Clean Run - March 2013 - 52

So, you have a new puppy. He is cute, smart, athletic, and
your next agility star. Where to begin? In addition to the
basics of good manners, recalls, and body awareness,
this article describes games to play with your puppy
that teach him some of the most important aspects
of our sport without using any agility equipment.
The games tap into your puppy’s love of food and
his natural prey and chase drive to build focus for
you and value for interacting with “obstacles.”
Then you can put that focus for you and interaction
with the “obstacles” together to teach your puppy
brilliant response to your handling maneuvers
as well as love for and drive to obstacles.

Puppy Agility Games, Part 1

By Anne Stocum, photos by Dianne Spring

This two-part series describes games that can be
worked with dogs of any
age, including young puppies. The only things you
need are yourself, a willing
and eager puppy, a variety
of rewards that your puppy
loves and that you control,
and your nonagility obstacles—several mediumsize traffic cones or other
upright, stable objects, and
a soft crate or dog bed.
Before getting started, let’s
discuss some tips for building a great reward system
for your puppy.

Building
a Reward System
Building value for a variety
of rewards like toys or soft
tasty treats, and associating
52

those rewards with you, is
the most important “work”
you and your puppy will do
in his first year. Use games
like restrained recalls, hide
‘n seek, chase games, hand
targeting, sit-tug-sit, and
others to teach your puppy
that you are fun and worth
spending time with. It’s
good practice, even at
home, to use a clear start
to your play/work session
so that your puppy knows
the fun is beginning. This
can be a happy voice, or a
“game-on” stance that your
puppy recognizes. Then
when your play/work session is over, clearly end the
session and either put your
puppy in his crate or signal
that the puppy is on his
own time to explore with a
Go see or Oﬀ you go.

Your ultimate goal is a
puppy that finds a variety
of food, a variety of toys,
praise, and simply interacting with you greatly rewarding to the exclusion of all
other distractions. This ideal
state takes time to develop,
so don’t expect it to happen
overnight and don’t get discouraged. Most of all have
fun with your puppy and
remember that any failures
are just a moment in your
long journey together.
Know what your puppy
finds rewarding, taking into
account the distractions in
your environment. Avoid
offering a puppy a reward
that he doesn’t want in that
moment. A puppy who
will enthusiastically tug at
home may not tug in dis-

tracting environments like
puppy class. Most of these
games can be started in
your living room or kitchen
so that you can minimize
distractions at first. But be
sure to add appropriate
distractions as your puppy
gets better at the games.
Tips for Using
Food Rewards
Use soft, easily chewable
food that won’t crumble or
stick to your fingers. Deliver
one piece of food at a time.
If both hands are free, hold a
small number of treats in the
hand opposite the puppy,
then take one treat out and
deliver to your puppy. If
you switch sides, just move
the treats from one hand to
another. You can also have a
bowl of treats on a counter or
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March 13
Clean Run - March 2013

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