Clean Run - April 2014 - 58

but because she's not a big
heavy dog it wasn't a problem. (If she were a 60-pound
dog, I would likely still let
her slam into me because
I was working on building
drive, even if it caused some
physical discomfort for me.)
I varied how I rewarded
Tricky to spice up the game
and keep it interesting for her.
Rewards included engaging
her with a game of tug, feeding super-yummy treats, or
just running away again.
Another important part of
these games is to stay connected with the dog as you
are running away. I looked
over my shoulder to give
Tricky eyeball-to-eyeball
contact. This rehearsal of
connection is so important
for handler and dog because
it builds drive in the dog and
carries over into the ring
once the dog is sequencing.
Connection with the dog
will allow you to give timely
information on when to turn,
how to turn, and where to go
because you are watching
the dog as she approaches
each obstacle.

Tag! You're It!
We played our version of
the classic childhood game
of tag where I had to "tag"
her. As soon as I did, I ran
in the opposite direction
until Tricky "tagged" me. I
played this game in a small
area, like my family room,
so I didn't rehearse too much
of the keep-away game that
could have gotten me into
trouble. This game is not a
good idea for dogs that absolutely will not come when
called-it only works if the
dog enjoys chasing you.

Downward Dog
For the "downward dog"
game I got down on my

hands and knees to mimic
a play bow. I moved my
hands from side to side, and
bounced back and forth, engaging Tricky to play with
me. This is the same way one
dog will engage another dog
at the dog park. I even rolled
onto my back and wiggled
around, arms and legs extended. I tried to be as silly
with my dog as possible!

Bite Me!
I was slightly horrified when
I was first told to let my
terrier bite me. I had been
working so hard on teaching
her not to bite me since she
was a puppy. Then I realized
what the instruction meant-
it was about building drive
through interactive play and
not having so much control
over the dog's life. Let the
dog be a dog. And for my
terrier, that meant some play
biting. I put the word in italics because I'm not referring
to the kind of aggressive biting that requires the support
of a behavior consultant, but
rather the inhibited biting
you observe when dogs are
playing with one another.

So how do you get a dog to
bite you, especially when he
has learned teeth on skin is
out of bounds? You bug the
heck out of her! It started

with me grabbing at Tricky's
feet and swiping my hands
underneath her. Initially she
kept stepping out of the way.
But I kept at it and eventually
she lightly put her teeth on
me. Score 1! (Disclaimer: I
would never recommend any
biting games with dogs that
lack bite inhibition, cannot be
told to stop biting on cue, or
have aggression problems.)

Pits and Privates
Another game I played is
something my instructor
calls "pits and privates."
Ever been tickled until you
can't breathe? You're kicking and laughing, trying to
fight the tickler off, but at
the same time you are totally
ticked off? That's how pits
and privates works. I got on
the floor with Tricky and
gently poked her under her

of arousal up even more-
which is exactly what I need
before putting her over obstacles. And the cool thing is
I can turn it on and turn it off
like a light switch so it never
gets out of hand.

Tug
Another benefit of these biting games is that I was able
to redirect that energy onto
Tricky's tug toy. But more
on tugging in Part 2.

Lessons Learned
So what did I learn from this
retraining strategy?
„Sometimes it's best to let
all reservation fly out the
window when it comes to
dog training, lose myself in
the moment, and just play
with my dog.
„The more energy I invested
into a training session, the
more Tricky gave back to
me. If I wasn't panting at
the end of a game, I wasn't
giving it my all.
„Getting "down and dirty"
with Tricky is what turned
her on to playing with me.

front legs and then under her
back legs (not her private
area). I kept poking in the
front and then again in the
back, until Tricky finally
became irritated enough she
put her teeth on me. Score 2!
These games continued to
build Tricky's excitement.
Now if I crouch down with
my hands extended like
claws about to grab at her,
Tricky immediately goes
into "game on" mode. So I
can use these games at the
start line if there is a delay
and I no longer have her
leash to tug. Tricky will play
with me. Plus all the barking
she does while playing with
me this way gets her state

„Dogs have more fun
when things are not prim
and proper.
„Whooping and hollering
made the game more
exciting for Tricky.
„Regularly revisiting all the
games I played with Tricky
as a puppy maintains
a higher level of drive
throughout the dog's life.
Once a puppy, always
a puppy!
„And the biggest lesson I
learned was that I was my
biggest obstacle. Once I
got out of my own way, I
could create a training plan
for my dog and execute it
while having fun! D

Bobbie Bhambree is the founder and director of DogCentric Training and has been a professional dog trainer for 12 years. In addition, Bobbie has been a local agility
instructor for 6 years, is currently a trainer at the New Rochelle Humane Society, and regularly consults for the ASPCA. Bobbie shares her life with Charlotte (9-year-old Kelpie),
Tricky (5-year-old terrier cross), and Marvel (8-month-old Yorkie/JRT)-her teammates and teachers. You can contact Bobbie through her website: DogCentricTraining.com.
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Clean Run - April 2014

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