Patio Dog Training Day 2

Patio Dog Training Exercise 2

Next we want to work on helping our dog adjust to a lengthy time on leash outside of the house. Many of our dogs assume once we leave the house everything is go go go so we want them to get better at just hanging in one spot on a leash.

• Again, before we head out to a public place to do this we want to do so somewhere they spend a lot of time, in your yard/garden if you have one.

• I like to set up a comfy spot, putting their bed or a mat outside next to a chair for me.

• I tie the leash to my chair once I sit down.

• I give my dog a chew or stuffed kong (something that will last for a good long while) and I sit down and read. Give them something you will not have to worry about taking away from them. If they resource guard with you and this would be too scary for you both, then don't give them a chew, just sit down like you did inside for a meal.

• If I am in my yard/garden I will unclip the leash after they are done with the chew/kong so they are now free to go move around if they want to. Sometimes my pups crash out and nap when they tire of the chew in which case I just wait until I am ready to get up to unclip them so they can deeply rest.

• This exercise is for building up some calm duration outside on a leash, just like the last exercise, I let them move around if they please, for the distance the leash will allow, if they get up and don't want to chew, I just keep on reading and hanging out until they settle down.