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An intro to 2-Minute Dog Training Games

If you’re not having fun training your dog, you’re doing it wrong!

If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong!

21st century dog training means having fun with your dog. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong! Dog training games are best for training, learning, and enjoying time with your dog.

Everybody, including your dog, learns better when they enjoy it! Fast, fun dog training games are the most effective way to teach your dog anything. From house-breaking to the showiest tricks, games are the way to go.

Your future with the 2 Minute Training Method

We’re Hope and Fran, creators of the 2 Minute Training method. We’ve developed this method so that in short bursts of training your dog will learn what’s expected of him and make good choices. Instead of a rowdy hooligan, he’ll be a joyful part of your family. Instead of having to lock the dog up when company arrives, he’ll be an integral part of the conversation. Your dog will no longer pull your arm out of the socket on walks. He’ll sit nicely for treats.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not!

This miracle won’t happen overnight, but it will happen, and it won’t be a miracle!

You”ll both practice to make it happen, and you’ll have such a good time you’ll want to do more.

Who we are

How do we know? Because we’re training our own dogs this way. Not traditional “most intelligent” dogs. Not Golden Retrievers. Not Border Collies. Not even Papillons or Pomeranians. These are dog breeds that are among the “smartest” and “most trainable.” Nope – Hope has a French Bulldog. Fran has a Brussels Griffon and two Boston Terriers. Not breeds you expect to see in the Obedience ring, and yet they’re advancing nicely in competition.

We also train fun stuff the same way – like “crawl,” “roll over,” and “sit pretty.” Even training the dogs to put their toys away!

Just short chunks of time. Maybe a few times a day. During commercial breaks in the evening. Or just one session before work.

Have fun with your dog!

It’s fun. We look forward to our short training sessions, and we know you will too.

Dog Training Game: Sniff It Out

There are lots of dog sports that encourage dogs to use their superior sniffing abilities: Tracking, Barn Hunt, Scent Work, etc. Dogs’ amazing noses are also used for law enforcement, customs, even disease detection.

Whether or not you have any ambitions to try your luck with any of these dog sports, you and your dog can still have fun with at-home versions of sniffing games. It’s also a great way to expend some doggy energy when the weather isn’t cooperating outside.

The “Sniff It Out!” game feels like cheating. There’s almost no training involved. Most dogs catch on quickly. Then the challenge becomes resisting your dog’s begging to play it again.

How it works

The first step for “Sniff It Out!” is deciding what scent your dog will be searching for. Any stinky thing is fine, as long as it’s not a normal part of your dog’s environment. For the Scent Work dog sport, the essential oils they use are Anise, Birch, Clove, and Cypress. You can use whatever you have around the house, as long as you know it’s not toxic for dogs. Don’t use artificial scents of any kind. You don’t know what chemicals are used in their manufacture, and you don’t know how your dog will react if they get a snootful.

When we first started playing this with our dogs, we had some nutmeg, lemon, and cinnamon essential oils around. We used an ordinary cotton round, put a couple of drops of scent on it, let the dog sniff it, asked someone else to hide it, and let the dog “Go Sniff!”

At first, confine the “hunt” to a single room, with limited distractions. When introducing the game, leave the scent object out in plain sight. As soon as the dog goes over to sniff it, praise (or click) and reward. Do it again, each time moving the scent object a bit farther away and less visible.

You’ll be able to tell when your dog connects the dots and starts using their nose. They may pick their head up, look around while sniffing, and move back and forth across the area to zero in on the scent. Try not to look at the scent object or stand right next to it. Let the dog “find it!”

Variations on a theme

We have a particular area of the basement where we play training games. To challenge the dogs in this limited space, we scatter all kinds of objects around – bins, bowls, cones, broad jump boards. You can place the scent object inside things, under things, higher than the dog’s nose. Dogs’ scenting ability is up to the task, wherever you hide it.

If you’re concerned that your dog may grab the cotton round and eat it, you can use real food and put it in a bowl or dish for your dog to find. It’s a simpler version of the game that Booker, Fran’s 13-year-old Boston Terrier loves. Fran puts a dab of peanut butter on a target (a plastic lid) and uses that as his scent object. (In the photo, Booker’s target is under the cone that he’s pawing.) He’s so enthusiastic about playing “Sniff It Out!” that Fran has to take him someplace where he can’t see Hope hide the target. Booker would “cheat” if we let him.

Keep it fresh

Booker loves “Sniff It Out!” and would play it all day, every day if he could. As your dog grows more confident in the rules of the game, expand the search area to different rooms, levels, and scents. When you start the game, be sure to introduce your dog to the odor you’re using so they know what they’re looking for.

Letting your dog use their instincts, ability, and brain for “Sniff It Out!” is a triple win. It’s also a game you can play with your dog when winter weather keeps you trapped indoors.

The Doggy Paycheck: Why Your Pup Won’t Work for Free

Positive reinforcement training is based on one single premise: dogs will always, without exception, do what is most rewarding to them.

The focus of your training has to be making what you want the most rewarding option. Your choice has to be, in the dog’s opinion, the best thing available.

To convince your dog, you have to build a history. If your dog always gets rewarded for doing what you want, they’re more likely to continue doing it. They get their doggy paycheck every time they do what you want.

If, however, your rewards are inconsistent or absent, the dog has no reason to do what you want. There’s always something interesting to do. It may or may not be what you want them to do. The environment is your biggest competitor. If a squirrel is a $100 bill and your treat is a nickel, the squirrel wins every time.

Hierarchy of rewards

One of the first lessons of reward-based training is figuring out what’s valuable to your dog. You may want your dog to love the expensive, organic, healthy treats you bought. But you can’t make that love connection happen. In our classes we always have extra treats available for our students. The treats we provide aren’t healthy, good-for-dogs, or expensive. They’re the junk food french fries of dog treats. Because they work. Dogs love them.

We’re not saying you have to buy junk dog treats. We’re saying you have to find the rewards that your dog would (virtually) run through fire to get. Don’t be surprised if it’s something weird. One of our dogs would kill for celery. Another thinks celery is poisonous. It’s not our choice, it’s the dog’s.

Transfer of value

Let’s use Torque, the celery fiend, as our example. If he always gets celery when he does Puppy Push-ups, before long he’s going to get all excited to do them. In his little doggy brain, that incredibly yummy treat is paired with Puppy Push-ups. The value of the treat is associated with playing that awesome game. And he loves doing it.

Once your dog has made that pairing, your reward delivery can become more random. But it can’t go away forever. If it does, the behavior will, too.

Think of it this way: You love every single aspect of your job. Your work is fascinating. Your colleagues are awesome. You even get a catered lunch every day. Are you still going if you don’t get paid? Of course not. Your bargain with your employer is to complete assigned tasks in exchange for compensation.

Your dog gets the benefit of the same deal. Their task is to be a good dog. Their compensation (doggy paycheck) is the rewards you provide.

Just for the fun of it

You don’t have to reward your dog constantly for just being good. If they’re doing something you didn’t ask them to do, just a pat or a “good dog!” is fine, if you notice it.

But if you’ve told your dog to do something and they do it, that good behavior should be acknowledged. That’s good training and living up to your side of the deal.

Saboteurs Can’t Ruin Your Dog

A post this week on one of our obedience/rally groups had someone ranting that their family was undermining their dog training. She constantly told her family members how she wanted to train her dog, showed them what to do, explained how to do it. And yet they refuse to comply with her wishes. Are you afraid that your family will undermine your dog training?

It’s actually pretty common. Playing training games with your dog is important to you, but may not have the same value for other people around you.

That may frustrate you no end. But, in the words of a song, you have to let it go.

It doesn’t matter

That’s easier than you might think for one important reason. Every person in your household has a different relationship with your dog. And there is nothing they can say, do, or try that can change that.

Dogs always have the closest relationship with the person who trains them. We’ve even heard from long-time dog owners who marvel at the difference between their previous pets and their current training partner. Training changes everything.

Stay ahead of sabotage

It is possible for other people to “poison” the cues you’ve used for your dog. “Stay!” is one of the most difficult behaviors. If other people don’t stick to your “Stay!” criteria, it may become compromised.

Fortunately, It’s easy to fix with a work-around. Let the other people continue to use “Stay!” and get sloppy performance. You switch cues and never say “Stay!” again.

If you’ve used “Stay!” forever, it will take a conscious effort on your part to switch it to something like “Park it!” The other people certainly won’t make the attempt, so leave the word “Stay!” for them.

You start back at the beginning, using the cue “Park it!” (or whatever word you like). Stick to your criteria. And don’t tell the other people your new cue. They may hear it but we’re pretty sure they won’t give it much thought or bother switching.

Between You and Your Dog

No one can sabotage your training. One notable example for us was a couple with a challenging Chow Chow mix. The woman was on board with training and really enjoyed playing the games with her dog. The man was resistant and did not.

Since the dog adored the man, her behavior deteriorated when he was around. He doesn’t expect much from her and that’s what he gets. Not much.

The woman, on the other hand, saw how her dog loved playing training games and how she blossomed with training. Next week they’ll be attempting to qualify for their first Novice Rally leg.

Secret Language

You may have heard that twins often develop a secret language only the two of them know. You can do the same thing with your dog, your training partner. No one can undermine your dog training or your relationship with your dog. You don’t have to worry about the saboteurs.

Dog Training Game- 4 On The Floor

Dogs always do what’s most rewarding for them. Our “job” as dog owners is to make what we want the most rewarding option.

One of the most common rude dog behaviors is jumping on people. For dogs, it gets them exactly what they want: attention. Dogs don’t really care if that attention is yelling at them, or batting at their feet, or even shoving their chest. For your dog, who loves you, any attention you pay to them is wonderful. That’s unconditional love.

Change is hard

To get your dog to stop the behavior, you have to make something else more gratifying than jumping. It’s time to play “4 On The Floor.”

With a bunch of really yummy treats in hand, walk into the room where your dog is hanging out. Get your dog all excited, by whatever means necessary. Talk excitedly, jump around, pretend to throw a ball, whatever gets your dog to perk up and pay attention.

When the dog is standing, lean over very close to your dog and start feeding high-value treats. One after another. Be sure you don’t stand up, you don’t want your vertical motion to trigger your dog’s jumping. Let your dog know the cue for standing there getting fed: “Good 4 On The Floor.” “Nice 4 On The Floor.” “I like your 4 On The Floor.”

Use whatever cue you want for the behavior. We use “4 On The Floor” because it describes what we want and everybody knows what it means. It is longer than most dog cues, so choose one that works for you.

Watch carefully

Your dog may get all excited and start to jump up. If they show signs of jumping, freeze in place. Stop rewarding and wait. If your dog does jump on you, try not to move. Don’t say anything. Ignore the behaviors you don’t want. It’s tough, especially if you have a big, powerful dog. But be patient.

When the rude behavior gets the dog nothing, chances are they’ll go back to what they were doing – standing there and getting treats. As soon as the dog has four feet on the floor, go back to rewarding and praising, giving your dog the cue you’ve decided on.

Dogs catch on quickly

After just a couple of times, your dog should start recognizing the cue “4 On The Floor.” When you’re pretty sure they have the idea, recruit someone the dog knows to help out. If the person is okay with it, have them do exactly the same thing, bending over and repeatedly rewarding. If the person can’t, or won’t, then you bend and reward as long as the dog has “4 On The Floor.”

You’re building a new behavior that the dog will find more rewarding than jumping. They get the attention they crave, as well as many treats, for behaving politely. It becomes the most attractive option for the dog.

Expand the experience

When your dog is pretty good about staying off of people at home, add on by having someone come in the front door. Entries and exits are the most likely times for dogs to jump on people, so it’s up to us to make it normal to greet people with all four feet on the floor.

Once your dog is proficient at entries and exits, it’s tempting to take it for granted. If you completely stop rewarding, the dog will revert to behavior that’s more fun for them. You won’t have to reward every time, or multiple treats all the time. You do have to randomly reinforce good behavior to maintain it. Dogs live in hope that something good is coming their way. If they’re good, make that wish come true. At least every once in a while.

Warning! Playing Dog Training Games Will Change Your Life

A cautionary document for the unsuspecting dog owner.

We feel obliged to issue this warning for anyone contemplating a training journey. There are consequences—both intended and corollary—that will change your life forever.

Your perception of dogs will change. Your expectations will change. You will laugh. There might be crying. You will definitely have fun.

The results of 2-minute training are wide-reaching. You’ll look at neighbors and think, “They could use 3-Step Pattern Walking.” You’ll visit a friend and “fix” their dog’s jumping habit in five minutes.

You’ve been warned. Here is what to expect:

1. The “Telepathic” Velcro Bond

If you thought you were best friends before, you ain’t seen nothing yet. 2-Minute games create a learning partnership that feels like a psychic connection.

The Downside: If you had a “Velcro dog” before, they’ll now take residence practically inside your skin.
The Cost: Be prepared to buy an extra dog bed for every room, including the bathroom. If your dog is particularly dexterous, you’ll have to buy them a phone so they can text you every 10 minutes.

2. The End of “Days Off”

If you play training games right after breakfast, be prepared to play every day at precisely the same time. Even on weekends. Even on holidays.

Pro Tip: The only way to avoid your dog’s absolute devotion to the schedule is to randomize your training program.

Even then, when your dog determines “It’s time!”, prepare for incessant nagging. Don’t look them in the eye. Nothing will make you cave faster than those soulful, puppy dog eyes.

3. The “Puppy Push-Up” Chaos

You’ll have to contain your laughter when your dog’s excitement spurs them to show you every trick they know the second you ask, “Do you want to play?” It’s adorable when a dog starts doing Puppy Push-ups with no prompting. Steel yourself! If it’s not what you asked for, it doesn’t get the reward. No smiles, no laughter, and definitely no scritches.

4. The Inevitable “Brain-Dead” Days

There will be days when your dog looks at you like they’ve never heard the word “Sit!” before. You know they have. You have video evidence.

The Reality: Some sessions are write-offs.
Plan B: Play fetch instead. It’s a poor second, but some days it’s all the brains your dog’s got.

Is your addiction complete?

Your social schedule will change. 2-Minute training will change your life. You’ll realize you have more fun with your dog than most people you know. When you start thinking, “I could be home playing with my dog,” the transformation is finished. Ready to start your own “addiction”? Sign up for our 2-Minute Newsletter!

Top 5 Dog Training Tips for 2025

What’s your mental picture of a well-trained dog? If it’s one of those impressively heel-hugging automatons garnering views on social media, this isn’t the training site for you.

If, on the other hand, you want an awesome companion who knows how to make good decisions, this is the place. The goal here is to teach you and your dog to be a team, whether competing in dog sports or just hanging out watching screens. It may not be an equal partnership. You’re always going to be the one making important life decisions and keeping food on the table (or in the bowl). But you will have an awesome junior partner.

Whatever training games you play, how often you play them, and what behaviors are most important to you, you decide. Keeping these five top dog training tips in mind will keep you on track, whatever your dog goals may be.

Pay your dog

You wouldn’t take a job that doesn’t pay. Don’t expect your dog to “work” for free. When they do something right, a reward lets them know.

The reward doesn’t always have to be food. But you don’t get to decide what’s rewarding to your dog. If you love chocolate, someone giving you a banana isn’t going to cut it. If your dog loves Chicken Heart Treats, a piece of kibble isn’t going to be highly rewarding. Tailor the treat to the dog’s taste.

Shut up

Almost everybody does it and it never works. Saying “Sit!” 12 times instead of once isn’t helpful. By all means encourage your dog and talk to them. But give them time to think and process what you say.

Dogs naturally love patterns. If you always say “Sit!” three times, your dog will think that’s the command. If you say it once and wait for your dog to do it (look at their butt, not their face), they’ll figure it out.

Be consistent

Each word and each hand signal can have only one meaning for your dog. It doesn’t matter what word or motion you use, as long as it’s the same every time you use it.

If you’re teaching your dog “Place!” you can call the “Place!” whatever you want. Our students have used “Mat!” and “Bed!” and assorted other words. Whatever word works for you is fine. But remember what it is and keep it the same.

Be clear

Decide what you want and stick to it. If you say “Sit!” and your dog lies down, don’t accept it. That’s not a “Sit!”

This is more than just being picky. Even if you don’t care whether your dog sits or downs, you’ll confuse your dog if you accept one for the other. They won’t know what either one means.

Half measures aren’t acceptable either. In competitive Obedience and Rally, “Down!” means that the dog’s elbows are on the ground. Setting specific criteria for behaviors actually helps your dog understand.

Have fun

Training is all about having fun with your dog. Play as many training games as you like, but keep each one short and fast. Your dog will look forward to playing with you. If you’re in a lousy mood, playing with your dog will improve your outlook and your day.

You’ll find your dog anticipating training games as the best part of your day. If you play at a specific time every day, your dog will come and find you when it’s time. Those few minutes of focused interaction will be their favorite time, every time. And keeping these 5 dog training tips in mind will help you make the most of every session.

Just for the fun of it – Leg Weaving Game

There are lots of useful things to teach your dog. The Leg Weaving Game isn’t one of them. It’s just pure, unadulterated fun!

All you need for this game is yourself, your dog, and some treats. That’s it!

What’s Leg Weaving anyway?

There are two ways of playing Leg Weaving.

The simpler version, where the dog does all the work, is stationary. You stand still, legs apart, and your dog walks, trots, or runs in a figure-eight pattern around and between your legs.

The more complex version puts you in motion and your dog going between your legs as you walk. This one takes time to get up to speed. Leg weaving builds on the body awareness exercises we talked about in the Doggy Dressage 2-Minute Tip. There’s potential for a lot of tripping, falling, and kicking your dog if you aren’t careful.

Note: if you play Agility with your dog, you may want to name this game something other than “weaving.” The weave poles are a required obstacle in Agility and once your dog has mastered it, you don’t want to mess it up. Because we train for Agility with our dogs, we call the stationary version “Legs,” and the moving version “Twine.”

Simple Leg Weaving

Have treats in both hands. Stand in front of your dog with your legs apart. The object of the game is for your dog to go between your legs, circle one leg, then the other. It creates a “figure 8” pattern, or an infinity symbol.

Reach behind your leg and show your dog the treat between your legs. Dogs can be reluctant to go under their people, so be sure it’s a really tasty treat and your dog knows you have it. As your dog moves to get the treat, bring your hand around your leg to the front. Don’t go too fast! Move at the pace your dog is going, keeping that tempting morsel right in front of their nose.

When you reach the front, give the dog the treat in that hand, while reach behind and between to show them the treat in the other hand. Do the same thing with the other leg. Draw the dog around your leg and reward in front.

Most dogs catch on to this double-treat behavior really quickly. Some glitches can occur if you move the treat too quickly, switch hands too fast, or pull your hand back before the dog has completed the circle around your leg. Your dog will follow your hand, so be sure your motion reflects where you want your dog to go.

As your dog learns “Legs!” you can increase the speed and reward less frequently. Be sure you say the word for the game as you’re playing. In time, your dog will perform the behavior when you use the cue word.

Get Moving

Leg Weaving in motion, or “Twine” is more complicated. Have treats in both hands. With your dog sitting at your side, step forward with the leg opposite to the dog. If your dog is on the right, step out with your left leg. Show the dog the treat with your left hand between your legs. Draw the dog forward and between your legs. Again, don’t move your hand faster than your dog is moving. Make sure they’ve reached your other side before you reward.

When the dog is on the other side (left, in this scenario), step out with your right leg and, with your right hand, show the dog a treat between your legs. Get them to move between your legs and reward when they’re completely on your right side. Rinse and repeat – as many times as you like.

Here’s Simon and Fran.

Stutter step

Don’t go too fast too soon. You may lose your balance, kick your dog, or get completely tangled up. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to the simpler version – especially if you have a tall dog. This is one of the few games where smaller dogs have a distinct advantage, although all of our students have been able to do it. Even the ones with Great Danes.

Have more fun with your dog!

Your Face Is A Stop Sign

Seeing your face signals your dog to stop. Don’t believe it? It’s easy to test. Invite your dog to run with you. You’re both going along together, facing the same way. If you suddenly stop and look at your dog, they’ll stop, too. And stare you in the face.

When you have a conversation with another person, it’s considered polite to look at them. Dogs are the same. Your dog always wants to see your face.

In some ways, that’s a wonderful thing. Doesn’t everyone make funny sounds to get dogs to look? And if we get the adorable head tilt, we keep doing it.

Not always what we want

There are times, however, that you don’t want your dog to stop and look at you. You’d think that calling your dog to “Come!” is easy and natural.

It’s not. If you’re standing still, facing your dog, and call them, they may not move an inch. They can see you, but your face is a stop sign.

Motion triggers motion

When this happens, most people will sweep an arm back, encouraging the dog to move. It usually works. It also means that your dog doesn’t have a reliable recall.

In Obedience competition, the rules require you to stand absolutely still when you call your dog. You can’t do any of the things that come naturally. You can’t back up a step, pat your leg, move your head. Any handler motion when a verbal command is used is considered a “double command” and not allowed.

This exercise, done correctly, demonstrates that your dog knows the word and what to do when they hear it.

Good to know

Most people aren’t competing in Obedience. They just want their dogs to come when called. The easiest and fastest way to teach that is the Chase Recall. Your motion spurs your dog to move.

It’s true with all dog behaviors. One of the most difficult parts of “Stay!” for dogs is sitting still while you walk around. Most dogs will either swivel on their hindquarters to keep watching you, or get up entirely.

Take advantage

Knowing that your dog always wants to zero in on where you’re facing, you can use that to direct your dog’s learning. When teaching “Place!” you stare at the dog bed. Your interest in an object will make it intriguing for your dog.

That’s the principle that lots of our games are based on. The ones that involve manipulating objects start with you staring at the object. The ones that require the dog to move somewhere start with you looking there.

We tried it today. One of the behaviors we teach our dogs is to walk sideways. When facing each other, the dog’s natural tendency is to move their front legs in line with us, but their back end tends to go crooked. Today we tried the behavior looking at where we’re going (to the side) rather than at our dog. It works.

Watch where you’re going

When we were learning agility handling, one of the first things we were taught was that dogs will follow your shoulder. They go where your shoulder indicates. If you’re running or walking straight ahead, keep your shoulders square. If you’re moving to your right, that’s where you orient your upper body.

Your dog is attuned to every move you make and is keenly aware of your body language. If you can’t figure out why your dog is moving a certain way, check yourself. You may be giving them a signal you don’t intend. Like looking straight at them when you want them to keep moving.

Dog Training Game: Which Bucket

When we were kids, our mom worked in Downtown Chicago, in the Loop. During the summer, we would take the “El” into the city to meet her for lunch at the Veranda Room in Marshall Field’s department store. No, there were no dogs there. What was at Field’s, above the first floor cosmetics department, was a magnificent mosaic ceiling, designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Why this trip down memory lane? Because it gave us great joy to stand in the cosmetics department and stare up at the ceiling made of more than a million pieces of iridescent glass. When our necks got tired, we’d look back to ground level and realize that everybody around us was staring up at the ceiling, too. People do that. If you really look at something, everyone around you will stop and look.

So will dogs. And that’s how you start playing the “Which Bucket?” game with your dog.

Variation on a theme

Quite a few of the games we play with our dogs involve them retrieving something and putting it someplace else – the Ring Stacking Game, for one. It’s also the nuts-and-bolts of “Put Your Toys Away.”

The dog only has one place to put whatever it is.

But what if there were two? Or more? And what will the dog do if both containers are identical? or different? All of these options are ways to refresh any “put it away” game. If you just want to add a fun challenge to your game, use any variation and let your dog have fun.

Directed aim

If you want to use the game to strengthen your training connection with your dog, try directing your dog to a specific container. There are a couple ways of doing this. The first is to just look at the container you want your dog to use. Just like staring at the mosaic ceiling, pretend that it’s the most fascinating thing you’ve ever seen in your life. Bend over, get as close as you can.

Keep up a dialogue with your dog. Encourage them, talk to them. Invite them over to check out the neato-keeno container. Remind them to bring the toy/ring/block with them. Talk to your dog and project some enthusiasm and energy. Dogs respond to the atmosphere in the room, so make it fun.

Point it out

The other way to direct your dog to the bin you want them to drop the object in is to point at it. We’ve talked about how some dogs naturally follow a point. For others, it’s a learned skill. But all dogs are capable of it – it’s been part of Obedience competition for years.

Put the two containers out and sit on the floor about equal distance from each one. Bring a bunch of objects you want your dog to put away. We used the dive rings from our ring-stacking game. Hand one of the objects to your dog and point, with one hand or both, to the container you want the dog to put it in. Be sure you also look where you want your dog to go, not at your dog. Facing your dog always stops them. Looking where you want them to go gives them direction.

When the dog moves away from you, toward the container you indicated, celebrate! You’ve just opened another line of communication with your best friend.

Are you a dog-control freak?

How much of a control freak are you with your dog?

As the dog trainer associated with a doggy day care facility, the staff sometimes asks Hope to consult with a dog owner that has some issues in the play group.

Not long ago, she talked to the owner of a dog that was, putting it mildly, inappropriate with other dogs and staffers at day care. While the play supervisors had repeatedly mentioned the problems to the owner, the dog’s person dismissed their concerns.

Not a fun phone consult

The dog repeatedly charged at and nipped other dogs, even staff, trying to get somebody to play with her. They weren’t casual invitations, and the dog wouldn’t take “No!” for an answer. The dog clearly had no idea of manners.

When Hope finally was able to speak with the owner, his answer was “She always does what I tell her.”

And that, right there, is the problem. If you always tell your dog what to do, what happens when you’re not there?

Banned from daycare

This particular owner clearly had no interest in training his dog to learn impulse control or manners. He thought it was adequate “training” that she obeys him. It didn’t concern him that the rest of his family couldn’t get the dog to obey. It didn’t bother him that the dog has no manners in day care and doesn’t listen to the staff. The dog was banned from play groups.

The kind of blind obedience this man requires from his dog may suit him. Decades ago it may even have been the norm to be a dog control freak. Now, it’s not good enough.

Giving up control

Letting your dog exercise some autonomy makes life easier. Teaching them to make good decisions, giving them credit for controlling their impulses, frees you to enjoy your time together. It’s stressful to always be the one making every choice for everybody.

There’s no helping the control-freak man. We tried, and were unable to convince him of the benefits both he and his dog would experience. His repeated response was “She does what I tell her.”

We agree that it’s easier to just tell your dog what to do. A friend of ours had major difficulty guiding her dog into making good decisions, rather than telling her all the time. This particular dog has major confidence issues. Both dog and person felt safer with the owner giving orders all the time. But that wasn’t helping the dog’s timidity.

Confidence boost

It’s scary ceding control to another being. But, with children and dogs, letting them make good decisions boosts their confidence. When your dog knows what’s expected of them, even when faced with unfamiliar situations, they’re more likely to demonstrate good judgment.

It’s hard giving up control and allowing the possibility of mistakes. It helps the dog’s confidence when errors are overlooked rather than punished. They try, and try again, mostly because it’s fun to finally get it right.

We couldn’t help the day care dog. Our friend, on the other hand, won High In Trial in Obedience with her dog last weekend. Patience pays.