately to the environment that they find
themselves in. A dog living on the street needs to be fearful, prepared for lots of dangers. To this
dog, a strange person might legitimately be dangerous. A sport dog, on the other hand, needs
to recognize that strange people, dogs and places don’t represent danger, but a stimulating
environment for performance. It is normal for animals to adjust to their environments early in
life, and in fact there’s evidence that they start to do this in the uterus. As adults, however, they
have to stop making these adjustments. They can’t be re-evaluating their world all the time;
instead, it’s time to make some assumptions based on their past experiences. So the socialization
period eventually closes, and the flexible puppy brain becomes the experienced adult dog brain.
This process suggests that the puppy brain is qualitatively different from the adult dog brain.
Indeed, it is, and the difference lies in connections between neurons, the cells that (among
other types) make up the brain. One neuron does nothing interesting on its own; neurons work
together to pass information around the brain and process it. The connection between two
neurons is called a synapse, and in our dogs’ brains, each neuron has thousands of synapses
with other neurons. In this simplified image, one neuron has extended arms called axons to
connect to a neighboring neuron. The connections of these arms to the second neuron are the
©Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 14

Surviving Week 1
synapses, where neurotransmitter molecules are
passed from one neuron to the next as a means of
passing information.
This complex network of neurons, connected by

synapses, is essential to the brain’s ability to take
in information and make decisions based on it, and
the network changes based on experiences. When
a dog learns something new, synapses between
many neurons become stronger, connecting these
neurons more tightly so that information, in the
form of neurotransmitters, flows between them more
readily. When the dog unlearns something during
the process of extinction, the opposite occurs, and
synapses become weaker, so that information is less
likely to flow between them.
During the socialization period, the baby brain is

making lots of extra synapses. There are millions
of new connections springing up between all those
neurons. Everybody is talking to everybody! Connections are everywhere! This is chaos, to have
everybody trying to connect to everybody else, and ultimately can’t be sustained in an adult
brain. Therefore, as the socialization period begins to close, synapses that are used infrequently
are removed, while those that are used frequently are kept, through a process called pruning.
This is the “use it or lose it” philosophy of brain development. One neuron might be connected
to thousands of other neurons, and then lose some of the connections and only be connected to
a few hundred. This process has been well detailed experimentally in the development of vision,
which is a bit easier to study than socialization. Scientists believe the same process is going on
in the parts of the brain involved in the stress response, although this is difficult to study – it’s
hard to get at the contents of those puppy brains without hurting puppies!
In this way, synapses relating to useless bits of information are lost. For example, synapses
relating to the lesson “people in funny hats are scary” – hopefully something the puppy didn’t
have much chance to practice during socialization – might be pruned. Meanwhile, synapses
relating to useful bits of information are retained, such as “people in funny hats are likely to
be nice and deliver many tasty treats” – hopefully something that happened frequently during
socialization. As a result, the puppy brain that had to evaluate people in funny hats afresh every
time gives way to the adult dog brain that makes assumptions about people in funny hats.
Whether those assumptions are good or bad is up to the person who did the socializing. If they
did a good job, they will have a dog whose brain is packed with good associations appropriate
for a competition dog. If they did a bad job, they’ll have a lot of trouble overcoming fears that
developed early in life. Those fears can be overcome later, but as the post-socialization brain
doesn’t make new synapses (i.e., new learning connections) as easily as the baby brain, changing
those assumptions later in life is more difficult.

Surviving Week 1
So when you are helping a puppy make good associations during his socialization period, what
you are really helping him do is to prune his synapses in a way that is appropriate for the world
he’s going to live in. We want him to keep a lot of connections, and to have them be good ones!

Touch Matters:
Surviving Week 1
Handling and Touching Puppies
Lori Stevens, CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC | www.seattlettouch.com
© Rebeccah Aube
You just brought your new puppy home. She’s so soft and cute that you automatically reach out
to hold and stroke her. But keep in mind that the way you handle and touch your puppy sets the
stage for her expectations around touch and handling for life. So creating a positive experience
for your puppy around touch is crucial. Touch can even be reinforcing to your dog depending
on your dog’s experience and history. Here are some of the things I think are important to keep
in mind as you begin your relationship around touch with your new puppy.
Pressure: When you touch your puppy you want to make sure you aren’t tickling her. A super
light touch is tickly and will likely cause your puppy to move away. Too much pressure can also
be unpleasant, e.g., you might knock your puppy off balance with your touch. Experiment with
pressure and watch your puppy for signs of discomfort. Make sure you aren’t throwing her off
balance with your touch.
Speed: Stroking slowly will be most calming to your puppy. This is usually what we want when
we are touching and handling our puppies versus when we are playing with them. If you stroke
quickly, you wake up the nervous systems and arouse your puppy.
Approach: How we approach touching a puppy is similar to how we’d approach touching an
adult dog. We want to approach gently and by “asking permission” with our hands. Start with
your puppy’s feet on the ground rather than on your lap. Then use the back of your curled-
fingers to stroke your puppy’s shoulder or side while placing the other hand gently on her chest.
As you do this, observe your puppy to see if she is welcoming of your touch or giving you signals
that this is a bit much by moving away. Other signs that your puppy may be uncomfortable
include growling, licking, biting, yawning, and squirming. If your puppy does any of these
©Lori Stevens ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 17

Surviving Week 1
simply remove your hands to give your puppy a break. Then try again.
Touch sensitivities: Puppies have varying sensitivities to touch. We need to determine what
touch the puppy is comfortable with and what touch she isn’t. We can respect her preferences
and start with touch that she is comfortable with and enjoys. Then we can start slowly building
comfort and positive associations with touch of more sensitive areas. We create the positive
association by pairing a treat or something to chew with approach and touch of a sensitive area.
Asking permission: Another way to ask your puppy if your touch continues to be welcome is
by removing your hands to see what your puppy does. If she stays near you or moves into your
hands, then it’s safe to assume your touch is welcome. If she moves away, then stop for a bit and
approach her again after a break. I teach a nose-to-hand touch as one of the initial behaviors a
puppy learns. After the break, we can ask the puppy for a nose-to-hand touch to encourage her
closer to us for reinforcement before starting any touch again.
We want to start a dialogue with our puppies around handling as early as possible. The first few
days you have your new puppy are crucial for establishing dialogue around touch and helping
your puppy feel safe when your hands approach. Part of helping your puppy feel safe is giving
her the choice to move away.
We want there to be a positive association to your hands approaching your puppy and to any
touch. One way to establish this association is responding to any signals that show you that your
handling is too much by removing your hands. In addition we can establish a positive association
between hands approaching by pairing the approach or touch with something reinforcing, e.g.
treats or something to chew on.
It’s especially important as we establish this dialogue that we include areas of the body that
will be involved in husbandry procedures such as teeth brushing, nail trimming, and veterinary
exams.
Handling ears, mouth, paws, and tail: Gently stroking your puppy’s ears should feel good to
you both. This is also preparation for starting to examine inside the ears. So gently moving the
ears and looking inside them helps get your puppy used to the idea that this is normal. This will
also help your puppy get used to hands approaching the top of her head.
It’s also important to get your puppy used to your fingers near and in her mouth. You can do
this by stroking the outside of your puppy’s muzzle a bit at a time getting your pup familiar
with your finger lifting her lips and stroking her gums.
Your puppy’s paws may be sensitive, so we want to initially approach them by stroking down
the leg and then stroking the top of her paw with our fingers. Practice this until the pup is
comfortable, then start picking the paw up to gently massage it while holding it loosely. I use my
thumb to massage each paw pad with my fingers on top of her paw. Your puppy should be able
to remove her paw from your hand if she’d like to. Your puppy should get comfortable with you
handling her paws before beginning nail trims. Break down the behaviors of a nail trim and get
your puppy used to a Dremel or clippers by placing them near you as you visit her with calming

Surviving Week 1
touch. As you get your puppy ready for nail trims, you should reinforce any paw handling and
begin touching the paws with your nail trimming equipment of choice.
Approach touching your puppy’s tail by stroking down your puppy’s side or back and then
stroking her tail or sliding her tail through your fingers. Allow your puppy to move away if
she’d like to. You will get many chances to practice this and help your puppy feel comfortable
with you handling her tail.
Gently stroking your puppy’s body will help your puppy get used to handling and prepare her
for grooming.
Picking up the puppy: Just because we can pick up a puppy and do whatever we want doesn’t
mean we should. I start by getting on the floor so the puppy isn’t initially going too far off of the
ground. I pick her up in a supported way and then I reinforce this by giving her a treat. Any sign
that she is uncomfortable is a signal to me to place her back on the floor. I like to give a puppy
a cue that will predict that I’m going to pick her up and that good things are going to happen
when I do.
In summary, every time you touch your puppy you are giving her another experience with
human touch. Our goal is to have human touch be reinforcing for your dog. Therefore, it’s
incredibly important to be mindful of all touch and handling starting early on. This way you
create positive associations around handling and touch for your pup that will last a lifetime.
Video: https://youtu.be/sQGG1GJqfoE

Prevent Separation Anxiety
Surviving Week 1
Nancy Tucker, CPDT-KA | www.nancytucker.com
© Nancy Tucker
When we bring a puppy home, we usually spend a lot of time with him, building a strong bond
between us. We know it’s important that we do everything we can to foster a sense of safety and
security: a puppy who feels secure is more likely to grow into a confident adult dog. Because
separation-related problems are far easier to prevent than they are to repair, adding some daily
“alone time” exercises into your schedule will help your puppy develop important coping skills.
Before we look at how, we need to take a glance at the developmental process to understand
where puppies stand on the whole “home alone” idea. Puppies are biologically predisposed to
stick to safety – stay close to home, to mom and littermates, no matter what. When you think
about it, “being alone is not safe” is a brilliant survival strategy. And it’s innate, meaning this is
not learned behaviour.
This is what you’re up against in the first few months of your puppy’s life. Later, in adolescence,
the opposite is true: juvenile dogs are biologically predisposed to start wandering further away
from the safety of home. Though they remain social animals and prefer to stay connected to
others – whether people or dogs – the urge to explore becomes stronger, and they become more
independent with maturity.
But for puppies, staying connected is more than a social issue, it’s a security issue. Here are
some steps that you can take to help your puppy handle alone time with confidence.
Mi bedroom es su bedroom
Contrary to popular belief, you’re not helping your puppy become more independent by
letting him “cry it out” at night, whether in a crate, in another room or sometimes on another
©Nancy Tucker ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 20

Growing Up FDSA | Surviving Month 1
Surviving Month 1
floor entirely. It sounds like a paradox, but setting up your puppy’s sleeping quarters in your
bedroom actually plays a role in preventing separation-related issues. More security now means
more confidence later. It’s a wise investment!
Set up his crate or box or rubber bin in your bedroom. I’d even go so far as setting it up right next
to your bed. When your puppy cries at night, first make sure his needs have been met (does he
need to potty?). Sometimes just placing your hand inside the box provides the reassurance your
puppy is looking for, and he’ll go right back to sleep. Remember that puppies normally sleep
huddled closely with their littermates. The warmth of your hand might be all he needs to let him
know all is right with the world.
You do your thing, I’ll do mine

While spending tons of time with our puppy during his waking hours is a great relationship-
builder, it’s just as important to teach him that being alone is okay and nothing to be afraid of.
Unfortunately, many puppies experience an all-or-nothing contrast after adoption. Since many
of us arrange to be home for at least a little while when we adopt a puppy, we’re a constant
presence for them all day, every day. When it’s time for us to get back to our usual work or school
schedule, our puppy quite suddenly finds himself alone. That can be terrifying for a young
puppy. The contrast is stark, and it signals that something is wrong (and he should worry!).
To prevent this, your puppy should spend some time alone every day, whether you’re home or
not. Decide where his “home alone” space will be – in a crate, or a room, or an enclosed area
of a larger room. Help your puppy make a very positive association with that space by feeding
his meals there. Make it the spot where he works on food toys like a stuffed Kong. Make sure
his “home alone” space is a normal part of his living space – in other words, don’t set it up
somewhere where family members don’t usually hang out, like a garage, laundry room, or
basement. Spend some time with him in that space. Sit nearby and read a book or work on your
laptop while he chews a bone or works on a food puzzle.
Once in a while, leave him alone in that space while you do something else. Make sure his needs
have been met (he’s pottied, he’s eaten, he’s played), then go about your business and ignore
him. The goal is to help him learn that this context is normal and that he has nothing to fear.
Build independence gently, don’t force it!
Remember that helping your puppy develop independence is less about teaching him that
sometimes he must be alone – “whether he likes it or not.” Instead, it’s about providing him
with all the security he needs while gradually showing him that being alone is perfectly safe.
©Nancy Tucker ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 21

Growing Up
Surviving Week 1
Minimize the Incidence of Developmental Orthopedic Diseases in Your Puppy
Sue Yanoff, DVM | www.animalptcenter.com
© Blase Dombrowski
You have a new puppy. You have big plans for a successful career in the sport(s) of your choice.
You have done your homework, made sure the parents had all their health clearances, and are
ready to start foundation training. Are there things you can do to minimize the chances that
your puppy will develop an orthopedic disease that might limit her career? Yes!
A developmental orthopedic disease is a condition that is caused by an abnormality in skeletal

growth. It “develops” as the puppy grows. Examples include hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia,
osteochondrosis and panosteitis. All these diseases have a genetic component, meaning that
the puppy’s genes will play a role in whether or not the puppy will develop the disease. But
there are also outside influences that may play a role in the expression of the disease. We cannot
change the puppy’s genetic makeup, but we can control, to various extents, her environment.
It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss all the possible orthopedic diseases a puppy can
get. But there are a few things that you can do, based on scientific research, which can help
minimize the development of some of these diseases.
1. Keep your puppy thin and grow her slowly.

Many studies have shown that overnutrition (particularly excess calories and calcium) can
increase the incidence of developmental orthopedic diseases in dogs. A 1992 study in Labrador
retriever puppies showed that rapid growth caused by overfeeding (excessive calories) can
increase the incidence of hip dysplasia. Not only that, puppies that were overfed had more
arthritis in the hips and shoulders when they were 8 years old. Also, puppies that were fed
fewer calories and grew up more slowly lived longer than the pups that were overfed. Slow
growing puppies will still reach the final size dictated by their genes. It will just take them
a little longer to reach their adult size. Your puppy should be thin enough that the average
©Sue Yanoff, DVM ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 22

Surviving Week 1
person might think that you are not feeding her enough. Even some veterinarians might think
your puppy is too thin. Ideally, the puppy should not be carrying any extra fat. You should
be able to easily feel her ribs.
2. Feed a complete and balanced diet.

Feed a diet that is appropriate for the size and age of your puppy. Make sure any diet you
feed – commercial, homemade, or raw - contains all the essential nutrients a puppy needs.
You can, if necessary, consult with a board certified veterinary nutritionist to make sure the
diet is nutritionally balanced. Other than calories, the most important thing to consider when
feeding a puppy is the calcium level in the diet. Excessive dietary calcium can contribute to
the development of orthopedic diseases. The calcium to phosphorus ratio is also important.
Calcium supplementation should not be needed for growing puppies.
3. Allow appropriate exercise.

No one really knows what “appropriate” exercise for a puppy is. You can find many
recommendations on line, but none are based on scientific research. A 2012 study out of
Norway found that pups that walked on stairs from birth to 3 months of age had an increased
risk of hip dysplasia. Pups that had off leash exercise from birth to 3 months, and that were
born on a farm between April and August, had a decreased risk of hip dysplasia.
While it is impossible to develop a detailed puppy exercise program based on that paper, I
think it is safe to make a few generalizations about exercise. Allow puppies to exercise on
none-slippery surfaces several times a day. This can be to play with you, to play with other
puppies, and to do foundation training. Activities should be low impact.
Avoid prolonged, rough play with other puppies and dogs. Be very careful about allowing
your puppy to play with a larger puppy or dog. Avoid prolonged forced exercise, such
as jogging with the owner, or running along with a bicycle. Long games of fetch can be
considered forced exercise. The puppy should be able to self-limit the amount of exercise she
wants.
Be careful with stairs. While it is fine to teach your puppy to go up and down stairs, frequent
running up and down could cause a lot of stress on the bones and joints. Not only that, the
puppy could fall down the stairs and hurt herself. Minimize jumping, including obedience or
agility jumps, jumping into and out of cars, and jumping on and off furniture and beds. Jump
bumps are probably fine, in moderation.
4. Keep your puppy fit.

Nutrition and exercise are both important components of fitness. Strong muscles are needed
to support bones and joints. Teaching puppies exercises that improve their muscle strength,
balance, and coordination may help minimize developmental orthopedic diseases.
When is your puppy not a puppy?

The general answer is when the growth plates close. The growth plates are the thin areas of
cartilage at the end of bones, from which the bones grow. The growth plates in different bones
close at different times. The last growth plates to close are at the top of the tibia (shin bone) and

Surviving Week 1
top of the humerus (upper arm bone).
The age at which all the dog’s growth plates are closed varies, depending on the breed. In
general, small and medium size dogs’ growth plates close by 12 months of age. In large and
giant breeds, all the growth plates may not be closed until they are 18-24 months of age. By the
time the growth plates are closed, any orthopedic disease that your dog will develop is already
there. She may not show clinical signs, but that’s a discussion for another day.
There is nothing that we know of that can prevent all developmental orthopedic diseases all of
the time. But by keeping the puppy fit, with appropriate nutrition and exercise, we are taking
the best actions that we can to minimize the chance that your puppy will have a problem in the
future.

Surviving Month 1
Growing Up FDSA
S u rv iving Month On e
Puppy Focus
Surviving Month 1
Deborah Jones, PhD. | www.k9infocus.com
© Kelsey Mehlhoff
One of the most important foundation concepts you can teach your puppy is that focusing on
you always leads to good things happening for him. You are the most fun and you have the
best stuff. You are generous with both your time and resources. Puppyhood is the best time to
encode the concept that you are everything important and exciting in the world. Giving your
puppy both quality AND quantity time now, while you still have a little sponge-brain puppy,
will pay off in many ways throughout his lifetime.
Focus is a fluid process, not a stationary goal. Focus levels change as the environment changes.
We cannot teach focus like we teach a sit or down. But we can tip the scales in our favor by
establishing a strong default habit of focus on us. Though it’s really a pretty simple concept, the
best approach is to keep it simple, especially for a baby. Making things too difficult or complicated
is destined to fail. So keep your sessions short and your expectations low. Remember that every
interaction you have with your puppy is a chance to increase his desire to focus on you.
Where should you begin your “formal” focus training? We start with an exercise we call rapid fire
treats (RFTs). Your job is to mark and treat your puppy 10 times as fast as you can. Your puppy
doesn’t have to do anything except take the food. At this point we are laying the groundwork
for focus. Your puppy doesn’t have to do anything to earn those 10 cookies yet. That part will
come later.
Here’s an example of RFTs using a verbal marker “yes” and a lick of meat flavored baby food.
This one is great for tiny puppies:
https://youtu.be/4h0lwMSsT5s
©Deborah Jones, PhD. ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 26

Surviving Month 1
And here’s an example using a clicker and tiny pieces of kibble:
https://youtu.be/cAuDNORL4YY
In both of the above videos, Tigger is learning that Judy has good stuff and that she is willing to
be incredibly generous with it. He’s making a strong emotional connection between Judy and
the food, and he’s learning that she is an important part of the process. This is the foundation
for future training with him.
While we definitely ‘pay’ for focus with food in the early stages, puppyhood is also the ideal
time to introduce the idea that focus can also lead to play, praise, and petting. In general, I try
to use these non-food reinforcers more than 50% of the time. Food works really well for most
puppies, so the tendency is to go with that almost exclusively because it’s so easy. However,
it’s really smart to keep the value of interacting with us, even when we aren’t offering food, as
high as possible. Ultimately, you will want your grown-up dog to enjoy working with you even
when no food is in the environment. Keeping that goal in mind as you start interacting with
your baby puppy is a very wise idea.
In this video Judy is playing with Tigger without any toys (personal play). Tigger is learning that
interacting with her is fun. You can see that Judy is using her voice and her movement (mainly
with her hands). She is using a lot of touch at a variety of intensity levels. Most importantly,
throughout this process she is closely monitoring his responses and then changing her own.
This level of play is perfect for Tigger, but it might be too overwhelming for some puppies and
not compelling enough for others. In puppyhood we are learning about our pups as much as
we are teaching them.
https://youtu.be/qSbnM7txWR4
In addition to these focus exercises, we also introduce our pups to a variety of focus games. In
this game Judy is playing peekaboo with Helo. Again, she’s monitoring his responses carefully
and altering her behavior accordingly. If he seemed upset or frightened or simply uninterested
then she would change her approach.
https://youtu.be/p6weq3rYOX4
What should you do if your puppy is having trouble maintaining focus and interest during a
play or training session? The inability to maintain focus could mean that there is a distraction
in the environment, your interaction is not enjoyable for your pup, your pup may be tired or
overwhelmed, or the location you are working in is too challenging. The first step to fixing
any of these possible issues is to end the session in a pleasant manner. Scattering a few cookies
on the ground for your pup is a pretty good option here. Then consider what needs to change
before you begin your next session.
Trying to continue a session when you don’t have 100% of your pup’s focus is always a poor
choice. If your puppy’s behavior shows you he isn’t ‘all in’ during a play or training session,
continuing on only teaches him to give you partial rather than full focus. As the trainer it’s our

Surviving Month 1
job to figure out what needs to change so that our pups can be fully engaged and connected with
us during our sessions. If you get in the habit of only working with a fully focused dog when
they are babies, you’ll be amazed at how easy all your other work together becomes. Focus
becomes the underlying default to all your interactions, which is our ultimate goal.
My best advice is to enjoy your puppy, take lots of pictures and videos, and lay a good focus
foundation early.

Touch Me Please!
Surviving Month 1
Husbandry Care to begin with your puppy
Heather Lawson | www.dogwise.ca
© Rebeccah Aube
WHY & WHAT IS IT?
Our dogs generally need daily care and feeding; this care is called “husbandry.” Most of the
time, we don’t think very much about the daily care process – until we go to do it and guess
what? Our puppies aren’t having any of this “touchy stuff.”
What are we to do then? To prevent these unwanted responses, we need to teach our puppies
early on that having their bodies touched or manipulated is a GOOD THING. When we begin
the process of teaching them this, our goal is to make it as positive as possible.
Touch Me Please! should encompass all the things you will eventually need to do at some point
in your dog’s life. It can include simple things such as brushing their coat, wiping them down
with a towel after a hike on the trails, or giving a bath. It should also include more difficult
things such as nail clipping and administering medications. If we don’t do some “prep work”
ahead of time, these types of everyday care behaviours can end up being a very frustrating
futile struggle of wills, even resulting in growls and bites. Waiting until you actually need to
administer medication, get that tangled mass out of your pup’s coat or even just do a wipe
down isn’t a wise idea. Not only may your dog not like to be touched, he may also be in pain
and therefore learn to associate your touch to that pain, especially when it comes to medications.
The Touch Me Please! process not only helps with your everyday husbandry duties, it also sets
the stage for positive interactions with other humans such as groomers and veterinarians. And
it helps to decrease the inevitable puppy mouthing or nipping that many owners experience
when reaching a hand towards the pup’s face or other parts of their bodies. So I start very early
©Heather Lawson ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 29

Surviving Month 1
with all of my puppies with what we call “handling”—getting the puppy comfortable with
being touched all over. It ensures later down the road when I need to do something that may
not be pleasant for me or my dog, they will at least have built up a trust in my touch and forgive
me when it may not be as pleasant as they expected.
I encourage you to do the same. Taking a few moments on a regular daily (yes, daily!) basis
will have a huge payback later down the road. Here is an example of the process and a small
snippet of what is called “cooperative care” and how I approached a few situations with my
puppy Piper.
FINAL GOAL BEHAVIOUR:
• Your puppy lies quietly on his side, sits or stands without struggling while you check feet,
tail, ears, teeth, eyes, body AND maybe even do a couple of brush strokes.
• Your pup will also allow another person – your friend, groomer or your Veterinarian – to
examine him with just as much ease and quiet confidence. (Exercise required for CGN,
CGC test)
TOOLS:
• You will need a clicker

• Variety of treats in a bowl or treat pouch
• A nicely tired out or sleepy dog
I am comfortable using the clicker and treating with either hand; if you’re not, I suggest that you
use whichever hand that works for you. You can even opt to use a verbal marker if you need to.
One hand will work the clicker and treats and that will be the only job it has. The other hand will
be the touching hand and eventually brush hand when we add a brush.
SESSIONS: Always keep your sessions short. This allows you to make progress without getting
your puppy past their tolerance level in the beginning stages.
Level 1 - The Beginning Touch
1. Puppy can be in whichever position he is comfortable (sit, down or stand). Touch the dog’s
side for one second, click while your hand is still touching the dog, then treat using your
other hand to give the treat. Continue to touch your puppy on every part of his body for a
count of 1 second. Work your way to the back legs, tail (length of tail), then along the back,
ears and paws. Pay attention to make sure your dog is comfortable during the session. Be
aware of any part of the body that may cause him concern when you touch as you may
have to do extra work in this area to help him feel more comfortable. Repeat this procedure
on a daily basis. Yes, I did say daily basis! It’s important for your puppy to have lots of
calm physical contact from you so that they can develop trust in your touch. REMAIN at
Step 1 for a few days or even a week or two until you can touch every part of your dog’s

Surviving Month 1
body. It doesn’t have to be long - just a second or 2 will do in the beginning.
2. Next, touch each part of the dog’s body, this time asserting a tiny bit more pressure in your
touch and holding it for about two seconds before clicking and treating. Always remember
you want to click while your hand is STILL in physical contact with the dog. As soon as you
click, you can remove your hand and give a treat to the dog.
3. Vary each touch from 1-5 seconds, clicking and treating the dog for quiet, relaxed behaviour
– i.e. not struggling, wiggling, or moving away from you. You’re looking for a relaxed body
even lying down.
Level 2 - Change of Location & Adding People
Change locations and repeat Level 1 - Steps 1-3. Changing locations might mean working on
the floor, or a surface that is different from the norm, even a raised surface like a counter or
grooming table. Ensure that you’re use high value treats for this change in criteria.
1. If your dog is comfortable, you can now have several people the dog knows well and is
comfortable with do the touching steps from Level 1 while you click and treat your dog’s
calm behaviour.
2. Next, move onto someone the dog doesn’t know quite as well while you click and treat
their calm behaviour.
ADVANCED - Take It On The Road
Take your dog to your veterinarian’s office to get treats from the staff in the waiting area, even
from your Veterinarian if they’re available. During the visit, try having your dog:
1. Get clicked and treated for stepping and sitting on the scale
2. Get clicked and treated going into and out of an exam room with no one in the room
3. Get clicked and treated in the exam room when the staff enter the exam room (or if possible
even have your Veterinarian enter the room)
4. Repeat this type of Vet visit many times before your puppy actually needs to have a
procedure done; even their first shots. This will help your dog feel that your veterinarian’s
office is cookie heaven instead of doggy hell.
I will often book a paid vet visit to practice with my new puppy. It is well worth it in the long run
to go through this process. My veterinarian is very willing to participate because she understands
that I’m trying to make her job as easy as possible. It’s always easier to work with a dog who is
comfortable being examined than with one who is stressed, fearful and therefore more likely to
bite.

Surviving Month 1
ADDING GROOMING TOOLS – Brush or Toweling
Once you have basic acceptance of touch in place you can begin to add your grooming tools
as part of your daily care. A brush is often used as part of the of a regular grooming regime, so
that’s what I usually start with. The same “rules” apply for introduction of any other piece of
equipment.
When introducing a new tool, I allow my dog to sniff it and I click and treat them for doing so.
Sometimes it’s just one sniff; other times they require a more in-depth sniffing and investigation.
Checking things out is okay, it helps to alleviate any concerns they may have of the object.
GETTING READY: Collect your equipment – clicker, treats and brush – prior to getting your
dog. When you’re set and ready to work, go get your dog. Your dog can again be in any position
when you start. Again, working with a calm, tired dog will be to your advantage.
Ideally, your sequence of events will be to present your brush first, followed by any food treat,
so that your dog learns that brushes predict good things. If we present the food treat first it can
become the predictor of brushing and make things worse, especially if your dog is already not
a fan of brushing. You can present the food and brush simultaneously - but it needs to be done
at exactly the same time.
PROCESS:
1. Present the brush, let the dog check it out. (C/T any interaction)
2. One small, very light brush stroke - C/T
3. Continue with full stroke - one C/T
4. Gradually add multiple - 2 to 3 brush strokes before you C/T
5. Continue until you can do a full brushing.
Piper’s first full brushing session at 3 mos. All previous conditioning touch work was done
prior to this session. I opted to use a food dispensing tool stuck to the fridge and filled with soft,
canned food. You can set up a similar situation by applying a big smear of creamed cheese or
peanut butter on the fridge door. During the process Piper had a choice to end the session. I’d
rather pick up brushing later than give her a negative experience.
https://youtu.be/jovVBiPdDcc
NOTE: Don’t progress to a full brushing all in one session. Progress slowly - stay at the same step
for a couple of sessions if need be. Only progress when your puppy is comfortable at the current
level. Spread your sessions throughout the day—it’s better to have short, positive sessions. Your
puppy or dog should always have the choice to pause or end the session. If they aren’t “in the
mood” then, that’s okay, try again later. Never force the issue. You are much better to opt for
calm compliance than to make it a struggle.

Surviving Month 1
TAKING “TOUCH ME PLEASE” FURTHER: Think about all the other tasks or procedures you
will need to accomplish with your dog beyond basic brushing and bathing. How about being
professionally groomed, or medicines like eye or ear drops being required on a regular basis?
What sports will you do with your puppy – agility where they may need to be measured,
conformation or obedience where they will need to be examined by a judge? Using treats, a
clicker and a little creativity, you can make all these things so much easier for your dog.
Here is an example of Piper getting eye drops. With prior muzzle conditioning, she was
comfortable with hands around her face. She allowed me to hold her in position. She checked
out the eye drop bottle and I was able to quickly and easily apply her eye drops. No Fuss, No
Muss, that’s what Touch Me Please! is all about.
https://youtu.be/ZTUjKurPtaU

Puppy Play Retrieve
Surviving Month 1
Mariah Hinds | www.mariahhinds.com
© Naomi Shaw
Retrieving is a useful skill for a variety of dog sports, but most puppies don’t come home with a
natural retrieve. We have to teach them that sharing can be fun. Instead, we often accidentally
reinforce the idea that keeping their items is in their best interest. When they discover a sock and
put it in their mouths, we approach them and take it away. When they discover yummy sticks,
we take it away. Why would they decide to bring items to us if we take the objects away often?
Since our goal is to teach the puppy that bringing items to us is an excellent idea, being less
confrontational when the puppy is chewing on items will help them be less worried that you
are going to take them away. So early management is the first step that will positively impact
our ability to teach the retrieve. For example, I like to have at least 2 dozen toys spread out
across the living area and around the house in a 1400 square
foot home. Really young puppies aren’t likely to go far to get
to a chew item, and by having plenty of appropriate toys easily
available, we make it easy for them to make good choices. On
walks, we can tie a dog toy to the leash to redirect the puppy to
that toy instead of chewing inappropriate found items. When
you do need to take an inappropriate item away, we want to
trade the puppy for it by offering a suitable toy.
In addition to these management steps, before we begin

working on our retrieve, it’s important to have an idea of
which toys and objects are more valuable to your puppy. All
objects are not considered equal. If the puppy is bored, we may
need to entice them with a more valuable object. If the puppy
©Mariah Hinds ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 34

Growing Up FDSA | Surviving Year 1
Surviving Month 1
only wants to keep the retrieve item, then we want to play with a lower value toy that they are
more willing to give back. Knowing which toys are most or least exciting will help us choose the
best items for building a nice success rate in our pups.
Now, we want to teach the puppy that possessing toys isn’t the only fun thing that can be done
with them: toys are also a fun way to interact with you! To start this, I like to use tug. We want
to build value for playing and tugging with you. It’s important when we start to let the puppy
feel powerful when tugging. When the puppy tugs a tiny bit, let the puppy pull the toy towards
themselves. Let the puppy win the toy occasionally. Keep sessions less than 3 minutes in length
and often shorter than that. If the puppy wanders off, try a shorter session the next time. We
want the session to end with the puppy wanting more.
We also want to avoid doing things that cause the puppy to drop the toy. If the puppy accidentally
drops the toy, don’t keep it – engage the puppy in play again. Drag the toy around like a snake.
Let the toy take tiny hops off the ground like a rabbit bounding across the floor. Let the toy hide
momentarily behind your back like the squirrel who hides on the other side of the tree trunk.
Puppies oftentimes get overwhelmed when they are pushed and that can cause them to drop the
toy. Our goal is that the only time the puppy drops the toy is accidentally.
I prefer to use tug toys that are kept out of reach of the puppy when not in use; I can use a
larger variety of exciting toys (furry toys, whippy toys) if I don’t have to worry about the puppy
destroying them. When it is time to end a tugging play session, grab another toy that the puppy
can keep and play the two-toy game so that the puppy switches toys. Wiggle that second toy
around until the puppy drops the first toy. Play with that toy for a few seconds and then say all
done and leave the puppy with the second toy.
If you are finding it difficult to get your puppy to focus on your tug games, take a look at the
environment. It’s easiest to start when there are very few distractions and very little distance.
Later on, we will add numerous distractions and there could be a lot of distance. By manipulating
the environment to help the puppy be successful, we can build our behavior much more quickly,
efficiently and without frustration.
The next element that we want to add to teaching

our retrieve is capturing the puppy walking in
our direction with a toy. Let’s say that you are on
the computer in the living room and the puppy
grabs a toy on the other side of the room. As
the puppy takes a few steps towards the couch
where you are, verbally praise the puppy while
they are moving towards you. My expectation is
that the puppy is going to take a step and then
do what they had planned on doing with the toy.
My expectation isn’t that the puppy is going to
bring the toy to me. I just want to take advantage
of those moments when the puppy is walking in
my direction with an object in their mouth. I like to do this every time I see it for a few days.

Surviving Month 1
We now have all of our pieces in place so that we can get to the actual retrieve:
We have our management tools to prevent the dog from being confronted with objects in their
mouths and us needing to take away those items for safety.
We have built some value for tugging.
We have captured a few moments of the puppy approaching us while they have a toy.
We know what toys are more exciting for the puppy and we know what environments are easiest
for the puppy.
We also want to choose a time of day when the puppy wants to be in motion instead of stationary.
We can practice after the puppy wakes up from a nap (after their potty break). We can practice
first thing in the morning or we can practice when you get home from work.
To begin teaching the actual retrieve, I like to start in a very small space, where there are no
distractions and almost no distance – in my house, the bathroom is an ideal first location. In
your chosen small space, start by warming the puppy up with some tugging.
Once the puppy accidentally drops the toy, throw the toy a little distance away. I like to throw
it into the tiny space that is between the toilet and the wall. That pretty much guarantees that
when the puppy picks up the toy and turn around, he will be facing me with the toy in his
mouth. We can then play a little bit of tug again. When the puppy accidentally drops the toy the
next time, I will again toss it and again tug when the puppy turns around.
If the puppy wants to lie down and chew on the toy, I will end the session and I’ll revisit my list
of toy options, distance, distractions, and the time of day that we play the game. Remember to
end the game before the puppy gets bored or tired. Two minutes of play is a long time for a really
young puppy.
As the puppy learns that it is fun to bring the toy to you to continue the game, we can add
more distance between where the toy lands and where you are. We can also start throwing it
to different locations in the first small space. When they are 80% reliable with retrieving in that
area, we and expand to a slightly larger area—for example, you can open the bathroom door and
sit in the doorway and play the game. Then we can play in a hallway and then a bedroom and
then the living room. And finally, outside and in new locations.
By following these steps, we will build a fun game to play with our puppies—and useful skills
for the more formal retrieves that we may want later for our chosen sports.
Getting started on our retrieve: https://youtu.be/os5RlEJzyO0
Adding more distance to our retrieve game: https://youtu.be/j5dVpxUt1_M
Adding new locations to our game: https://youtu.be/N-8vObeELzA
When we set our puppies up to succeed with toy play and when we avoid confrontation with
our puppies when they have items in their mouths, we can easily capture and shape a true joy
for interacting with you with objects and with retrieving. Have fun playing with your puppy!

The Power of Eye Contact
Surviving Month 1
Shade Whitesel | www.shadesdogtraining.net
© Amanda Labadie
The first or second day I get a pup home, before I even teach the pup his name, recall, or anything
else, the very first thing I teach is focus on me – eye contact. In particular, I want the pup to look
AWAY from something he wants and focus on me instead. That “want” can be a treat, to greet
another person or dog, a toy, access to outside, or anything else in the moment. In the future,
I will work on how behaviors, reinforcement and what I’ve termed a “reset” fit together. But
teaching the dog that focus on me is the gateway to getting what he wants is the very first thing
I concentrate on.
Why eye contact?
• Calm
• Easy criteria for us to mark, the dog is either looking at us or he is not
• Impulse control away from toy or treat, no grabbing
• Dog learns to offer/choose default focus to get what he wants
Eye Contact Step 1:

To begin, with ONE hand, hold the treat out to the side at arm’s length away from your face
and wait for your dog to look up at your eyes. Common things the dog will try are jumping,
barking, and mouthing your hand. Make sure you brace that elbow on your side and don’t
move the hand! I like to hold it high enough at first so that the dog can’t reach my hand by
standing on his hind legs. Use your verbal marker word, or a click, when the dog makes eye
contact, pause and then give the treat from the hand holding the treat.
©Shade Whitesel ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 37

Surviving Month 1
Once the dog can do it from one hand held out to the side, practice in mini sessions throughout
the week, holding the treat in different locations (all the faces of the clock) and expecting the
dog to look at you. The hardest skill for the dog is when you are holding the treat right in front
of their faces. If the dog jumps, barks, bites your hand, anything, say nothing and keep your
hand still. Wait for the dog to settle down and offer eye contact. No obedience cues, no Leave
it, no words, no movements. The dog figures out that those behaviors don’t work to get what
he wants by the absence of the marker signal.
Here is Ones as an adorable baby puppy learning this skill:

https://youtu.be/O7ObCVrCpEo
Eye Contact Step 2:

“Freeing” the dog up in between reps. Do the same thing as step 1, but now be aware of and
make sure that your dog moves out of position as you hand him the food after the marker.
Sometimes dogs put themselves into a sit and find it easier to control themselves from lunging
at the food but still can’t control themselves if they don’t “think” they are in a stay.
Here is Bayles demonstrating:

https://youtu.be/WoBwvveurWU
Eye Contact Step 3:

Remote Reward. Have the treats in a bowl in a chair, on a table, etc. If your dog won’t leave
the treat bowl alone with or without a leave it cue, then put the bowl up high so that he can’t
reach it. (Self-control around the bowl isn’t the point of this exercise, but is awesome to have.)
Stand next to the treat bowl with hands by your side, wait for offered eye contact, mark and
then reach into the bowl for the treat. Gradually stand farther away.
Here is Bayles demonstrating:

https://youtu.be/VJwpwH53d68
Eye Contact Step 4:

Start practicing offered eye contact with other motivators the dog likes. For instance, if you
have a dog who likes to play ball, start holding the ball in place of the food, marking and
tossing the ball as reward. Also adapt the concept of eye contact to the dog’s life. She looks
at you to go outside, to eat, to gain access to a person or a treat, etc. Start putting eye contact
into your obedience cues as well. For instance, if the dog knows a sit, you can praise the act of
sitting but mark and treat the sitting plus eye contact.
Here is Bayles learning eye contact for the marker word to bite the ball. This is an important
step to achieving obedience or agility behaviors around high arousal toys. Notice how I give
her some free throws in the middle and her dropping the ball for me still slows down. Good
to know!
https://youtu.be/xWbcW-sTxAU

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Eventually, as the dog gains behavioral skills, the task will be to offer focus to go bite the helper,
offer focus to gain access to the agility ring, choose focus on handler instead of ball or tug or
environment. Focus and attention towards the handler will become a dog’s default behavior,
especially when he wants something.

Puppy Energy!
Surviving Month 1
Tiring out your puppy with Nosework
Stacy Barnett | www.scentsabilitiesnw.com
© Amanda Labadie
Ok, you have a puppy. You have been told time and time again that your high energy puppy
can’t be over-exercised because of delicate puppy joints and bones. Your puppy is driving you
crazy with his antics. You don’t always want to keep your puppy in a crate. So now what?
You know you need brain games. Did you know that you can use your puppy’s WHOLE
BRAIN? Did you know that one eighth of your puppy’s brain is dedicated to olfaction? Just
think of the impact on the mental wear-down! Yes, you can wear that puppy out!
What if your puppy is going to be a future Obedience Star or an Agility Star? Do you want
that puppy learning to sniff? Of course! It’s important to note that dogs who sniff in the ring
do so because of stress, not because they have been allowed to sniff. So there’s no danger in
encouraging your puppy to do what comes naturally. In fact, these exercises may very well help
establish capabilities to do scent articles in the future.
Playing these games will also develop skills that your puppy will need if you decide to work
her in the sport of Nosework. In Nosework, the dog is trained to find a Q-tip scented with an
essential oil as chosen by the sport organization - for example, AKC uses Birch, Anise, Clove and
Cypress. (NOTE: If your puppy is destined for Nosework greatness, I would suggest starting
her directly on Birch.)
The great part about this is that you don’t need anything fancy to engage your puppy’s brain –
you can use what you have in your pantry. A tea bag is PERFECT for this. Just make sure that
the tea is Caffeine Free.
©Stacy Barnett ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 40

Surviving Month 1
The first step is to put the tea bag in one hand and your
© Stacy Barnett
cookies in the other. When your puppy investigates the
cookie hand, just wait her out. Don’t correct her or take
away your hand. Soon your puppy will check the hand
with the tea bag. When she does this, mark with your
marker word (commonly a “Yes”) and feed the cookie
within an inch or so of the tea bag.
This is called “Imprinting” and is modeled after the

way detection puppies are trained. Detection puppies
might be trained using a series of elbow pipes with
holes drilled in them for food delivery, but the process
is the same, and tea bags are cheaper than expensive
detection pipes!
Continue this exercise, switching hands occasionally, until your puppy has figured out that she
needs to target the hand with the tea bag. This will happen very quickly!
Once your puppy understands this exercise, the next
© Stacy Barnett
step is to put the tea bag in a small box. Gift boxes are
perfect for this purpose. The opening is such that the
puppy is encouraged to have what is called a “passive”
indication. The added benefit of using small boxes
is that your puppy will get a positive exposure and
socialization experience that will build confidence!
Start with a single box. When she puts her nose in the
box with the tea bag, mark “Yes” and reward as close to
the tea bag as you can get. See how the box molds her
indication?
Pretty soon your puppy will be climbing all over you Here Stacy works with 10 month old Labrador
puppy, Brava, to imprint the smell of the tea bag
to get to her box. Now we are going to really challenge
her. Bring out two more empty boxes and let her choose © Stacy Barnett
which one has the tea bag. Don’t forget to reward her
for her hard work. At this point your puppy will really
start to use her olfactory capabilities. There might be
guessing early on – that’s okay. She’ll figure it out
quickly.
At this point your puppy is not only using her olfactory

capabilities, she’s having to deduce which box contains
the tea bag. This engages the rest of the brain.
Make sure to keep these sessions short. If your puppy

seems tired, take a break and either play with your Brava learns to put her nose in a box with the
puppy with a toy, or come back to this exercise a little target odor (tea bag)

Surviving Month 1
later. Puppies are sponges but it’s important not to overwork them.
The final step is to start hiding the “hot” box. We call a box “hot” when it contains target odor.
You might want to mark your box with a H for HOT so that you remember which box was used
for odor. Important Note: Never use a previously “Hot” box (one that has contained odor) as a
“Cold” box (one that’s supposed to be without odor.)
When you start hiding your Hot box, keep it simple and out in the open. Very soon your puppy
will be hunting down that box! Target searches for taking 15 to 20 seconds or less in order to
keep the puppy’s motivation up. If the search is taking too long, briefly put away your puppy
and make the hide easier. We want your puppy thinking she conquered the world!
You are now ready for searches. But whether you decide to pursue Nosework or not, you have
a game to engage your high-energy puppy’s brain, tire her out, and keep her thinking for many
years to come! Enjoy and keep it fun!

Just Walk
Surviving Month 1
Sarah Stremming | www.thecognitivecanine.com
© Rachel Stroud
We know that puppies should be out and about seeing the world. We know that they should get
daily exercise, socialization, and training opportunities. Where we aren’t always clear is what
exactly these opportunities should look like. A walk around the block has pros and cons, as does
a weeknight in puppy kindergarten. When it comes to how much exposure and training a pup
should have, ten trainers usually provide ten different answers.
That’s not really a bad thing; different people require different things from their dogs and so
different puppy-rearing practices are warranted. But there is one thing that would benefit them
all, a way to provide them with all three bullet points—exercise, socialization, and training—
that dogs are begging for from a very early age.
I call it a “decompression walk.” It goes like this: no more rules than necessary, as little restriction
as possible, natural surfaces and surroundings, and dog-dictated distances. The formula is
simple: take the puppy out to the forest/field/beach/etc. and either attach a long line to a non-
restrictive harness or unclip the leash and go.
Let’s consider exactly what this is going to accomplish.
Puppy-Safe Exercise
A cruise around the neighborhood or outdoor shopping area—a restricted leash walk on
concrete—might help prepare our pups for the sights and sounds of the human world, but they
should not be done for long periods of time due to the pup’s growing body. Vulnerable joints
want to move freely on natural surfaces, not be marched around on harsh man-made substrates.
We need our puppies to sleep well and experience an appropriate amount of exercise, so we
©Sarah Stremming ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 43

Surviving Month 1
need to get them out on the dirt, grass, and sand of the world.
To keep puppy decompression as safe as possible, don’t consider it human exercise time. In fact,
staying mostly stationary while your pup explores around you, or following him along as he
explores his environment, is best.
Organic Socialization
The wooded trails, sandy beaches, and rocky riverbanks we might explore with our puppies
will not have loud noises, crowds, or any of the other “big ones” we think about for socializing
sport puppies. What they will have is an occasional social opportunity, flopping fish, squawking
birds, thunder, snow, joggers, bikes, and hikers wearing big packs. These and a host of other
experiences will show our pups that life happens and the incredible scents of the world
remain. An organic socialization experience is what I am usually after for my puppies—not a
manufactured one.
Our sport puppies will hopefully grow into sport dogs, and that means we may need to create
intentional socialization experiences like attending dog shows. But we must not forget the
natural socialization that occurs when we take our puppies for a romp in the woods. Too many
dogs are comfortable at dog shows and not on the trail, and that is a disservice we’ve done them.
Body Awareness
Sport dogs require a good understanding of their bodies. Flashy heads-up heeling, powerful
flawless jumping, and effortless navigation of hide areas require our dogs to know their bodies
well. Watch a fox leap into the air, pouncing the precise spot a mouse is hiding beneath a snowy
hillside and you will see that the simple navigation of natural terrain can teach skills an inflated
peanut can’t. When I watch a young dog run down a wooded trail, I see jumping skills, weaving
footwork and speedy contacts developing. I see a dog getting to know her body in a way that
nature intended for her to do so.
Recall Foundation
Safety is a big reason to teach a great recall, but the life of our dogs depends on this skill in
more ways than one. A recall could save your dog’s life if your leash fails near traffic, if a moose
appears on the trail, or if a frozen lake beckons her. But perhaps more importantly, a recall
allows your dog to be free. Our dogs’ mental health depends on that freedom and without it
their ability to function in our world suffers.
Just like any other behavior, we have to crawl well before we can run, and the best foundation
for a solid recall can occur out in nature with our puppies. Most puppies are inclined to check
in with their people on these outings (some more often than others!) and that very behavior
can and should be reinforced. Paying for check-ins is the basic recall foundation I find the most
beneficial. Yes, I place it above any manufactured recall games—games I play and enjoy—
that involve chasing. What happens when we capture natural behaviors and reinforce them is
double reinforcement. If a behavior is already occurring, we can assume there is a reinforcement
history for it—behavior always happens as a result of reinforcement. So when we lay additional
reinforcement onto those behaviors, we are literally buying an insurance policy against the
extinction of those behaviors. And once a behavior is happening on a regular and predictable

Surviving Month 1
basis, it is easy to add a cue that prompts them, and voila, our recall is born.
Something More …
The practical reasons for decompression walks are many: exercise, enrichment, socialization,
body awareness, recall training and then some. But if I’m being real, none of these matters that
much in comparison to the simple joy on a puppy’s face as she frolics through the fields. When
a puppy comes bounding back to her human, seemingly asking “isn’t this the best day ever?”
something happens between them. An unspoken, invisible, and powerful force exists between
two beings out on a walk that they have both chosen.
People do dog sports in search of a deeper connection with dogs. That connection is easy to find;
go to the woods.

Building Relationship:
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The Play Way!
Amy Cook, PhD | www.playwaydogs.com
© Amy Cook
Puppies are just about the most playful beings on the planet, aren’t they? Baby animals of all
species spend time frolicking around with each other, rehearsing all those behaviors they’ll need
in adulthood, and social animals like dogs really take a lot of enjoyment throughout their lives
playing with their friends. If they had their way, they’d be playing all their waking hours!
When you bring home your own baby canine, you are now her best play partner! Humans aren’t
always natural players in adulthood, though. We often feel far more comfortable letting dogs
play with each other while we become their teachers. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and
spending time in social play with your new pet can yield benefits you may not have imagined.
Social play
Social play is playing with your dog just for the enjoyment you take in each other. It doesn’t
have a specific behavioral goal like “chase the toy I’ve thrown” or “tug on this with me.” It’s just
about interacting with your dog in a way that is socially fun for both of you, laughing together
and being silly. Much like we play tickle games with kids, or wrestle on the couch, playing with
our dogs socially is a time of bonding, being affectionate, and goofing around!
As we engage with them in this fun way, we’re also building our relationship and learning
about each other. The puppy is learning what level of energy is a good one for human-dog
social interaction, and how to keep her mouth safe for human skin, and that you are the best
and most fun partner around. You are learning what your puppy likes and doesn’t like, what is
too arousing for her to handle, and what is too boring to keep her interested. Best of all, you’re
learning to read your puppy’s signs of comfort with your choices.
©Amy Cook, PhD ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 46

Surviving Month 1
Worried dogs can’t play socially (though they may be able to eat, fetch and tug!) and a lack of
play can let you know something is wrong. This is something that will serve you well when
you are training—by learning to recognize whether they feel stressed by you in play, you can
learn to make quick adjustments and get play going again. These lessons in reading your dog’s
signals during your play time will carry over to your training sessions. Plus, play is a great stress
reliever, so when in doubt about how your pup feels, you can always play the tension away!
How do we do it?
Puppies vary a lot in what they might like from us in play—you will become the final expert in
your puppy and what she likes best. Here are some common starting points that you can try
and see what your puppy says about them. If your pup doesn’t like some of your attempts, take
heart; a “no” today might be a “yes” tomorrow!
Wolf or Mouse?
Some dogs like to pretend they’re the big, bad predator in play, and if that’s your dog, then they
probably want you to pretend you’re the small, helpless prey animal! Try seeing if your dog
responds to games like you hiding your face and making little high-pitched noises, or rolling
away from them as they come into you to jump on you. You can even hide under a towel or
blanket so that they can “unearth” you! If your dog is uncertain about jumping on you in play,
making yourself small and facing away from them (peek out at them to invite them in!) can help
build that confidence.
But maybe your dog likes to be the mouse, and hopes you’ll pretend to be the big (benign)
predator! For those dogs, making “gotcha,” claw-shaped hands so you can “get” them while
they dance away or roll over and wiggle around can be great fun for them. They might even like
to be chased a little, but it’s best to let them do the running while you only play bow in mock
chase so that you don’t overwhelm them.
Many dogs like both styles. Bouncing back and forth between the two gives them a chance to
practice the give and take of normal play, sometimes coming into your personal space, and
sometimes retreating and inviting you into theirs. These dogs often love to play “bitey face,”
pretending to “bite” and “be bitten” while actually inhibiting, and you can mock bite each other
if you pretend your hands are jaws. It’s great fun to play!
Common Problems
It’s not always easy to get social play going, and it can take an investment of time for some
dogs. Your pup may take some time to trust you, or, conversely, your dog might be getting out
of control too quickly! Here are some of the common problems that people face when starting
to play:
Can’t get your puppy to play with you

Perhaps you’re facing them too much—some dogs are too intimidated by people “looming” over
them. If your dog won’t come into your space, spend more time facing sideways and peeking at
them, enticing them rather than grabbing or reaching out.

Surviving Month 1
Puppy tries to play but keeps leaving
Your energy might be too “big” and overwhelming. Make sure you match your dog’s energy. If
they’re feeling quiet, you be quiet, too. Just like with human children, adults can be intimidating,
and it’s up to us to moderate ourselves and build confidence in our young ones.
It’s also possible that they want a different game than the one you’re offering. It’s easy to get
“stuck” in one mode of play. Try to switch it up to see if another style is more to their liking.
Obey the “3 second rule” of touch, where you don’t keep doing any one style of interaction for
more than (about) 3 seconds without changing it up and taking your hands off them. If you
remember to cycle through your games, you’ll keep it fresh for them.
Puppy is getting too energetic and mouthy

Lots of young dogs don’t know how to use their mouths with you yet. For those, it’s often best
to have your soft toys handy to take the brunt of those needle teeth! Keep their mouths busy
with the toys and wiggle them just enough to make it fun to bite them, but also include the social
elements above to vary that game and expand your play vocabulary. Your puppy will get less
mouthy with time, and it’ll become much easier to play socially with them. Stay patient!
If your dog likes your games and is having a great time, you might hear them make snorting
sounds and sneezing occasionally. This is a good sign, and akin to laughter. They’ll also have
a lot of bend to their bodies and may roll around or fall into you. If your dog isn’t loving what
you’re doing, they may walk away, or rollover and be still, tail tucked. They may also get really
mouthy in their stress and arousal. Try to stay low key, and if you’re not sure how your puppy
feels about your play sessions, keep them short. Also keep toys in the mix for them to focus on
and take some pressure off. Most dogs just need time to learn to play with you, and you need
the time, too! Be patient with the process.
Spending time in social play with your pup is a deeply satisfying and enjoyable experience.
Most dogs can remain playful all their lives if we keep that part of our relationship alive through
regular play. I highly recommend you interact with your pup this way as much as you can and
develop that secret language of play between you. Playing with them makes living with them
and training them a real joy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bAU90QqPeM&authuser=0

My Puppy is Biting Me
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in play
© Ashley Fulton
A puppy’s mouth is much like our hands. Asking a puppy not to use their mouth is like asking
a human to play without using their hands - it’s not so simple!
I am often asked if it’s okay for a puppy to put their mouth on human skin. It’s a personal
choice. Allowing a puppy to put his teeth on you in play does NOT make them more likely to
bite “for real.” When dogs play with each other, they often use their mouths. That doesn’t make
them more likely to get into a dog fight at another time! Keep in mind that for a dog, using their
mouth is a natural extension of energy and interaction.
If you have a zero tolerance policy, it would be the same as playing with a child and saying
neither of you could use your hands - ever. Yes, it is possible. No, it’s not easy. Your puppy may
decide not to bother playing with you at all, so that is the potential risk to this approach. If the
biting is not hard and does not bother you, then you may want to ignore it. If it bothers you or
the intensity increases, then address it as described below.
Biting During Personal Play

If your dog is mouthy or tends to over-arousal within personal play:
Put a toy in your dog’s mouth. When you play, focus on the personal play, but play with the toy just
enough that your dog keeps hold of it. This gives a focal point to his mouthiness while you learn
how you can incite your dog to play at the level that feels right. If your dog drops the toy, stop all
movement but stay engaged; encourage him to get the toy again! As soon as he picks it up, start up
where you left off. If you’re consistent, your dog will learn to play while holding an object.
In this video, note that Lyra holds a ball, but Denise plays with Lyra:

Surviving Month 1
https://youtu.be/FWoRMrpW9EA
If your puppy refuses to hold toys, go ahead and play but have low value food on your body. As
soon as your dog gets too excited, throw the cookie away from your body or simply hand it over.
That will redirect their attention, and the cookie itself will further calm your puppy.
A tug toy can be used the same way as a cookie. As soon as you notice the puppy becoming too
excited or over-aroused, switch to a game of tug instead.
Take a moment to note what direction you are facing when you play. Most biting happens when
we face our puppies, and in general they bite much less when we are not facing them. Notice
that when dogs play bitey face, they face each other; biting and facing each other seems to go
together. Stop playing that way and see what happens. The biting may go down!
You may also want to change the type of personal play. For some dogs, games of chase bring
out hard biting, while for other dogs it is physical wrestling that causes the mouthing to escalate.
Sometimes trying out new games makes all the difference!
Have you checked the intensity of your play? The best personal play often starts very low key
and looks more like “praise” than true play. That’s okay! Better to start slow and ratchet up as
both of you are comfortable than to go running around whooping and hollering, which is just as
likely to scare or over-arouse your dog than to be enjoyable.
Shorten the period of time you try to play. Puppies get over-aroused easily. See if you can get
one or two minutes of personal play and then switch to a different activity.
Remove height. When we are above our dogs, we are not handicapping ourselves so the puppy
is more likely to become highly aroused and to use teeth to even the score. Try getting down
to your puppy’s level. Often when we reduce our substance, the dog doesn’t feel the need to
ratchet up the intensity. Get lower and keep the puppy more on your sides rather than facing
you; see if that helps!
Go soft and passive if your dog gets too aroused. Turn away and look away. Effectively, you
are letting the dog know that it’s not fun to play so rough by reducing your energy and showing
avoidance behavior. This reduces the dog’s energy in turn. The natural tendency when our dogs
get too rough is to face them and get larger, but try the reverse! When your dog calms down,
go for more gentle interaction until each of you finds the sweet spot that allows a mutually
enjoyable interaction.
Be aware that very tired puppies are often over-aroused puppies that cannot make good
decisions. If your puppy turns into a biting machine in the evening, the solution is to put them
to bed for the night, not to play with them. Exhausted puppies who need to sleep often look a
lot like bored puppies who need to play, so work to know the difference. Puppies need a lot of
sleep!
The important point here with personal play….

Surviving Month 1
Be patient while the puppy learns how to use their mouth appropriately, but at the same time,
have coping strategies in place to keep both of you safe and happy. Watch carefully so that you
can predict when your puppy is tending towards over-arousal, and make changes before the
game goes out of control. It’s much easier to bring energy up with a puppy in personal play
than it is to bring it down, so focus on calmer play until both of you are very comfortable with
the rules.
Biting during Toy Play

Biting during toy play is almost always a result of the handler’s choices.
Double check the toy you are using. Soft, whippy toys that are presented vertically and flying
through the air are asking for trouble since there is no target spot for your puppy!
Instead, offer the toy on the ground. The toy should be moving crazily AWAY from your puppy,
so she can trap it between her teeth and the floor. Toys that are dangling vertically are very hard
to grab hold of and make it likely that she will go for the horizontal surface: your hands and
arms.
Double check your tension. If your tension on the toy is constant and involves movement, it will
be very hard for her to re-grip onto your hands because the toy escapes if she opens her mouth.
Once dogs learn that, they tend to set their bite. If you’re not sure, videotape and look for slack
in the toy; if there is slack you need to increase the tension.
If, on the other hand, you have so much tension and so little motion that your puppy is dangling
from the toy with almost no interaction, then she’ll end up letting go out of exhaustion. That
leads to a frustrated puppy that bites arms and legs instead, so avoid that approach too!
If you get uncomfortable for any reason, simply abandon the toy and calm your puppy with a
steady stream of food. The next time you play, see if you can keep the energy level at a point
where you are more comfortable.
The important point here…
It is extremely rare that I am mouthed hard in personal play or bitten by accident when playing
with toys. That is because I play with rules that the dog can understand and I am consistent
about my expectations. If you get mad at your puppy for something that is really your fault,
you will kill your play, so make sure you have a plan in place that will prevent the issues from
escalating. On the other hand, you can’t play in a manner that allows your puppy to hurt you,
or you risk communicating that you don’t object - when you do! Make a point of working on
your mechanical skills when you play, and have a plan ready if your puppy begins to escalate
mouthing or shows signs of pending over-arousal. Eventually, you will develop a style that is
safe and fun for all parties!

Know When to Hold’em
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Teaching your puppy the Collar Grab
Barbara Currier | www.partyof2agility.com
© Rachel Stroud
My dog sport passion is agility. I guess you could say my obsession is agility. I eat, breathe, sleep
agility. Whenever I bring a new puppy into my home, I am extremely hopeful that my new
puppy will love agility as much as I do and we will have a beautiful team for many years.
In the current state of agility, the sport is all about faster, tighter and stronger. There also seems to
be a new trend in how young we can get our dogs out in the trial scene. But I am huge believer in
letting my puppies be puppies. Letting them learn how to be dogs and good members of society.
I travel all over the world with my dogs and I want them to know how to act accordingly. So the
first 6 months of my puppy’s life is learning about relationship/life skills, and one of the of the
games that I play the most with my puppies is The Collar Grab Game.
This is an important life skill. Whether it is for something as simple as “come to me I need you”
or something more life threatening like “you are about to run into the road,” I need to know
that when I reach for my puppy that they are not going to try to run away. Here’s how I teach it.
Step 1:
I start sitting on the floor and feeding my dog a cookie while I am grabbing their collar and
holding on. Then I release and repeat this same step 4-8 times depending on how my dog
feels about having their collar grabbed. If they are less comfortable with it then I repeat more
times.
Step 2:
The next step is to delay the cookie a tiny bit and grab the collar first. We want the puppy to
understand that letting us grab the collar is what earns them the cookie. Repeat this step as needed.
©Barbara Currier ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 52

Surviving Month 1
Step 3:
Now we need to change our position. We need for them to be okay with grabbing for them
from a sitting position, a kneeling position, standing and in motion. I work through all the
stages at the puppy’s comfortable pace.
Step 4:
The next step is to start holding my hand out and teaching the dog to put their collar in my
hand. At this point, if you have worked through all the stages adequately, you should see your
dog offering to come into your hand to earn the cookie. This ends up becoming a cue for my
dogs throughout their life: if I hold my hand out they will come and put their neck/collar
into my hand.
Step 5:
The final stage of this game is getting my puppy used to me reaching down and grabbing
them calmly but also abruptly, as if I am grabbing at them in fear because of a life-threatening
situation. This is when I feel it is most important for my puppy to be okay with me grabbing
for them.
I will continue to revisit this game on and off throughout their life to keep the value high. I think
about it as money in the bank for the times in the future when I may need to spend it!
©Barbara Currier ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 53

Puppy Recalls
Surviving Month 1
Chrissi Schranz | www.clickforjoy.org
© Deb Ricker
One of my favorite things to do with my dogs is off-leash hiking. In order for this to be a safe
activity, I need a bomb-proof recall. It’s something I start working on as soon as I get a new
puppy.

While it’s true that any dog of any age can learn to come when called, this is one of the behaviors
that is significantly easier to teach in puppyhood. Puppies know that they are vulnerable and
little, and rarely will an 8 week old puppy venture far from her human protector. This makes
puppyhood the ideal time to work on off-leash reliability: you’ll be able to play many games off
leash without your puppy wandering off, and you can start establishing freedom as something
normal rather than a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The more normal it feels for your puppy to
be off leash, the less likely she is to develop a habit of running away as soon as you take off the
leash.
But let’s cut to the chase: how do you start teaching a reliable recall to your puppy? And how
do you make sure she thinks hearing you call is one of the best things in her life?
Step 1: Classically Condition Your Recall Cue
You’ll start by teaching your puppy that her future recall cue predicts something tasty: her
favorite food! Prepare 10 high-value treats. Have them in a pocket, treat pouch, hidden behind
your back, or next to you on a table. Say your puppy’s new recall cue, then feed a treat. Wait 2
seconds. Say your puppy’s new recall cue, then feed a treat. Wait 2 seconds. Say your puppy’s
new recall cue, then feed a treat … Do this until she has eaten all 10 treats! Over the course of
the day, do 2 more 10-treat reps in different rooms in your house. Next, do 3 10-treat reps in
different corners of your yard, or in another low-distraction outdoors environment. By now,
your puppy should get excited as soon as she hears you say the new cue!
©Chrissi Schranz ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 54
Surviving Month 1
Classically conditioning a whistle cue: https://youtu.be/om1Am14HTS8
Step 2: Have Fun with Recall Games!
I play lots of recall games with puppies. Here are four of my favorite ones! Thirty seconds to
a minute is a good time for a puppy play session. (Feel free to substitute a different marker
any time I ask you to click, or skip the click if you’re not using a marker.)
Puppy Ping-Pong
Ask one to three friends or family members to help you train your puppy. This game is fun
for children, too! Everyone gets a hand full of high-value cookies they will be holding behind
their backs, out of the puppy’s sight. Ask your helpers to go to a different corner of the biggest
room in your house, or set up in your yard, with three to five meters distance between the
players.
Anyone who is NOT calling the puppy should stand upright, cross their arms, and turn their
backs towards the puppy. The person whose turn it is to call says the recall cue, then squats
down to welcome the puppy. She clicks as the puppy runs towards her, and feeds from her
hand. Then she gets up, crosses her arms, and turns around. The next person calls, squats
down, clicks as the puppy approaches, and feeds from their hands. Then, they get up, cross
their arms, and turn around. Now, it’s either the first person’s turn again, or the third player
gets to call! Turning around right before the next recall will help the puppy disengage and run
to the new caller. If playing with more than two people, vary the order you call!
Ping Pong in the Yard: https://youtu.be/ief8Jl566SI
Hide and Seek

Ask a helper to distract your puppy, or wait until she is distracted and then sneak away. Hide
behind the curtains, behind a door or piece of furniture, in the bathtub, behind a large plant,
or under a table! If you’re playing outside, use trees, bushes, hide around the corner of your
house or behind your car in the driveway. Call your puppy once! If she looks worried or
hasn’t found you after 5 seconds, shuffle your feet or clear your throat to help her out. Don’t
call again! Click when she runs towards you and squat down, praising and rewarding her
with a treat party or toy play!
Martina is hiding behind the bedroom door! https://youtu.be/Db5pEL5SV8M
Catch Me if You Can!

Show your puppy that you have tasty treats, then store them out of sight in a pocket or treat
pouch. Leisurely stroll through your house or yard, then, all of a sudden, use your new recall
cue and take off running! Your puppy should follow you as fast as she can. As soon as she has
caught up with you, drop a cookie for her to eat. Call while she’s swallowing, and run away
again! As soon as she has caught up, drop the next cookie!
Catch me if you can: https://youtu.be/MXGzasOlnlM

Flying Cookie Recalls

Surviving Month 1
Call your puppy, and throw a treat in the direction she is running as she drives past you. As
soon as she has finished eating and is lifting her head, call again, click as she runs past you,
and throw a treat in the new direction.
In order to make it more fun for your puppy, add handler movement: call her, run away as
soon as she starts moving towards you, and throw a treat ahead when she catches up with
you. As soon as she has finished eating and is lifting her head, call again, turn around and run
the other way, ready to throw the next cookie ahead as she drives past you.
Flying Cookie Recalls: https://youtu.be/HYHld-IyXbU
Step 3: Reward Auto Check-Ins
In addition to rewarding your puppy for coming when called, make sure to also reinforce her
for checking in with you unprompted! If you use a clicker, mark when she stops and looks
at you, and feed near your body. If you don’t use a clicker, reach for a cookie when she looks
back at you, and feed near your body. Creating a habit of checking in with you in puppyhood
will help her keep an eye on you on hikes and other off-leash activities in the future.
Auto check-ins: https://youtu.be/oNs4OM_txAA
Step 4: Have lots of off-leash fun with your puppy!

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Growing Up FDSA
S urvi vi ng Ye a r O ne
Annoyingly Adolescent
Surviving Year 1
Kamal Fernandez | www.kamalfernandez.blog
© Rebeccah Aube
There is a point in your dog’s life when you may find them at ‘best’ a little mischievous, and at
times down right horrid! Yes, that’s right, even as an avid dog lover and owner, I go through a
phase with most of my dogs where they test my last nerve and I wonder if it’s too late to give up
dog training and get Koi Carp!
Between the ages of 6-14 months, your dog will enter into adolescence and with it you will most
definitely be facing some challenges. This tends to happen just when you want to really progress
their training and start some of the ‘really’ fun stuff with them. However, out of nowhere, you
start to see subtle changes. It may be a loss of focus or a lapse in concentration. It may be a
cheeky recall where you use that second cue, assuming your little darling just didn’t hear you.
Or it may be something more serious like an unprovoked attack on your young dog or your
young dog attacking another dog without being provoked.
So your previously sweet, endearing little darling has now turned into Cujo! And before you
know it, his reputation has spread like wildfire, with people drawing their dogs away as they
see you approach and picking up their children and shoving them up into trees till you pass.
Any of this sounding familiar?
Adolescence is a testing time, to say the least. This is when relationships are largely made or
broken. Your young dog is transitioning from a puppy to an adult. As a result, their body will
be undergoing lots of changes and hormones will be running amok. Their behaviour changes
aren’t them being ‘bad’ or ‘naughty,’ but are physiological changes that they can’t help. Male
dogs will be emitting testosterone from their system, which is like a belisha beacon to other
dogs that there is a young adolescent male present. Some dogs will take this as a threat in itself,
and others will perceive this as threatening. This can instigate ‘unprovoked’ acts of aggression,
which can create long-term fear, defensive behaviour, anxiety etc. Adolescence is often a time
©Kamal Fernandez ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 58
Surviving Year 1
when behaviour deemed ‘reactive’ can develop, either because of your dog’s experience or from
anxiety that develops after a traumatic event at this time in your dog’s life.
With female dogs entering adolescence, they will be due to come into season, which can cause
unpredictable nervousness and ‘seeing’ ghosts. This is where your previously happy-go-lucky
baby starts to spook and act apprehensively without any due cause.
Adolescence can last up to approximately 3 years, depending on the breed and type of dog. This
isn’t to say that this level of unpredictable behaviour will be constant throughout this period,
it will very much be a rollercoaster. You may get weeks or months of your dog’s behaviour
improving, then out of nowhere you’ll get a regression. To say it can be challenging and frustrating
would be an understatement.
For those who wish to follow a path of reinforcement, the question is: how do I navigate this
incredibly testing time, yet follow a path of reinforcement-based training?
Well firstly, let’s be clear: Positive is not permissive. Because you follow a reinforcement-based
approach to training doesn’t mean that you have to be a door mat. Dogs need clear boundaries
and education, especially at this time.
Here are some simple points that should help you through adolescence.
1. First, you will need to become the master of management. The less your dog can rehearse
inappropriate behaviour, the better. Anticipating the situation your dog will be in and being
prepared is crucial. Employ the good will of others to help you, and, where possible, set up
learning experiences that you can control that mimic ‘real life’ rather than have unplanned
uncontrolled interactions.
2. Don’t turn up to a gun fight armed with a knife. Reinforcement is your friend! Ensure that
you control access to reinforcement and are always armed with high value reinforcement.
If you don’t have the appropriate reinforcement for the situation, just avoid it!
3. Socialisation doesn’t stop at puppyhood; it should continue throughout your dog’s life.
However, cherry-pick the dogs that you allow your dog to interact with. For example, I
avoid other adolescent entire males with my own adolescent entire male. At this age, due
to the hormone changes, there is a higher chance that your dog may be unpredictable, and
this could be a catalyst for an unnecessary altercation.
4. Accept that you will have good days and bad days; it’s normal! This is not permanent. You
will get through this! Be patient, breathe and go to your ‘happy’ place!
5. Don’t prioritise your dog’s ‘proper’ training at the most challenging times, as their lack of
concentration and limited focus will merely frustrate you and sour the association. They
can’t help it. Just stick to simple behaviours and focus on ‘focus’. Prioritise your relationship.
6. One-on-one time will be crucial. If it’s a 5 minute training session, or a one-on-one walk,
take the time to relationship-build with your terrible teen. It’s this relationship that will get
you through the hard times.

Surviving Year 1
7. Expect tantrums and tiaras. They may have some extreme reactions to life at this time. Stay
calm, don’t take it personally and remember that reinforcement is key!
8. Your Recall will probably disappear at some point during your dog’s teenage years. Feeding
meals via training and being mindful of pairing all things of value to your dog with you
and desirable behaviours will increase your worth.
9. Don’t be afraid to scream, rant and vent! Just not at the dog directly… that’s what friends
are for! Get it off your chest. The teen years are testing! It’s ok to say that at moments your
dog isn’t your favourite ‘person’ at times!
10. There are times to manage behaviour, times to train against behaviour and times to just
ignore behaviour! Don’t try to climb Mt. Everest in one step. Pick your battles – some things
can wait for a more appropriate time unless they really are ‘that’ bad. Your dog is still
maturing, and some things may just resolve with age. Be patient.
Finally, remember that we have all been there. You will get through this. Relationships are made
of various phases and this is just part of the journey. In years to come, you will chuckle at the
testing antics and wonder what all the fuss was about!

Hand Targets for Puppies
Surviving Year 1
Julie Flanery | www.wonderdogsonline.com
© Julie Flannery
You may have heard the term “shaping,” perhaps from your puppy class instructor, or in books
or online articles you’ve read in preparation for the exciting journey you are about to embark
on—teaching your new puppy! Shaping is a term used to describe the process of rewarding
small increments of behavior toward an end, final behavior. A “marker” such as a clicker or
the word “yes” is used to identify the small bits of behavior—and the reason the dog is being
rewarded. Your puppy can learn to offer these behaviors to gain reward. And who doesn’t
want a puppy that offers good or desired behavior?!
Dogs and puppies can learn processes and to anticipate what comes next. Shaping allows your
puppy to “learn how to learn.” Behaviors that are shaped tend to be more robust than behaviors
taught through other means. In shaping, the dog is choosing the path toward reinforcement, and
the resulting behavior has greater strength and longevity. The more your puppy learns through
shaping, the faster he can move through the process of learning the next skill or behavior.
This brings an exciting new dimension to our training. One of teamwork, and collaboration. We
are no longer just training behaviors: we are building a relationship based on clear communication
and shared objectives. My training toolbox has a wide array of tools; for me, shaping is the
power tool that gets the job done, so that what I’ve built is strong and not likely to fall apart!
Teaching your puppy to touch or target your hand with his nose is a fun way to introduce
both pup and handler to shaping. The hand touch also has several other benefits that make it a
worthwhile behavior to teach and maintain as part of your training regimen.
©Julie Flanery ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 61

Surviving Year 1
Benefits of shaping a hand target:
First and foremost is the instant connection it brings – your pup is physically and emotionally
connected to you. With its strong history of reward, a hand touch becomes a fun activity that
the puppy enjoys performing and associates with good things—technically, a secondary
reinforcer that can be used itself to strengthen and reward other behaviors even when food treats
aren’t available. You may not be allowed to take food or toys into a sports competition ring, but
you always get to take your hands! Hand touches between exercises can be an excellent way to
maintain the connection with your dog.
Next, as our puppies explore their world, their mouths are a primary means of getting information
and learning about their environment. Though we don’t want to take that away from them, teeth
on skin is often frowned upon, especially where children are concerned. Having our clothes
shredded by sharp puppy teeth can turn a fun play session into a less-than-feel-good moment!
While giving our teething puppy explorers appropriate toys or chewies is always a must,
communicating that our hands shouldn’t be viewed as chew toys can be difficult. Providing an
appropriate way to interact with our hands can open up more opportunities for our puppies and
young dogs to learn games and interactions where our hands can be a part of play without teeth
getting involved.
© Julie Flannery
Teaching a hand target also gives you a way to provide
a “passive lure,” one where food is not necessary to
create movement in your pup for training behaviors
such as sit, down or come to my side. If you’ll be
pursuing a sport where heelwork is valued, you can
use the hand target as part of your training to create a
lift and animation in your dog’s heelwork. Your hand
target also makes a great informal recall cue! Adding
finality to the behavior – the puppy must make contact
with you in order to complete the recall – makes the
criteria for reward clear for both you and your puppy.
You and your pup can also learn about adding duration to behaviors by gradually increasing
the amount of time your dog needs to keep his nose to your hand before marking and releasing
with a click then reward. Teaching a puppy the concept of duration, or extending behavior, is
often sacrificed in favor of shaping and rewarding for movement. Duration and stillness is an
important skill for puppies to learn too!
Yes, the hand target is versatile indeed! So how do we go about shaping it?
Getting Started
The way you present your hand will become a cue, so it’s important to make it distinct. While
many handlers choose to use an open palm as their target surface, you can also teach this using
a two-finger touch, with just two fingers extended, or a fist bump with the flat part of your fist
between your knuckles as the target. The two-finger option is great for small or toy breeds.
Present your hand out away from you, to your side, in the distinct way that you have decided

Surviving Year 1
on. Using a quick action can draw your puppy’s attention, but be sure to keep your hand still or
moving away from your puppy after you present it. You might be tempted to help your puppy
by moving your hand closer to him – resist this urge! A hand moving toward a puppy or dog’s
face can cause them to startle or show reluctance in future repetitions. Remember also to keep
your hand low enough that your puppy can get to it easily—I often like to start this sitting on
the floor with my puppy.
After presenting the target, mark when your pup looks at or moves toward your hand, then toss
your treat a few feet away. Using a re-set toss can provide the little bit of distance needed for
your pup to see and approach your hand again.
Important Note: Remember after you click to pause, about the time it takes you to take a breath,
before reaching for your pocket or bait bag. You want your marker to signal that a treat is coming,
not a reach for the treat, so your click should be separated from the start of your treat delivery.
Repeat for a few repetitions, gradually increasing your pup’s proximity to your hand until he
lightly touches it with his nose. Now, you can either place your treat in your hand where he
touched, or you can use the re-set toss to start the game again.
As you continue, start to select for more pressure to your hand. Removing your hand between
repetitions will add some anticipation for the puppy by making her eager for the hand to
reappear and another chance to play the game. As your pup’s understanding and confidence in
the behavior increases, you can begin to add the other
© Julie Flannery
elements to the hand targeting game—stronger touches,

more duration, using the hand target as an informal
recall or food-free lure for movement. The stronger
your puppy’s hand targeting behavior becomes, the
more its versatility will unfold!
Shaping is a process that can be used not only to teach a

hand target, but every behavior you would like to add
to your pup’s repertoire, including behaviors in your
chosen sport, husbandry and cooperative care, good
manners and fun and games!
https://youtu.be/K7CjO4LyI2o

The Get Down Game
Surviving Year 1
Restraint Manners for Puppies
Julie Daniels | www.koolkidsagility.com
© Charlotte Blake
I am not a person who trains my little one to come up and sit politely at a very young age. I
err on the side of effusive greetings while the baby is very young. I want that strong positive
response whenever the baby sees people – pure glee! I don’t want the attraction to be dampened
by responsibility yet. So my babies go barreling up to anyone and are generally a
happy nuisance while they are small.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t work on impulse control – I certainly do! When my puppies are
still very young, to help them learn a win-win game of impulse control, I start playing the “Get
Down Game.” This game is one of the very first politeness exercises which I enjoy teaching my
puppies. A combination of self-control and cooperation, it is both very simple and extremely
useful. It also is good early practice for those later “hurry up and wait” activities in all dog
sports.
Babies have a tough time of it in the arms of humans. It’s safe and comfy, but they have no say in
what they get to touch and what they get to explore while they are being confined in our arms.
After a while, a kid just wants to get free, to explore some more from ground level. How are
they to tell people that they want to get away?
If you think about it, puppies only have a few ways to tell us that they want to get down. They
whine and squirm, and if that doesn’t work, they bite and struggle. I know people who don’t
allow that, but I welcome it. I feel that it is really the only way the puppy can tell me that he is
ready to explore. And I want the puppy to learn to operate upon his world; that is, I want him
to want to get down!
©Julie Daniels ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 64

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So rather than force the pup to be quiet in our arms, I say we work with it. By training restraint
manners while putting the puppy down, we can be sympathetic without creating a brat. The
puppy learns that his needs will be met, and the puppy learns to be polite about getting what
he wants—easy lessons that are the beginning of a cooperative team effort which benefits us for
life. So when it’s time for a little active self-control, say 10 weeks or more, I use the “Get Down
Game” to show puppies how to train me to put them on the ground when they want to get
down.
The goal of the game is that the baby remains soft and relaxed while I put him down. To instill
these restraint manners, I start by holding the puppy, either standing bent over or sitting in a
chair. Then I start lowering him smoothly to the floor. But I do not want the puppy to scrabble
his feet on the way down! If he squirms, I stop lowering him and I lift him up again.
From my bent-over position, it only takes about two seconds to lower him to the floor – only two
seconds of having to control his feet. This is not difficult, but it is counterintuitive! So the first
reps can take a while, and we will practice it many times a day.
As days go on, I stand more upright and take longer to lower the puppy, each time standing up
again and cradling the pup again if he squirms. I want to teach the puppy this: “I will put you
down because you squirm, but I will not put you down WHILE you squirm.” The puppy has to
control his feet on the descent. This is something that even a baby can learn to do.
This video of my Koolaid at 3 months old shows you how it turns out.
https://youtu.be/KjTFnWYUA_Q
Using the “Get Down Game,” from a very young age, your puppy will learn to control his feet to
get what he wants. And he can see it coming so that he can measure his success: he is controlling
his feet in order to earn his freedom – a terrific lesson for a puppy. This simple game will set
the stage for lots of “wait, then explode” games later in his sports life. You’ll be developing
his relaxation response, so he will feel safe in your arms whenever you need to pick him up. It
will also help your dog trust you when you need to restrain him – a useful life skill as your dog
grows up!
Enjoy your little baby! Let him be a happy nuisance in greeting people, but teach him good
manners for when you need to restrain him. You will always be glad you taught the Get Down
Game to your puppy.
This is Koolaid demonstrating as a three-month-old. At three months she had this game down
cold, several seconds. She owns that game, even though she is a very busy puppy whose feet
never stop moving.
Check out her relaxation response as she is being lowered to the ground! She makes it clear that
she knows how to get what she wants. She knows how to control her feet. Her feet are relaxed
and dangling, even though her brain is obviously busy. And then see her immediately spring to
action when she feels her paws on the floor. I promise you that if my wild puppy can do it, your

Surviving Year 1
puppy can do it too!
Update: Koolaid is now a young adult. She remains polite and relaxed about being picked up,
carried, and lowered to the ground.

Exercising Puppies
Surviving Year 1
Debbie Gross Torraca, DPT, MSPT, Diplomat ABPTS, CCRP | www.wizardofpaws.net
© Jennifer Grebinoski
The question of when to begin exercising puppies is a common one. The answer is really
multifactorial. The physical age, mental age, condition, breed, and owner’s ability are all factors.
I become very alarmed when I discover a dog is championed at a young age in a jumping sport
such as agility. I was recently at the Westminster agility event and was dismayed to see so many
titled two-year-olds running. My concern is the practice – when did training start? Of great
concern in agility is the tight turning done while weaving and the strain and stresses of jumping.
The American Little League Association (I know we are talking about dogs!) only allows a certain
number of pitches per week for children up to the age of eighteen. This has been well researched
in human sports medicine and serves to protect growing bones, ligaments, and musculature
structures. Throwing, much like weaving, places a significant amount of stress on the ligaments
and may cause irreversible changes.
I like to think of the growth plates in bones like little factories helping the bones grow. They
are located at the end of each bone throughout the dog’s body. Some of the factories close up
sooner than others. Typically, in an average size dog, such as a Border Collie or a medium size
Golden Retriever, growth plates shut down at approximately eighteen months of age. However,
the growth plates or factories in the long bones may not close until thirty to thirty-six months
in large breed dogs. The only way to absolutely determine if growth plates are closed is to take
radiographs or x-rays.
While the growth plates or factories are working, they may be damaged by repetitive, strenuous
jumping, weaving and running.
©Debbe Gross Torraca ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 67

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Most of the growth in the bones of puppies occurs between three and nine months of
age. http://vsoak.com/ww2/images/stories/pdf/Orthopedic%20Problems%20in%20the%20
Immature%20Dog.pdf
The Type I muscle fibers in a dog’s body assist in balance, proprioception, postural control and
core. These muscle fibers are especially important in the growing puppy, and proper development
may decrease the incidence of joint disease such as canine hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and
other problems associated with decreased strength. During this time period, low impact, non-
repetitive conditioning exercises, done with control and supervision can help build a strong core
and prevent injury. The increase in body awareness (proprioception) and coordination in a pup
that has done simple on-the-ground core exercises, itself helps prevent injury.
I am fortunate enough to see many litters of all different breeds at eight weeks for a structural
evaluation. There is a huge difference between puppies that have been exposed to many
different objects versus those kept in an enclosed area. The eight-week-old pups that have been
exposed to many things are already so ahead of the game with regard to experiences, strength,
and confidence. They are confident in their physical and mental abilities. Having followed
many of these puppies, several have gone on to successful and healthy lives with a very low
incidence of physical and mental problems. Complete prevention of problems is not a realistic
goal, but the more we can do to improve the dogs’ quality of life, the better.
The more exposure young pups have to different experiences, surfaces, and objects, the
better. We ultimately want a strong and confident pup, and a safe introduction to low-to-the-
ground canine conditioning products can help. Learning to sit and stand on the K9 Kore Disk or
Wobble Board is a fun way to combine fitness and behavior training. Targeting paw PAWDS is a
great proprioception exercise. Playing touch while the pup is on a K9 Kore Disk creates simple
weight shifting motions that teach the pup to balance and strengthen core muscles. Exercises
like these should be kept to short sessions, and the pup allowed to stop when it shows signs of
being tired: losing interest, sitting or lying down.
Getting out and walking your pup is a great idea. But it needs to be taken slow. I mentioned five
minutes per month of total exercise. This needs to be tailored to their needs. Play is wonderful
as long as it is not too rough. Most puppies will self regulate, but puppies playing with other
puppies need to be regulated.
Training for sports should begin with the basics, keeping in mind the goal SHOULD be long
term goal. When you start with a puppy, envision the puppy living the best quality of life for the
longest time. There are many things not within your control for that (sudden disease, accidents,
etc.) but there are many things within your control. Waiting until they are psychologically and
physically mature to begin more intense activities is optimal. With regard to agility, I prefer
not starting full closed weaves or their jump height until at least eighteen months or longer
depending upon the dogs. The same holds true for other sports. Excessive jumping, running
and twisting is a recipe for disaster. You have plenty of time to work with your dog. Let them
enjoy life.

Surviving Year 1
It is also crucial to mention the surfaces that pups grow up on. Pups should be raised on a non-
slippery surface, such as yoga mats, textured mats, and other surfaces with some sort of grip.
Although it’s easier to clean a linoleum or ceramic tile floor, these have been shown to increase
the instability of the puppies’ movement. All of that slipping is not beneficial to growing
pups. They need tactile surfaces to keep them from sliding while they learn to use their bodies
correctly, and sufficient padding to prevent joint concussion while learning or playing.
This is an excellent article reprinted in USDAA News and Events on why early strength and
environmental factors are so important with puppies. It summarizes a study by Norwegian
researcher, Randy Krotveit.
https://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=2288

The Magic of the Treat Magnet
Surviving Year 1
Hannah Branigan | www.wonderpupstraining.com
© Hannah Branigan
It’s generally easier to keep a puppy’s attention than it is to get it back after it has wandered.
However, in the course of a training session, there will always be times where you need to move
the puppy from place to place, or keep him occupied while setting up a prop, or take a moment
to think about what to do next. These are the spaces between the actual training. If we don’t give
the puppy some structure here, something positive to do, he may than wander off and get into
trouble. And we all know how quickly a wandering puppy gets into trouble!
This is a great place to use a special kind of lure, not to teach any particular behavior, but simply
to manage the puppy in the space between active training when you’re not 100% focused on the
puppy and his behavior. It’s a fabulous tool in for keeping his attention and prevent unwanted
habits from developing, because it really lets us (and the dog) concentrate on the goal behavior.
We call this excellent tool a “Treat Magnet,” a name I first heard from Emelie Johnson Vegh
and Eva Bertilsson’s book Agility Right From the Start. It was one of those simple yet elegant
techniques that makes you want to just bop yourself on the head. #duh!
The Treat Magnet is crazy useful any time you need to transport your dog through space:
• from his crate to the training area

• to the starting point of a sequence
• moving through a crowd
• into position to begin a new rep
© Hannah Branigan ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 70

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The important thing to remember is that while I’m Treat Magneting (yes, that’s a word Siri)
my dog, he’s not actually learning anything. But I am keeping him connected and happy, and
preventing anything undesirable from happening. It helps me maintain my “training bubble”
and keep my session clean of extraneous junk.
Here is an example of one of the places I commonly make use of a Treat Magnet. I’m setting my
dog up to work on his A-frame behavior. The focus of my session is on him hitting the contact
zone, so that is the behavior I want to cue and reinforce. But to reset after each repetition, I have
to move him 3247 miles back to the other side of the equipment. That could result in a GIANT
gap, dropping my rate of reinforcement (ROR) to almost nothing, and where teenage terrier
might decide to go sightseeing and discover his own source of reinforcement in the environment.
https://youtu.be/tjiUQ2IWyTg
In fact, if you do a little math here, you’ll see that it takes me at least 9 seconds just to walk back
to our starting point, and then some amount of time to get him set and position myself in the
relevant location… resulting in a ROR of something like a treat every 17-20 seconds… waaaaaay
too low to keep this little dude in the game.
I could cue him to heel with me back to the starting point, but then I’d be stuck having to decide
if I want to maintain criteria on his heel position, or risk having that (very expensive) behavior
degrade. And heeling isn’t the focus of this session. A-frame is. So instead, I use the Treat Magnet
to pick him up directly from the Pet Tutor and transport him back to the other side of the A-frame.
During that 9 seconds of ridiculously slow walking (on a terrier scale), he’s nibbling the treat
in my hand and quite happy to do so. When we get where we’re going, he gets that treat. And
then we are all set to do the next rep. In that time, I’m also free to think about what happened
in the last rep and consider my criteria for the next one. I can even talk to my friend who is
videotaping for me, and generally rest my brain for a second. All without having to worry about
my dog disconnecting and going off marauding about his yard, peeing on who knows what and
possibly finding a hole in his fence.
In another example, here I am using the Treat Magnet to keep my dog (same wily terrier!) engaged
while I “hide” a scent article in the leaves for him to find, in preparation for scent discrimination
and seek back exercises.
https://youtu.be/6byj7ZTT6EQ
In this case, the Treat Magnet gives me a moment to set the article exactly where I want it and set
him up at the desired distance for each rep. Using a Treat Magnet here, instead of calling him to
heel or putting him in a sit stay, again lets us both focus on the single element that is the focus
of our training session - finding the article! We are able to keep a high rate of reinforcement and
keep the flow of the session going so that he stays happy and motivated.

Surviving Year 1
To teach the Treat Magnet:
Objective: Dog maintains contact with your hand holding the treat, nibbling the treat and
following your hand as you move
1. Hold a treat between your thumb and the flat part of your first two fingers. (This gives your
dog a flat surface to press against and protects the sensitive tips of your fingers.)
2. Present your hand to the dog, palm facing his nose.

3. When the dog contacts your hand, move your thumb to uncover the treat and let the dog
take it.
4. Repeat, gradually moving your hand a few inches at a time, releasing the treat to the dog
when he maintains contact with your hand.
5. Keep adding more duration and distance to your treat magnet. To move longer distances
(like clear across an agility field), you may need to reinforce several times by letting the dog
get the treat and starting a new treat magnet from there.
6. Practice in different environments and around distractions.
Most dogs pick this up really quickly – following food is

something they are already pretty good at! The hard part
is remembering to use it in your sessions.
It’s always easier to keep a dog’s attention than get a

dog’s attention. Using the Treat Magnet is a simple way
to keep my dog engaged throughout the session, so that I
am less likely to be stuck having to refocus him between
reps. Once you are in the habit of Treat Magneting (still a
word!), you won’t know how you ever trained without it!

Sport Games
Surviving Year 1
Building the Foundation
Julie Symons | www.savvydogsports.com
© Sheree Sutherland
Like many FDSA instructors, I use a marker system to indicate type, location and delivery of
reinforcement. Communicating WHAT kind of reinforcement will be given and HOW it will
be delivered lets our dogs know what to expect. When our dogs know what to expect, they are
more motivated and confident. To introduce the first applications of my marker system, two fun
and energizing games I play with a new puppy are “Get it” and “Thrus.”
“Get it” is a nice interactive game that stimulates the dog’s prey drive and accomplishes the
following:
1. Teaches a specific marker cue for getting a tossed treat.

2. Encourages movement which dogs love.
3. Teaches quick pick-up and turn.
4. Enables fun recalls.
5. Used for resets during any training.
To teach this game to a new puppy, say the cue “Get it,” pause, and then toss the treat. For
young puppies who don’t yet have the motor skills to see a treat being tossed, roll it out like a
bowling ball and only a few feet away. As they pick up the tossed treat, cue the next “Get it” and
toss a treat the other way. The puppy will quickly learn to associate the cue “Get it” with a treat
toss and will anticipate and start looking for the treat to be thrown after the cue.
©Julie Symons ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 73

Surviving Year 1
As with all interactive training, make sure you are animated and fun! Pay attention if you are
cuing the next “Get it” too late. Dogs will get slower or start to sniff the ground if you are too
late with the next cue, so be sure to cue the next “Get it” just before/as they are getting the first
treat. This should be a fast paced, high rate of reinforcement game!
Once the puppy has learned to look for the tossed treat on the “Get it” cue, you can then start
to add their name. “Get it” ... “Fido, get it.” This will introduce some early recall practice and
speed up the response for the next “Get it.” You can then start to cue them earlier, just before
picking up the treat, to encourage a quicker grab and return.
Putting “Get it” on cue is a great way to teach our pups that they should only take treats off
the ground with permission — that treats on the floor aren’t always available anytime during
training, only after the cue “Get it” is given.
https://youtu.be/IEvR5ZIdYM0
“Thrus” are the next game I’d like to share. They are used to get your dog comfortable with
going through your legs. “Thrus” can be performed in either direction. Coming toward you is a
great precursor for formal obedience fronts, while coming through from behind is the precursor
to the “squish” position coined by Denise Fenzi, founder of Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Dogs
learn to love the “squish,” a position that can help them feel safe and that they find reassuring.
The reason that I like to acclimate puppies to go through our legs or being in a “squish”position
is that it places them along the centerline of our body. This will nurture your fronts before you
start asking for fronts! Instead of asking for a formal front, we will use a treat toss to encourage
them to go through our legs. This develops a centerline, encourages speed, and addresses any
frontal pressure sensitivities that your pup may have by removing them. Plus, dogs like to
move! They learn to love running through your legs. It taps into their prey drive by chasing a
treat as well as simulates performing an “obstacle” type skill.
Important Note: This game can be problematic for large breeds or other circumstances where
you can’t have your dog go through your legs. Since the main goal is to work on fronts, there
are many other approaches that you can take. You can play the same game but using a front
platform, or having your dog jump up on you to receive a treat. You could also take off running
as they get close and use a toy to engage with them or toss a treat as they catch up.
To teach “thrus”
1. First, experiment and play with getting your pup to go through your legs with a toy or
treats. If your pup does not go through your legs after a treat toss and decides to go around
to chase the treat, let it go! Don’t try to fix or stop your pup. Usually it’s a timing issue with
your treat toss. Next time, wait a second longer before tossing the treat, when the puppy
is closer and more likely to go through. If you toss too early when they are first learning,
they will often react to the movement behind you, which usually bounces off to the side
and they will naturally take the direct route! Adjust your timing, try again and continue to
build value for going through your legs.

Surviving Year 1
https://youtu.be/QNJzcc56dwc
2. Next, try the “squish” position and reward heavily for getting and staying in that position.
https://youtu.be/oV9DCb8DIXE
Here’s an advanced dog working both “squish” and “thru.”
https://youtu.be/lUystSABJ04
3. Now let’s get to lots of “Thrus!” Start by tossing a treat away from you and then call your
dog, throwing another treat between your legs as your dog comes back. Turn around for
another “thru” between your legs. Make sure to cue “get it” before tossing the treat. You
can also get fancy with a hopping “thru!” Hop into the position to send your dog through.
Lots more fun!
At the end of this video, you’ll see the final outcome of adding some formal fronts after all the
“thru” games!
https://youtu.be/PTBePIkG3XI
“Get it” and “thrus” are a fun way to add excitement and the movement dogs love into your
puppy’s training sessions. At the same time, these energizing games introduce useful markers,
build confidence and develop foundation skills that will serve you both well in your future
training. Enjoy!

“Spot” Games
Surviving Year 1
for Agility Puppies & Dogs
Amanda Nelson | www.fluidmotionagility.com
© Deborah Jones
One of the first games I like to teach my young dogs or puppies is my Spot game. The core of
the game is to teach them to come in-between my legs for their “spot.” This is a great tool to use
later on in their agility careers for start line setups, or as a fun game to play while waiting to go
into the ring.
This game also teaches my dogs a “safe” place. If I need them to get out of a crowded situation,
or move them closer to my body so that I can make sure they aren’t in the path of other dogs,
this is a great behavior to have. My dog Ally has issues with loud noises and when she starts to
feel insecure, she will try to get into her “spot” to be close and feel more secure in her safe place.
In my more advanced teachings of this game, I will chain together other behaviors with it, but in
the beginning, I am just looking for a puppy to come in-between my legs. Once they understand
this behavior, I will start to ask for other known behaviors like Sit, Down, or Stand. Then, I
can use “Spot” chained with these other behaviors while I am waiting to go into the ring, to
stay engaged with my dog, or to create a fun “pre-run” routine that has both me and my dog
working together and not just standing in line.
How to Teach Spot Games

I like to use a mat, bed, or anything that my puppy will go to or target. It’s easier to start with
them just a little bit behind you. First, I ask the pup to go their mat, target or bed. Then I turn to
stand a slight distance from them, facing away. I take a wide stance and bend over slightly with
a cookie in my hand. Making sure that my puppy can see the cookie, I invite them to come in
between my legs from behind, and quickly reward them for even just sticking their head through.
As we repeat the exercise, I will work on my dog’s confidence coming in between my legs until
©Amanda Nelson ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 76

Surviving Year 1
they are completely relaxed and secure being in the final position that I want. I like for their
front feet to basically be right in between my feet, but this is personal preference and each dog
will be a little different in their foot placement.
Now, some dogs do not like to come into someone’s space like this, or if you have a little dog,
bending over that low can really hurt the back. For these situations, I like to use a spoon with
some sort of sticky treat, a little cream cheese or something of that nature. By using the spoon,
you won’t have to bend over as far for the little dogs, and if your pup is unhappy about coming
into your space when you are bent over, the spoon really helps for that.
Before I start adding any behavior chains, I really want to make sure that my puppy or dog
understands to come in between my legs from behind, no matter my position. Even if my dog is
sitting in front of me, when I ask for “Spot,” they will run behind me and then come in between
my legs for their spot. Once my dog can do this, I will start adding behavior chains to their spot
game.
This video shows Ally doing some of her spot work:
https://youtu.be/F-Nxm0Qowow
Advanced Spot Games

Now that my dog understands and has confidence to drive to their spot, I will start adding in
other behaviors. I will add only known behaviors at this point, as I don’t want to try to teach
a new behavior along with working on advanced spot games. Usually, I start with Sit, since
it’s one of the first basic behaviors we teach our puppies and it’s easy to work with as the first
behavior chained with the spot.
To teach this, as my puppy comes in between my legs for their spot, I will reward them and then
ask for the Sit. If my dog is having a hard time getting into the Sit, I might lure them with cookies
once or twice to help them figure out how to sit while still between my legs. I will repeat this
until my dog is comfortable with coming in between my legs and sitting.
Once they are comfortable with sitting, I will start on the next behavior I want. Depending on
what your dog knows, this could be a Stand or a Down; I usually do a Down next, followed by
the Stand. As with Sit, when my dog comes in between my legs for the Spot, I will ask for a
Down. Again, if my dog is having any issues with lying down between my legs, I may lure them
a couple of times to help them work it out. I will work on the Down in between my legs until I
feel that my dog understands the behavior and is confident and comfortable doing it.
From here, I will now start asking for multiple behaviors. I can ask my dog for their spot,
and once they come between my legs, ask for a Sit, then a Down, then back to a Sit, and then
maybe a Stand (if that is something I have worked on with them.) You can definitely mix up the
patterns you want to do with your dog when it comes to the order of the behaviors while doing
the spot.

Surviving Year 1
And you can always add more! I love teaching multiple different behaviors along with the spot,
like teaching them to put their front feet on your feet or walking with you while you walk (and
they stay between your legs.) The more I have, the greater my Spot tool will be while waiting
to go in the ring to compete at a trial, to give my dog a safe place, or any situation where I need
the dog to engage and focus with me.

Release the Hounds
Surviving Year 1
Using a Release Cue
Laura Waudby | www.tandemdogsports.com
© Nina Spiegle
Before beginning to teach the concept of stay/duration, you first have to teach your puppy what
to do when released! She needs to understand that there is a clear end to the behavior. It’s not
just stay there until she gets bored and wanders away or until she wants to run after something!
I recommend teaching your release as a specific action, the same as any other behavior. Just
being “allowed” to move is not clear enough criteria to the dog – what if she doesn’t move?
My release actually serves as a cue to the dog to initiate movement towards me. A RELEASE IS
A CUE!
You may have several different release cues that you use with your puppy. In this article, we
are going to focus on a release that tells the puppy to get up and focus on you. This is not the
same as an “all done” cue that might tell your puppy that they are free to zoom around and sniff
things!
For most dog sports you will need your release to be on a verbal cue. We don’t want our dogs
thinking that our motion away from them is the release – that will make it very difficult to work
on distance behaviors! And for agility, it is extra crucial that the dog isn’t trying to analyze our
motion as we lead out. I think we have all seen dogs that release as soon as their handler starts
to raise their hand, or looks like they are going to start moving again!
Teaching a Release Cue

For your puppy’s early lessons, start with them on a sit directly in front of you. Reward them
for sitting. Pause. And then cue your release such as “break!” Do NOT move your feet, hands,
or head as you give the verbal release!
©Laura Waudby ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 79

Surviving Year 1
If your puppy stands up on your break, that’s exactly what we want! Reward them!
If your puppy does not move on the verbal release, make sure to say the word first, then take a
step backward and encourage the dog to come towards you. Make sure to pause between your
verbal and any help from your body movement.
Practice this release cue with your puppy in front of you, and then do the same exercises with
the puppy sitting on your left side, and on the right side.
General Impulse Control and Duration

My favorite way to teach the concept of a Stay with a puppy is to first build lots of value for a
puppy choosing to be in a crate or on a taller platform. Both those choices make it very black and
white that I am rewarding them for remaining on a surface.
The concept of a dog “staying” is very hard to narrow down. By the usual definition, we’re
focusing on the dog NOT doing something (not moving) versus focusing on what we actually
want them to do. Teaching the puppy to remain on a surface allows a trainer to teach the concepts
of impulse control and a release cue to a dog without having to worry about the actual position
being held or small foot movements. Note that in a crate or on a pedestal I don’t really care if the
dog moves a little bit as long as they don’t come off. I’m essentially training a small boundary
cue first and I do NOT use the stay cue for this.
I begin by simply giving the puppy lots of cookies for remaining on the surface. Gradually I add
time between cookies. This helps to teach the puppy that a cookie is not a release!
If the puppy comes off the surface I usually talk to them, “well that was silly!” and either wait
briefly to see if they can fix it by getting back on the surface or I can just help them get back on.
Make sure to use your release cue frequently to teach the puppy the concept of a beginning and
an end!
Early on I will also start to proof whether the puppy can choose to remain on the surface and
leave a visible cookie held in my hand or on the floor. If the puppy comes towards the cookie,
cover it up and either wait for them to problem solve or help them out by getting them back on
the surface. This is their first real choice in deciding to remain in position instead of rushing
forward towards a distraction!
Slow Cookies & Zen Proofing

When your puppy starts to get the idea of remaining on a surface until they hear the verbal
release cue, we can then introduce the idea that position matters. Don’t use any type of stay cue
yet though! We really want the puppy understanding the idea before we attach a cue!
Start by getting your puppy in a sit position with cookies held just out of their reach. If the
puppy does not move towards the cookies, mark and then very quickly bring your treat hand
to the dog to reward. Repeat, moving the cookies slower to them each time. Any time the dog
moves toward your hand, take the cookies away and wait until they are still again or get them
back into the original position if they switched. Periodically release your puppy and play with
them in between reps!

Surviving Year 1
Progress until you can slowly zoom the cookie back and forth in front of their nose, getting
closer and closer, while your puppy patiently waits!
You can then try having the cookie slowly moving at all different angles around the dog. Can
you bring the cookie to your dog’s hip while they keep their feet still? How about having the
cookie move over their head and towards their butt? Can it touch the ground?
Repeat this game with your puppy in a down position too! You may need to kneel on the ground
in front of your puppy so that a treat coming from above isn’t quite so hard. Remember, our
goal is the puppy maintaining position; if the elbows come off the ground, pause your cookie
delivery until elbows are back down!
By teaching your puppy that your release word is the cue to move to you, you will help them
understand that they should hold their stays until they hear it, even in the presence of temptations
like cookies or handler movement.

Earning a Paycheck
Surviving Year 1
Teach Puppy to “Push the Button” for rewards
Lucy Newton | www.lucynewton.com
Calix v.d. Polizei, Police K9 “Calix”

While I have been working with dogs all my life, over the past 15 years, I have been focused full-
time on training dogs for various working tasks, raising puppies to become certified working
dogs for search and rescue, detection and police work. Within each of those venues, the dogs are
required to have a rather extensive skill set in scent work, apprehension, obedience, tracking,
and agility. I have also increased my participation in competition sports as a way to keep my
own personal dogs entertained. Training for dog sports offers some unique training challenges
as well, which require me to be a better dog trainer.
Because of my experience, people are often curious about my selection of a working prospect
puppy and how I start them. I have to admit that there has not been a lot of precision to that
selection process: I have had pups that I have carefully selected, I have had breeders select a
pup for me and I have raised several pups that were “rescues” in one way or another. Some
just happened to cross my path and were not intended to be working dogs. Regardless of the
intended venue of my pups or what I am training a puppy for, there is one thing that I emphasize
with all of them when I start. The first concept that I want the pup to understand is that if he
wants something, he can do something to get it.
This simple yet important concept is the basis for everything that I am going to train my dogs
to do later on in their careers. If I know what the working goal for the puppy is, I might do a
few things to prepare him for his future. But when I first start, I am less concerned about what
behaviors I specifically train and more concerned with the puppy understanding the concept:
that the things he does have (positive) consequences. I want the puppy to learn to figure out
what “button to push” and then demand that you reward him for his efforts!
©Lucy Newton ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 82

Surviving Year 1
Some of the exercises I begin with are pure puppy management. “I want you to not leap into
your food bowl as I am lowering it to the floor.” So I start with withholding the bowl until the
paws are on the ground for a nanosecond and build up to where I can set the bowl down and
release the puppy to the food.
However, at no point do I try to make the puppy do what I want. I do try to gauge the challenge
of the task so that it is not unreasonable for the pup’s current ability – I don’t want him to fail
over and over. But I do want him challenged; that is a very important point. If the pup jumps
for the bowl, I want him to notice cause and effect without additional input from me. I want him
to figure out how to be successful – how to make me lower it. I want him to understand that he
controls his reinforcement with his behavior.
Similarly, I might want to teach a puppy “I want you to pause before I open the crate door.”
Again, I want to set him up so that he controls his reinforcement. I might start by not touching
the door if paws are hammering on it. Then I progress to opening the door a tiny bit. Breaking
the plane with his nose makes the door (gently) close. Again, the pup’s behavior controls the
outcome. Ultimately, I want him to hold back until I release him. But the outcome is only a by-
product of my ultimate goal: for him to learn that behaviors have criteria that, when followed,
lead to rewards.
In addition to working on the life skills and things that make living with a high drive working
puppy slightly more bearable, there are also many working skills that can be taught in this
manner. But again, my concern is less
Esmonds Sixth Sense SAR K9 “Dugan”

about getting the skill set on board than
it is about the puppy learning that he
controls his reinforcement by following
criteria: “pushing the button leads
to rewards.” The behaviors and the
criteria will get more complicated as we
go along, but by then I have an older
dog that has learned to be very attentive
to figuring out the criteria.
Some of the basic skills behaviors that I have used to teach pups the concept includes:
• Circle a cone to the left and right

• Front paws onto an overturned rubber bowl
• All feet on a platform
• Front paws on a touchpad
• Nose touch to hand
• Chin rest on hand
• Eye contact – first stationary and then while I am moving

Surviving Year 1
Although it makes sense to teach things that are going to useful later on, again, the tasks
themselves are not my focus. I do try to pick a variety of skills that require the puppy to apply
the concept in many different ways: when focusing on me (eye contact), when going away
(touch pad) and coming to me (hand touch). This is so that a location doesn’t become a zone of
reinforcement: opportunities to “push the button” may be anywhere. Some of the behaviors
that I want later on, like detection, require independent effort from the dog – I am not involved
until the dog lets me know he has found something – so I really like behaviors that send the pup
away rather than just staying close for cues.
With these behaviors, I don’t worry about breaking things down into tiny steps to achieve
perfection. Though I never want the pup to get overly frustrated or shut down, there is nothing
wrong with challenging him to figure out the criteria of simple behaviors. The important thing
is that the puppy sees the “props” as a means to an end: they are a way to get me to give him
reinforcement. The reinforcement might be food, it might be a toy, it might be anything of value
to the puppy. Later on, the “prop” might be an odor, or an article, or a directional table – all the
things that could cue a behavior so that, when performed to criteria, the puppy can “make” me
reward him. For the tiny puppy, I want him to see things like getting on a platform or going into
a crate as “buttons” – ways to make me provide a reward.
A big part of what I have done with dogs has been to train behaviors and then stay out of the
way and let the expert, the dog, do his job. That training philosophy has carried over from
originally training dogs for detection to all kinds of working and sports tasks. Even though this
concept is not specifically focused on my teaching specialties at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy,
tracking and nosework, it is an important aspect of how I raise my puppies. All too often, when
I am working with people, particularly with detection, I suggest that the handler get out of the
way and let the dog figure things out. Focusing first on the simple but powerful concept of
“push the button” will ultimately lead to better behaviors in the above venues as well as others.
Here is an example of a young Rottweiler pup doing a few of the exercises listed above. Again,
remember that it is not really about the exercises, it is the pup figuring out which “buttons to
push” in order to get rewarded.
https://youtu.be/gS_NtVQqQBg

TRICKS
Surviving Year 1
for Body Awareness & Relationship Building
Sara Brueske | www.zoomdogtraining.com
© Sara Brueske
Puppyhood is a great time to focus on training behaviors that aid in developing learning skills and
body awareness. After spending countless hours pouring over pedigrees, meeting parents and
relatives, talking to breeders and counting down the days until our new performance prospect
puppy comes home, it can be difficult to not jump into training immediately. However, there is
an argument to be made about taking the slow approach to performance training, holding off
on the high-pressure competition behaviors until our puppy’s mind and body are more mature.
If you’re like me though, you enjoy training and want to explore that part of your relationship
with your new puppy.
That’s where “trick” training comes in handy. Whether you call them parlor tricks, throw away
behaviors or essential skills, they all serve an important function. Every new behavior learned
is adding to your puppy’s learning skill database, building their confidence and strengthening
your working relationship. Every new behavior is helping to build your understanding of your
puppy, how they learn and communicate, what rewards they like best and how they react to
your emotions. Every new behavior helps build your unique language and communication
system with your new working partner. Teaching low-pressure behaviors that are fun for both
you and your puppy can do wonders for your relationship.
While it’s important to get a head start on some foundation aspects of future competition
behaviors, be sure to have plenty of low-pressure, throw away behaviors to focus on as well. As
you learn about your new puppy, it will be far less stressful for both of you to experience hiccups
while learning how to do a parlor trick than it would be if you were working on your formal
competition heel. Mistakes in learning will happen; it’s much easier to handle those mistakes
when they happen in an informal behavior.
©Sara Brueske ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 85

Surviving Year 1
Each new behavior also aids in our puppy learning to move and coordinate their body. Our
puppies are growing at an incredible rate, and it can be difficult to find ways to teach them body
awareness while still keeping their joints safe and healthy. Low impact tricks like the ones below
are a key component to the foundation work for any performance dog.
The two tricks we will focus on in this article are both fantastic for rear end awareness and
teaching our puppies about offering behaviors: All-4-In and Backup.
All-4-In
All-4-In is just as it sounds, all four paws in one box. We will start this exercise with a large box,
one easy for our puppy to stand in, and gradually move to smaller and smaller boxes. The smaller
the box, the more difficult it is for the puppy to coordinate all four limbs in simultaneously and
balance for any duration. This behavior will be free-shaped, meaning we will mark and reward
for successful approximations of the final behavior, gradually increasing criteria until we have
the complete behavior.
Begin with a box large enough that your puppy can stand in it squarely with no curve in their
back. Grab your treats, clicker, box and puppy. Put the box on the ground and be ready to
immediately click and reward any interaction with it. Gradually increase criteria to only clicking
and rewarding paw interaction, then one paw in the box. Reward in place for 2-4 clicks, then
toss a reset reward away from the box. This treat toss will help your puppy’s mental stamina
and allow you to evaluate their understanding of the behavior in regards to interaction with the
box. If your puppy is successful, continue to increase criteria to 2 paws in the box, then 3, then 4.
Once your puppy is eagerly putting all four paws into the large box, switch to a slightly smaller
box. I like to do this exchange at the beginning of a new session – one or two reps with the larger
box, then switch it out for the slightly smaller one. That way your puppy is already thinking about
putting all four paws in and the box change will be easier on them. If your puppy struggles with
the new box, decrease criteria to two paws, and gradually increase it back up to four paws in.
© Sara Brueske

Surviving Year 1
As the smaller box becomes easy for your puppy to put and hold all four paws in, follow the
same pattern for switching to a smaller box as before. Continue to go smaller and smaller as you
can. Remember, we are building coordination and balance with this exercise, the process to go
to a tiny box could span over several weeks as our puppies develop in body awareness. Do not
rush this process!
Backup
The second behavior we are going to discuss is backup. There are two different ways to teach
this. The first is to use rear foot targeting and the second is to free-shape the behavior. We are
going to focus on the first method as the second doesn’t need much explanation outside of
building criteria slowly and utilizing reward placement (toss the treat to your puppy after they
back up.)
Use a low platform for this (a telephone book, a small upside-down box, etc.) Place the platform
on the ground, click and reward any interaction. Gradually increase criteria to all four paws
on the platform. At this point, reward on the ground in front of the platform, encouraging the
puppy to move into the two-on-two off position (front paws on the ground, rear paws on the
platform). Reward in position multiple times and then toss a reset treat. Instead of clicking all
four paws, pause and see if your puppy will offer the two-on-two-off position. If they don’t, click
for all four paws, rewarding in the correct position as before. Eventually, they will move into that
position themselves after the reset treat. Jackpot (extra treats, throw them a party, lots of verbal
praise) when that happens!
© Sara Brueske
Now that our puppies are moving into that two-on-two-off position by themselves, we can start
teaching the back up. Reward in position once, then reward slightly further from your puppy
so they have to stretch to get the reward. Click and reward the lean back into position, that’s
the start of our backup. Reward in position once, then again out further so puppy has to stretch.
Repeat this process, moving the “out of position” treat further and further until your puppy
is taking a step forward with their rear feet. Hopefully, because we’ve clicked the lean back
into position, they will take a step back to get back into the two-on-two-off position. Click and

Surviving Year 1
reward that. If they circle around to get back onto the object rather than backing onto it, the “out
of position” treat was just a little bit too far.
Shaping rear foot targeting, beginning of backup video: https://youtu.be/qRd-aYY2-xA
With each success, move the “out of position” treat further and further so that your puppy
is now taking multiple steps backward to get into the two-on-two-off position. Once you are
happy with the distance of the backup, add a verbal cue just prior to your puppy offering the
behavior. Then, remove the platform and use the verbal cue only to cue the behavior.
Almost finished back up video: https://youtu.be/yINpnbpB4II

SOCIALIZING
Surviving Year 1
The Future Nosework Dog
Stacy Barnett | www.scentsabilitiesnw.com
© Rebeccah Aube
Is your puppy destined to become the next Great Nosework Dog? Or are you planning on doing
Nosework in addition to other sports? Exposing puppies to trial environments so that they can
take in the sights and sounds at an early age is an important step to preparing them for later work
in those challenging environments. Remember that training is only PART skills! Confidence is
the foundation for a solid and successful Nosework dog, and carefully exposing your puppy to
new situations will empower that confidence. Like Obedience and Agility puppies that go to
trials with the older dogs, your future Nosework star will need socialization to prepare them for
their sport. With your Nosework puppy, though, you want to think about how that socialization
is different, and how it should be tailored to meet the unique demands of their sport.
One of the most important things for a future Nosework puppy to learn is to be able to stay
comfortably in a crate. If you plan on doing AKC Scent Work, you might have indoor crating
opportunities. In this case, you need to do something similar as Obedience puppies: you need
to teach the puppy to stay quietly in their crate.
But in Nosework, you will many times not have the opportunity to crate indoors: in many
venues, dogs will be left crated in the car until it is time for them to perform. So in addition
to being comfortable with the indoor crating arrangements similar to Obedience trials, your
Nosework puppy will also have to be thoroughly comfortable and relaxed with waiting in his
crate in your car. Crate training started at home needs to be heavily generalize to staying crated
in the vehicle.

Surviving Year 1
© Stacy Barnett
Typical parking set up at a Nosework trial.
Another challenge Nosework puppies face is unfamiliar or unusual surfaces. Slippery or shiny
floors are the bane of many a Nosework team! In the future your puppy will need to compete on
gym floors – a popular location for the Container element—and there is no limit to the locations
that your puppy may someday get to search… everything from camps and schools to racetracks
and ballparks. Socializing your puppy to different types of floors and substrates will prepare
them for events held in locations of all kinds.
Speaking of all those locations… all those unique places will have different smells! Your puppy
will need to work in in the presence of often competing smells. Your puppy will get exposed to
the smell of oil and gasoline, the smell of dirt and mulch, and everything in between. Taking
your puppy to unique places that have different smells will help prepare them for the challenges
of doing Nosework in a wide variety of smelly situations. Remember as you explore new
locations, it’s VERY important not to scare your puppy! Take special care if your puppy is an
older puppy who might be going through a fear stage.
Which leads us back to vehicles. In addition to be comfortable crated in your vehicle, your
future Nosework puppy will need to be socialized to being around vehicles in general. Some
dogs and puppies are afraid of cars. In some venues, your puppy will be searching vehicles, so
it’s important that he isn’t afraid to go near one!
In addition to socializing your Nosework puppy to future sights and smells, a final important
piece that is different than most other sports is to start getting him used to proper gear. Searching
with a harness is preferable to searching on a collar because (1) a harness used only for Nosework
is a contextual cue, (2) it’s easier to keep a harness up off the dog’s back while searching, (3)
it’s easier to keep the line from tangling if you use and harness and (4) you are less likely to
accidentally correct your dog off of odor.
We all know that puppies are sensitive and that even the first collar can be an annoyance to your
puppy! So you’ll want your puppy to get used to the Nosework harness. Make sure you don’t
force him to wear it without making that harness a good thing first! A super way of getting

Surviving Year 1
a puppy used to a harness is to first associate the harness with food. You can feed the puppy
when he sniffs the harness. Then, in small steps, start to put the harness on the puppy while
rewarding. For example, place the harness over his head, feed and then take off. Repeat until
he’s comfortable. Keep your sessions short. Soon you’ll be able to put the entire thing on! Once
the puppy is comfortable with wearing a harness, you can start letting him wear it for short
periods of time.
Although not completely unlike socialization for other sports, Nosework dogs need socialization
© Stacy Barnett
Brava, the Labrador puppy, learns to accept her harness.
that is a little unique. Careful socialization consideration of a variety of locations, smells, flooring,
gear and vehicles will help your puppy to grow up into a confident competitor!

Puppy Parkour
Surviving Year 1
Melissa Chandler
© Kelsey Mehlhoff
Want to take your puppy on an adventure? Then Dog Parkour is for you! Dog Parkour is
a rapidly growing sport and a great way to provide enrichment for your puppy. Through
Dog Parkour, puppies learn core life skills while playing in different locations and interacting
with many different objects and surfaces. Puppies are introduced to the world of climbing,
balancing, crawling under, and getting in different obstacles in their everyday world, all while
being rewarded for effort and thinking. Your puppy will also develop great rear end awareness,
movement, balance, and coordination. Parkour can be done anywhere and is only limited by
one’s imagination. You will look at the world differently after playing Parkour, and you can
even earn titles while having fun playing with your puppy!
Dog Parkour is great way to have fun with your puppy in new environments while building
confidence and a great relationship. Puppy Parkour obstacles include 2 feet on, 4 feet on,
balance, under, through, in, and creativity. Listed below are the IDPKA (International Dog
Parkour Association) obstacle descriptions:
4 feet on: Dog approaches an obstacle and places all four feet in no particular order onto the
obstacle in a safe manner and remains on the obstacle for at least 5 seconds. Two different
obstacles must be used, and at least one must be at least elbow height. The 4 feet on videos may
be edited together to make one video. Be sure that we can see the dog getting on and off each
obstacle.
2 Feet On: Dog walks up to obstacle and places two front feet onto the obstacle and remains on
the obstacle for at least 5 seconds. The object must be at least elbow height.
©Melissa Chandler ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 92

Surviving Year 1
Under: Dog crouches down and passes under an obstacle shorter than head height.
Through (between two obstacles): Two obstacles must be less than dog’s body length apart
from each other. The dog must pass through these two obstacles with confidence.
In: Dog must safely walk into or hop into an obstacle that has four sides. All four feet must
remain in the obstacle for 5 seconds.
Balance: Balance across an obstacle that is twice shoulder width or narrower and 3 times longer
than dog. Dog must have all four feet on obstacle and safely walk across it.
Creativity: Owner chooses and demonstrates two different parkour behaviors that can be done
with a single obstacle. For example, a dog may do an under and 2 feet on using the same
obstacle. The behaviors must be parkour behaviors and not just tricks.
Dogs under 18 months of age should only jump off obstacles that are lower than their stopper
pad. Canine measurement information can be found here:
http://www.dogparkour.org/measurement-guidelines
When starting your puppy in Parkour, safety is an important component. It is important that
your puppy wears a back-clip harness that comes up through their front legs for proper spotting.
The ultimate goal of spotting is that if something goes wrong, you are already in a position to
help and soften the landing. Spotting keeps you and your puppy safe and prepared in case
they slip, fall, trip or just get distracted. If you spot correctly, you will not interfere with their
performance.
In addition to a correctly fitted harness and the proper spotting, always check the surfaces and
environment before asking your puppy to perform an obstacle. Check for glass, nails, loose
bricks, hanging branches, etc. Check the obstacle – is it too hot or cold, slippery, wet or wobbly?
Be sure that the entire area is safe before introducing your puppy. Be prepared for what your
puppy MAY do – your puppy may be so excited they offer 4 feet on instead of 2 feet or attempt
to jump over the obstacle. Puppies should be lowered or carried off an obstacle as long as it is
safe and comfortable for the puppy. Or you can use an alternative way off the obstacle. Be ready
for your puppy’s exuberance for Parkour – always opt for safety!
Always warm up your puppy before playing Parkour. Warm up exercises are important before
doing any type of physical activity with your puppy. Leash walking by starting slow and
gradually increasing speed, figure 8s through cones or your legs, walk on a low balance object,
front feet on object to stretch their spine, play bow or balance on wobble discs. Warming up your
puppy before any physical activity can help prevent injury.
The benefits of Dog Parkour go beyond physical exercise—Parkour is also a great way to build
confidence in soft dogs and puppies. Shaping fits Parkour perfectly and is a great way to
empower your puppy to make decisions and control the game. When shaping, soft dogs do
better interacting with an obstacle as they have a hard time “making up” behaviors. In Parkour,
there is always an obstacle encouraging their interaction. Provide a variety of obstacles and shape

Surviving Year 1
2 feet on, 4 feet on, balance, in, etc. The environment can also be controlled for soft puppies by
starting in very comfortable, familiar environments and then going to parks, woods and other
outdoor locations where you are the only ones there. You can also have sessions where take your
puppy to a new place and reward everything – all their interactions with objects!
In addition to confidence, Parkour also builds great communication between you and your
puppy. Respect what they tell you – always! If your puppy tells you they cannot do something,
do not lure or force them to do it. Your puppy may not have the necessary strength, balance
or confidence to perform the obstacle. Examine why they do not want to do it and modify or
just go play on another obstacle. Consider your puppy’s overall condition, especially if Parkour
is providing new activities. Respecting your puppy will build great trust, which will build
confidence and empower your puppy to do more and more obstacles and challenges. And don’t
forget to always reward effort!
Obstacle Training and Tips

2 Feet On can easily be shaped or lured. Build duration by feeding in position. By practicing on
many different types of obstacles, your puppy will generalize at a lower height which will make
it easier once the height increases in other sports or higher levels of Parkour.
4 feet on. Start with a low object and either shape or lure your dog to get on the object. Start by
rewarding any paw interaction with the object and continue until your puppy has all 4 feet on
the obstacle. Continued feeding will build duration and then slowly increase the time between
each cookie by one second, then two seconds, then one second and slowly build time by using
the ping pong method (one second, three seconds, two seconds, etc.).
In. Reward any interaction with the obstacle, if your puppy is comfortable, you can toss the
cookies in the object and then reward your puppy for getting in the obstacle. If your puppy is
not so sure, toss the cookies away and use treat/retreat with the object. You can also reward
your puppy for any approach toward the obstacle and continue building interaction with the
obstacle. You can start with a shoe tray or crate pan as these have very minimal sides and some
traction. Small sleds or swimming pools are also great obstacles to start training in.
Balance can be taught with a plank on the ground. Have your puppy on a short leash and
present the plank so they can walk across it; support them as they walk along beside you. You
can feed as they are walking if needed. If your puppy needs to stop or stand on the board, reward
for any interaction. Allow the puppy to dismount the board at any time. Once your puppy is
comfortable walking across the board on the ground, you can raise it on bricks or platforms. The
board should still be low enough that the puppy can dismount easily without injury.
Under. Start with a dowel rod between two cones or stools, or make a PVC over/under apparatus.
Be creative and make something similar to an agility jump, however it is best not to use an actual
jump as we do not want to teach our puppies to go under jumps. Ensure the obstacle is secure
and there is no risk of the bar falling on your puppy. Start with the bar at head level. Shape or
lure your puppy to go under the bar. As your puppy is comfortable with each height, slowly
lower the bar. If your equipment allows, you can lower one side at a time. If your puppy is not
comfortable going under at head height, make it higher and/or further apart. Set it up so your

Surviving Year 1
puppy is successful.
Through can be taught using several large cones or similar objects. Set the cones up in a
configuration that your puppy can walk through several of them. Place the cones so that the
distance between the cones is 1-1/2 -2 times their shoulder height and some are 1-1/2 – 2 times
their body length. Walk your puppy through the cones so they become comfortable going
through and having objects on both sides of them. If the cones are too close, or overwhelming
(too many) adjust as needed for your puppy. If you only have two cones, place approximately
2’ apart and have your puppy go back and forth through them. Celebrate any and all success
of walking through the cones. As your dog becomes confident in the setup, slowly decrease the
distance of the cones. If your puppy is not comfortable going through the cones, increase the
distance until they can succeed, reward any motion toward the cones and then have a party!
Creativity is combining any two of the above Parkour behaviors on one obstacle. Choose one
obstacle and do any combination of two behaviors. Cue one behavior, reward and then cue the
second behavior.
Parkour…what better way to prepare your puppy for other sports! Conditioning for all dog
sports, agility-like obstacles without agility equipment, new environments and confidence to
get into small spaces for nose work and barn hunt, strength and body awareness for obedience,
conformation and dock diving… not to mention, Parkour is FUN for puppy and human!
Additional Resources:
https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/6203
Parkour Organizations
http://www.dogparkour.org/
www.alldogsparkour.com
Learning opportunities:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogparkourtraining/
Parkour Class at https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com

It’s a Puppy Not a Problem
Surviving Year 1
© Rachel Stroud
Left to their own devices, what do puppies like to do?
They like to bark, play, run through the house (sometimes with muddy feet), jump on people,
put things in their mouths and chew on them, eat tasty foods, explore, sniff things, dig holes
in mud and sand and dirt, and a host of other things that I don’t have time to mention. They
do these things because they are baby dogs. Fortunately we can train our dogs to show more
appropriate behaviors, but it takes time and the natural outcome of maturity. Puppies are a
challenge.
Left to their own devices, what do small children like to do?

They like to yell, play, run through the house (sometimes with muddy feet), jump on people,
put things in their mouths and chew on them, eat tasty foods, explore, look at things, dig holes
in mud and sand and dirt, and a host of other things that I don’t have time to mention. They
do these things because they are baby humans. Fortunately we can raise our children to show
more appropriate behaviors, but it takes time and the natural outcome of maturity. Children are
a challenge.
In the past, I trained pet dogs. The first session would almost always go something like this:
Student would pull a list of problem behaviors out of their pocket. Meanwhile, their four month
old puppy chewed on the leash and pulled various directions, causing the student to express
obvious irritation. The student would then lay out all of the problems that they wanted to fix.
“We’re having problems with barking, wanting to play all the time, running through the house
with dirty feet, jumping on people, chewing stuff up, excessive interest in human food, constant
pulling on the leash to get to things, and digging holes in the garden. Oh yeah – could you teach
a reliable recall, off leash, so that when I’m ready to leave the park we can go without me having
to chase my dog?”

Surviving Year 1
In short, could I make their young puppy behave like a grown up dog?
I’m curious about something. Since many of my clients also had human children (that the dog
may have been nipping when the kids ran and screamed and behaved like children), did they
take a similar list of problems behaviors to the pediatrician?
“Doctor, my toddler has a lot of problems that I want to stop. He talks really loud, wants me to
play all the time, runs through the house with dirty feet, jumps on people, puts stuff in his mouth
that he finds on the ground, shows an excessive interest in sweets, and is constantly pulling on
my hand to get to things when we go places. And also, can you make him listen to me when it’s
time to leave the park, so I don’t have to go and get him when I want to go?”
In short, could the doctor make the young child behave like an adult?
My guess is that the first thing the pediatrician would tell the person is that these are NORMAL
behaviors for children and that they will go away with a combination of time, maturity, and
appropriate direction and training from the parents. It’s not a problem for a child to act like a
child.
How about that puppy? Are those problem behaviors or normal ones? And if we don’t like
them, can we just get rid of them to save ourselves the inconvenience, whether they are normal
or not?
Well, sort of.

If you use punishment, you can suppress behavior, whether or not you’ve actually taught
anything at all. “Suppressed” behavior doesn’t mean the dog or child is trained, simply that by
virtue of not moving too much its hard to be annoying to others. This is true for both children
and puppies. For example, I recently sat in a restaurant where I watched a father with his three
young children, ranging in ages from about five to twelve. They were all eating their meals in
silence (which one clearly didn’t like) while dad looked at his phone. The kids were told to shut
up and sit down if they tried to do anything to entertain themselves or expressed an opinion.
Even the smallest one was behaving. Dad didn’t even have to raise a hand – they listened and
did what they were told. Which was….nothing. Do nothing.
Wow! Amazing. He had obedience, and at a very young age! Good, obedient children who
made no trouble for anyone, anywhere. They did nothing, a truly abnormal state of existence for
anyone, least of all for small children. On the other hand, those children never looked at their
dad. They stared at their plates, or looked around vacantly. He had effectively taken the child
out of the children, leaving behind a well behaved shell. I doubt he knew or even really cared
that the oldest children clearly disliked him. He had what he wanted – a peaceful evening with
his dinner and his smartphone.
Punishment works for dogs too. If you keep on top of your puppy non-stop, physically or
verbally correcting him for all of the things he does wrong while instilling a solid foundation
of obedience, you can eventually end up with a puppy who exists quietly, staring vacantly
at nothing. A good, obedient puppy who makes no trouble for anyone, anywhere! You can

Surviving Year 1
effectively take the puppy out of the dog and leave behind a well behaved shell. On the other
hand, that puppy will make no effort to spend time with you, which brings up the question –
why did you get a dog in the first place, if not to enjoy each other?
The vast majority of parents simply accept the fact that they’ll have to hold their children’s
hands when they walk on busy streets. They accept that their meals won’t be too peaceful for
awhile because they’ll have to chase their children down just as they try to sit down and eat.
They accept that children need to use the bathroom at inconvenient times and that they’ll get
sick and disrupt their lives. There will be messes, noise, and disruption. And while parents
often experience frustration and look forward to the coming stages when life is a little easier,
they won’t refer to this phase as the “toddler problem,” and they won’t ask the pediatrician to
fix these annoyances. It’s just the nature of small children. They aren’t adults yet.
When you bring home a puppy, get used to the fact that you’ll have to keep them on leash to
keep them safe for awhile. You won’t be able to have peaceful conversations because they’ll
want your attention too. They’ll need to use the bathroom at inconvenient times. They’ll get
sick and disrupt your life. There will be messes, noise, and disruption. There is no “problem,”
there’s simply a puppy who still has to grow into an adult dog. These behaviors will not resolve
in days or weeks; it takes many months before you’ll see glimmers of the adult dog that your
puppy will mature into.
With time, consistency, maturity and well thought out raising, both your dogs and your children
will make it to adulthood, and life will be a lot easier and smoother. How you choose to get there
– whether you use structure and positive interaction for good choices or focus on punishment
to suppress all behavior – will have both short term and long term effects on your relationship.
Your decisions early on will influence how much time your charges choose to voluntarily spend
with you. How much time they try to engage you for interaction. How much they use you as a
resource when they aren’t sure what to do. In short, how much they like you – if at all.
Of course, there are very forgiving puppies and children. In some cases, no matter what you do,
you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful outcome. But don’t hold your breath on that one. Most of
the time, you’ll get what you give.
When my children were small, I removed valuable and breakable objects from the house. Same
with my puppies. No more fights about “don’t touch this” or “don’t chew that.” When my
children were small, we ate most of our meals at home; no more fights about how to behave at
a table in public. If I don’t want puppies underfoot when I make food then I remove them from
the room. When my children shared their toys or talked quietly with friends or remembered
to remove their dirty shoes before entering the house – I told them I appreciated that! And the
puppies? I help them too – they’re puppies. Doing their puppy best. But they still need to be
given a chance to express their puppy natures.
I’m not perfect with my kids or with my puppies. I get frustrated. I get mad! But at the end of
the day, I know perfectly well that I am the adult – the one who is responsible – and that there
is nothing wrong with my child or my puppy for behaving like a child or a puppy. There is no
problem.

Surviving Year 1
My kids are doing fine. They are growing into interactive confident young people with excellent
manners and joyful personalities. My puppies are doing fine as well, and consistently grow
into entertaining, interactive, confident dogs with lively natures. No one is breaking things or
chewing up the wrong stuff anymore. The best part is that the kids and the dogs seem to like
me! They choose to spend time with me, which is why I wanted them in the first place! It’s
working out okay, in spite of the fact that I spared the rod all around. It does not appear that I
have spoiled anyone.
When you’re frustrated or mystified by your puppy, consider how you raised your children and
you might find a comparable technique that will work just fine. Think of puppies as pre-verbal
children. Show patience. Structure the environment for success. Accept that inconvenience will
happen. Remember that what you do now is going to determine the type of relationship you will
have into the future. What are you looking for? Do you want to be seen as an accommodating
person who creates opportunities to do interesting things, or as a domineering tyrant that is best
avoided? When you ask your dog or child to come see you, do you want them to come running
with enthusiasm, or to experience worry and anxiety about your presence?
If you hit your small kids, yelled a lot, and considered their childhood a problem to be solved,
then it would make sense that you would do the same with your dogs. But if you raised your
small children with patience and you accepted that small children are not little adults, then you
might find that you have all of the tools you’ll need to raise your puppies very very well. Now
you just need a few tricks of the trade to give you ideas for how to manage specific situations
and you’re on your way. That’s where a good dog trainer will be able to help you.
Find a trainer who focuses on what is right for both you and the puppy! Find a trainer who can
help you understand appropriate management strategies as your puppy works through his more
challenging phases. Find a trainer who can listen to you complain about how hard puppies are,
and who helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel! Add a few skills like walking nicely on
a leash and a solid recall, throw in a healthy dose of time and maturity, and you’re on your way
to having a very rich and interactive relationship with a well behaved adult dog.
But start by understanding that there is nothing wrong – there is no problem. There is only a
puppy, and training to be done. What happens now is up to you.
Good luck.

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Surviving Your Dog Sports Puppy!

A collection of “must have” articles from

Puppy Socialization:............................14 Hand Targets for Puppies...................61

Surviving Month One “Spot” Games........................................76

©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 2

©Denise Fenzi ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 4

©Denise Fenzi ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 5

We hope this book helps you to do just that.

©Denise Fenzi ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 6

Puppy Lover: Indifferent:

©Loretta Mueller ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 7

• Keeps puppy contained, even if they don’t want

• Keeps the adult dogs in your household from

• Teaches the puppy to self-entertain and not

©Loretta Mueller ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 8

Puppy not good = dogs not around

©Loretta Mueller ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 9

Behaviors I do not allow from the adult dogs:

• Bullying the puppy (knocking them over, attacking, chasing)

©Loretta Mueller ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 10

How can you head these concerns off?

Slow down. Think. Plan. Then Do.

©Andrea Harrison ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 11

Process goals need regular attention – are they still

How do you relieve the concerns? Thoughtfully!

©Andrea Harrison ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 12

Finally, and perhaps most importantly:

©Andrea Harrison ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 13

© Alla Podkopaeva N Porsche

©Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 14

This complex network of neurons, connected by

During the socialization period, the baby brain is

©Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 15

©Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 16

©Lori Stevens ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 17

©Lori Stevens ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 18

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©Nancy Tucker ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 20

You do your thing, I’ll do mine

©Nancy Tucker ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 21

Sue Yanoff, DVM | www.animalptcenter.com

A developmental orthopedic disease is a condition that is caused by an abnormality in skeletal

1. Keep your puppy thin and grow her slowly.

©Sue Yanoff, DVM ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 22

2. Feed a complete and balanced diet.

3. Allow appropriate exercise.

4. Keep your puppy fit.

When is your puppy not a puppy?

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©Sue Yanoff, DVM ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 24

©Deborah Jones, PhD. ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 26

©Deborah Jones, PhD. ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 27

©Deborah Jones, PhD. ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 28

©Heather Lawson ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 29

FINAL GOAL BEHAVIOUR:

• You will need a clicker

Level 1 - The Beginning Touch

©Heather Lawson ©Fenzi Dog Sports Academy 2018 30